How to Pair Entertainment and Catering to Keep Guests Engaged at Your Corporate Event

A casino at a corporate event provided hours of entertainment

If you are planning a corporate event or large office party, the last thing you want is to have your guests trickle out after food is served. As we find our “new normal,” many people aren’t used to staying in large group settings or are ready to leave before the event ends. Getting creative with activities, decor, and events that encourage chatting and bonding is key! We have some ideas on how to keep guests engaged at your corporate event to ensure your next event is a hit and everyone stays long enough to talk about it around the water cooler the next day!

A casino at a corporate event provided hours of entertainment
A casino at a corporate event provided hours of entertainment

Setting Up the Space

Keeping your guests entertained during an event is a delicate balance. Allowing guests to participate in activities before, during, and after food is served will encourage them to stay for the duration of the event. You also want to ensure that your space is set up in an inviting yet enticing way to give your guests an environment they want to hang around in.

Combining food stations and activities allows your guests to pass between snacking and playing with ease. Give them variety with quick, simple games to longer tournaments, and they’ll be entertained for hours!

Quick Group Activities for Maximum Entertainment

Guests engaging in activities will allow your guests to mingle and continue to stay entertained after having an elevated catering experience with G Texas Catering. Several of our venue partners offer spaces that accommodate a variety of activities. For example, we have seen remote control NASCAR-style racing, a mobile photo bus, and even armadillo races! The opportunities are endless with a creative team like G Texas, who tailors every event to you and your guests!

A photo booth makes a great short activity with a keepsake at your Dallas corporate event!
A photo booth makes a great short activity with a keepsake!

Long & Leisure Activities for Longer Engagement

Perfect for guests that enjoy a bit of a challenge, we’ve found that long & leisure activities are ideal for group activity and bonding. Whether guests are new to poker or skillfully choosing their next move before they even sit down – every guest will have an experience that leaves them looking for more. The Mini Golf Experience is a popular activity we’ve curated that falls perfectly under this category!

This putting green was great for chatting while staying busy at a Dallas corporate party.
This putting green was great for chatting while staying busy.

Setting up your space with a balanced mix of quick group activities and long & leisure group activities is essential to keeping your guests entertained throughout the duration of the event. Speak to one of our team members today about curating the perfect catering and entertainment for your upcoming corporate event!

Catering Companies for Rainy Weather: How To Set Your Event Up for Success

Concert with a full stage inside a tent for rain

Rain happens, and naturally, Texas has very unpredictable weather! When planning your next outdoor catering event, you’ll want to consider how the weather could factor into it. Establishing a game plan with your catering and event team is important and will ensure everything is prepared should there be a surprise storm. Read on to learn about finding catering companies for rainy weather in Dallas!

Cattle Barrons Ball with Tent in Case of Rain catered in dallas texas
This tent kept event-goers dry at the Cattle Barons Ball in Dallas.

Venue Considerations

When choosing your event venue, there are many beautiful and practical options. That said, if you’re booking in the spring or fall, you need to plan for rain! There are indoor/outdoor venues with large covered patios or large indoor spaces, though many don’t provide both.

If your spring wedding is slated for outdoors, purposely choosing a venue with a built-in backup indoor space might save your wedding day! The same consideration goes for corporate events, as you want to ensure your guests, speakers, and any breakout events have covered options. If your venue has no backup indoor location, check that large tents are available to rent and/or that your events company can provide that for you.

Make sure to factor parking into your planning as well. Many venues, especially those at rural farms or other converted buildings, do not have paved parking, and a sudden downpour may result in muddy shoes and high heels that sink into the ground.

Concert with a full stage inside a tent for rain
Rain couldn’t stop the music with a large tent available.

Caterer Offerings

Similar to the venue considerations, you’ll want to consider your food options. Some things to consider are if the food can hold up to the humidity often brought on by rainy weather and if the food can be transported easily to an indoor location should the weather change. You’ll also want to ask if the caterer has tents and coverings available if an indoor location isn’t available at your venue. The last thing you’d want is for your food to get soaked and essentially end your event early.

Hiring a full-service catering and events company like G Texas will ensure your event is successful rain or shine. Our skilled team of professionals helps make sure the venue is set for any adverse conditions and all food is securely stored so your guests can still have a fantastic experience regardless of rain. Contact us today to get started on your next outdoor catering event.

