[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$favVhQZxR6ND4oe6riFe43P7ZzDmjuua2xXpzd1WScXk":3},{"post":4},{"slug":5,"title":6,"excerpt":7,"content":8,"publishedAt":9,"image":10,"categories":11,"readingMinutes":12,"sourceUrl":13},"when-should-catering-be-ordered","When Should Catering Be Ordered for an Event?","When should catering be ordered? Plan office lunches and events with the right lead time, great food, dietary care and dependable London delivery for teams.","\u003Cp>A client lunch moved from 12 to 25 guests. The team breakfast is suddenly on the same day as a board meeting. Someone remembers, at 4pm on Thursday, that Friday’s all-hands needs feeding. These are familiar workplace moments, and they raise the same question: \u003Cstrong>when should catering be ordered\u003C/strong>?\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The short answer is: earlier than you may think for events that matter, but not so early that you are ordering before the details are clear. The right lead time depends on guest numbers, food format, dietary requirements, delivery access and how much choice you want. Good corporate catering is not just food arriving at the door. It is food arriving on time, tasting great and working for every person in the room.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>When should catering be ordered for a workplace event?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>For a straightforward office lunch, ordering two to three working days ahead usually gives you the best balance of menu choice and certainty. For a larger meeting, client event or celebration, allow at least one to two weeks. If the event involves a bespoke menu, plated service, multiple delivery points or a venue with strict access rules, start the conversation three to four weeks ahead.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>That does not mean every lunch requires a long planning process. Flexible catering platforms can often support short-notice orders, particularly for smaller teams. But last-minute availability is naturally narrower. The most popular independent Makers, specific menu items and early delivery slots may already be booked.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Ordering ahead gives you more than a place in the diary. It gives you time to choose food people will genuinely look forward to, rather than settling for the only option available.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>Match the lead time to the occasion\u003C/h2>\n\u003Ch3>Everyday team lunches: two to three working days\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>A regular team lunch, project kick-off or training day is usually simple to organise when you have confirmed numbers and a clear budget. Two to three working days is a sensible window for \u003Ca href=\"https://anddine.co.uk/blog/boxed-lunches-for-workplace-meetings\">boxed lunches\u003C/a>, sharing platters, buffet-style spreads and casual hot food.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>This is also enough time to collect \u003Ca href=\"https://anddine.co.uk/blog/office-catering-dietary-requirements\">dietary requirements\u003C/a> properly. Asking colleagues after the order has gone in can create avoidable complications, particularly where allergies or vegan, halal or gluten-free meals need careful handling. Confirm who is attending, what they need and whether those meals should be clearly labelled before placing the order.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>For recurring workplace meals, planning even further ahead is useful. A regular schedule removes the weekly scramble and lets teams enjoy variety without repeating the same predictable spread. Great office food should feel considered, not like an afterthought from a soulless kitchen.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3>Client meetings and leadership sessions: one to two weeks\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Food is part of the experience when clients, senior leaders or candidates are in the room. It signals preparation, care and the standard your business sets. For these occasions, a week or two provides room to select a menu that fits the meeting rather than merely fills a gap in the agenda.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Think about the practicalities as well as the food. A working lunch may call for neat, individual portions that can be eaten without interrupting the conversation. A longer workshop might suit replenishable sharing platters, snacks and an afternoon sweet treat. An early board meeting needs breakfast that is ready before the first attendee arrives, not when the meeting is already under way.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>It is worth checking building procedures at this stage. Reception sign-in, goods lifts, security clearance and limited loading access can all affect delivery timing. A defined delivery window is particularly valuable in busy London offices, where a five-minute delay can disrupt a tightly planned schedule.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3>Team celebrations and office events: two to four weeks\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Summer parties, company milestones, product launches, Christmas celebrations and larger socials benefit from more lead time. These events often involve changing guest lists, a wider range of dietary needs and a menu designed to create a sense of occasion.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Two to four weeks gives you more freedom to choose. You can explore generous grazing tables, restaurant-standard sharing dishes, celebration cakes or a menu built around a particular cuisine. It also gives caterers time to plan quantities sensibly, especially if food is being served in stages or alongside drinks.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The trade-off is that guest numbers may still be uncertain. Rather than waiting for every RSVP, order against a realistic estimate and agree a cut-off date for final numbers. Ask attendees to confirm early, then update the catering order once. Constant small changes are harder to manage than one clear final amendment.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch3>Bespoke or high-stakes events: four weeks or more\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp>Some events need a longer runway. Think investor presentations, press days, multi-session conferences, large-scale breakfasts or dinners with plated dishes and staffed service. Here, catering becomes part of the event production.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Start at least four weeks ahead, and earlier during peak periods. The brief should cover timings, number of guests, service style, venue constraints, dietary needs, budget and the atmosphere you want to create. Do you need a polished breakfast laid out before guests arrive? A colourful lunch that encourages people to mingle? An elegant dinner where each course is served at a precise time?\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>A dedicated event catering team can turn those details into a workable plan, coordinating the food without asking an office manager to chase multiple suppliers. That is especially useful when quality and reliability matter equally.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>The details that can change your timing\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Guest count is the obvious factor, but it is not the only one. A lunch for 15 with seven different dietary requirements may need more planning than a lunch for 40 with a simple, inclusive menu. Likewise, a breakfast of pastries and fruit is easier to arrange at short notice than hot food for a meeting with a fixed start time.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Your chosen format matters. Individually boxed meals are efficient for desk lunches, hybrid meetings and events where people need to eat at different times. Sharing platters and buffets are better for connection, but require serving space, utensils and a little more thought about portions. Plated food or staffed service needs the longest lead time because timing, equipment and venue logistics all need to align.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Seasonality matters too. December, summer party season and the weeks around major events in London tend to be busier. If your event falls on a Thursday or Friday, or needs an early-morning slot, ordering sooner protects your choice. The same applies when you want food from a particular independent kitchen rather than a generic menu.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>Do not leave dietary planning until the final email\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Dietary requirements are not a footnote. They are part of making colleagues and guests feel included. Send a short request for allergies and preferences as soon as the event is confirmed, with a clear deadline for responses.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Then share the information accurately with your caterer. Be specific where necessary: a nut allergy requires different care from a preference to avoid nuts, and coeliac guests need confidence that gluten-free food has been handled appropriately. It is also useful to ask for clear labels, particularly for shared food. People should not have to interrogate a platter before they can eat from it.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>A menu designed with inclusion in mind often reduces complexity. A balanced selection of plant-based, meat and gluten-free-friendly options means fewer separate meals and more choice for everyone.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>How to order earlier without overcommitting\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The fear of getting numbers wrong is one reason catering gets left too late. A simple planning sequence can prevent that. Confirm the date, venue and rough attendance first. Choose a food format and budget next. Then place a provisional order or speak to the catering team about availability, finalising guest numbers by an agreed date.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Keep one person responsible for updates. When several people make changes through different channels, details get missed. A centralised ordering process also makes it