AT&T Performing Arts Center Sets the Standard for Concessions Catering

Concession stand at Winspear Opera House by GTexas Catering

Most people think of canned nacho cheese, stale chips, and frozen hotdogs, or hamburger patties as concession food – but the arts district and the clientele of Dallas demand upscale concessions. Our team has excelled in creating the flavors to fit the environment for a perfect guest experience! Upscale venue concessions can range from higher-end prepared food to fresh-made on-site. The AT&T Performing Arts Center is one such example of the latest trend in upscale concessions with a wide variety of shows and events for the city to enjoy along with them.

Strategic Bar Catering

bar concessions at ATTPAC by GTexas Catering
Strategic concession stands around the venue help customers get drinks and food quickly while preventing bottlenecks.

Our team partnered with the AT&T PAC to prepare strategic points on each level of the building, which provides an easier way for guests to purchase beverages during short intermissions and prevent time-consuming bottlenecks. Their patrons can purchase the beverages they need without the hassle and return to their seats without the need to rush!

Beyond creating a free-flowing environment for their patrons, our team has crafted event-specific cocktails for each bar location and has an ongoing selection of hand-picked house beverages, including wine, beer, and more from locally sourced suppliers.

Upscale Concessions

Charcuterie nosh boxes at Winspear Opera House by GTexas Catering
We’ve created exquisite Nosh Boxes in both savory and sweet options.

Creating unique experiences for the artistic environment that is the AT&T Performing Arts Center is why we love upscale concessions catering! From chef-prepared dishes to elegant bar catering, concession stands have gone from “basic” to palette-pleasing. G Texas ensures that not only is the experience memorable for each guest, but that the flavor of the dishes allow you to savor more than you’d imagined. Having a full-service catering company on hand at these venues sets the standards high for the catering industry, changing the future of the upscale concession experience.

In Conclusion

Partnering with a team like G Texas, which values the upscale experience of catering, alongside the event’s overall success, allows for an excellent upscale catering experience! The AT&T Performing Arts Center is the perfect example of a well-rounded partnership that sets the standards above and beyond for an exceptional experience of concessions catering. Experience some of the newest offerings our team has crafted while visiting the venue – check out all of the upcoming events by clicking here. Contact our team today if you’d like to have our team craft an upscale concessions experience for you!

4 Questions to Ask a Caterer Before Hiring

On-site event managers for your special day

So you need a caterer for your wedding, party, or corporate event. Now what?

Finding a caterer for your event can raise a ton of questions. What options can they offer? Will they accommodate to any dietary restrictions? Will the day of your event even be open for them to cater? All of these questions are just icebreakers to the world of executing the perfect event. Though every catering company holds different policies, G Texas Catering is here to meet all of your full-service needs at a professional level. In this article, you’ll learn the importance of answering all of your burning questions for hiring a caterer.

Question 1: Will the caterer be available on the day of my event? What if there are other events on the same day?

On-site event managers for your special day
Is an Event Manager On Site?

At times, we can be so certain of the details of our events and know exactly what we want – that we may forget the most important question… is the caterer available?

If it’s a caterer with a small staff, it’s possible that the caterer may need to be booked well in advance in order to be available for your event, so make sure to ask if they’re available before you begin picking out menu options for your event. For caterers with a large team, having multiple events on the same day will be a breeze and they should be able to accommodate your event date. When looking for a caterer, finding one that has multiple teams to handle more than one event a day can help give you the security of knowing that your caterer will almost always be available for you.

G Texas has a large staff with multiple event managers. Your dedicated manager will be there for you on site on the day of your event and will focus on your needs, so you can enjoy your event without worry.

Question 2: How does the company hold food at the proper temperature while at events?

Transporting food from the prep location, such as a kitchen, to your event venue will require the caterer to hold the food at the proper temperature for safety and to prevent food-borne illness. They must also use containers and implements certified by the NSF. Most importantly, all food must be stored and held at the proper temperature whether hot or cold based on the health department regulations. That can be achieved using a variety of tools such as portable food warmers, soft coolers, and heating lamps.

At the end of the day, always make sure you are asking any potential caterer how they will ensure your food is never subjected to potentially risky conditions when making your decision and always holding the food at the proper temperatures.

Question 3: What types of serving options do you have?

Many caterers have buffet style options – this includes the caterer bringing your breakfast, lunch or dinner selections in either a casual style with warmers where guests serves themselves or may include a team from the caterer to prepare your food selections on-site and serve your guests through the buffet line from upscale and stylish serving platters. If you’re looking to have a themed or extravagant event, our team can even create custom serving options to fit your unique needs.

Full service catering is an additional option provided by caterers with a full breadth of team members to provide bartenders, servers, prep staff and even an on-site chef to manage everything from A to Z when serving your guests and ensuring that everything is clean and packed up after the event.

Question 4: Do you have accommodations for dietary restrictions or allergens?

Catering for Dietary Restrictions
Do you need gluten-free pasta for a dish like this? We can do that!

More guests than ever are asking for accommodations for dietary restrictions such as vegan, gluten-free (Keto and Paleo), vegetarian. Many more need accommodations for allergies, such as nuts, shellfish, and gluten (Celiac disease). Allergies can be irritating at best, and life-threatening at worst. We can make accommodations based on these needs for nearly any restriction. Of course we can fulfill most requests when we know up front, so be sure to include special meal needs in your invitation. It’s just one of the many custom services G Texas offers, because we’re more than just food and drink delivery.

In Conclusion

While this isn’t an all inclusive list of questions that may arise when you’re searching for a full service caterer they are some of the more popular ones that we often get asked. Here at G-Texas were here to accommodate you no matter what you need even if your ask is a little of kilter (we’re looking at you pretzel wall? 😉) we’re pretty sure we can do it! Check out Instagram to see some of the unique events that we’ve had the pleasure of catering recently. Looking for full service bar, venue locators and more to add to your food service catering? Check out our blog to see what the G can do for you click here to read!

G Texas Catering: What Do You Need the G To Be?

event venue in dallas

There are a lot of catering companies to choose from in North Texas. Great ones, in fact! But what separates a good catering company from the best is what they do to cater to your needs. They should be more than just food and drinks. Your caterer should create atmosphere and ambiance, scale to fill large venues or create intimate gatherings. Our team has years of experience planning and executing events of all kinds, long-lasting relationships with venues and planners. Our reputation has made G Texas Catering the premier event catering company for corporate, wedding, social, charity, large volume bar events and more. The only question is: What do you need the G to be?

Full Service Catering – Guaranteed & Gratifying

Full-service catering in north texasHiring a full-service caterer makes perfect sense if you are in charge of planning a gathering of any size or celebration. Whether it be a wedding reception, employee party, family get together, or any function, it can be difficult to pull off on your own. Here at G-Texas we offer full-service catering and have a team of experts on hand to help you with the event planning tasks guaranteed to please the crowd. From menu decisions and venue selections, all the way to event setup and cleanup, we do it all! Not only do we offer exceptional gratifying food along with expert planning, we offer it at an affordable price making G-Texas the best catering option in North Texas.

Custom Catering Solutions – Gourmet, Global and Just Dang Good

Creating the stunning event that you dreamt of begins with a vision. Our unique custom gourmet solutions will make your vision a reality. We work directly with you to create the artsy or corporate execution needed to dazzle your visitors. Establish an extraordinary dish curated from our gourmet chefs with global-inspired creations and allow our team to take your event to the next level. That said, if you’re in the market for dang good Texan cuisine, our team can cook up some of the best steaks and barbecue in town for your event. We have sample menus available or would love to talk to you directly about your dream menu!

Catering Venues – Grandiose to Granular

crashed toys event venue in dallasIn our 20 years of catering in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we’ve catered to nearly every type of local venue under the warm Texan sun. From grandiose venues like Gilley’s Dallas where we’ve served over 3,000 guests, quirky venues like CrashedToys, to smaller and intimate venues like the Artisan Hall Terrace at our very own craft kitchen and bar at The Artisan, our powerhouse team of experts will craft the menu and experience down to the granular details that your exceed your expectations. See our full list of partners or reach out to talk about your venue needs!

In Conclusion

When it comes to selecting a caterer for your next event we know you have lots of options. However we know that we’re the best! From our guaranteed and gratifying full service catering to make us your one stop shop for all your catering needs. To our gourmet, global, and just dang good custom solutions for food options to fit any taste you desire. Our venues can accommodate the grandiose large events to granular intimate gatherings no matter what you’re celebrating. Here at G Texas we have all the experience to ensure that your next event is everything you imagined and more. Check out all our services and offerings then contact us when you’re ready to start planning!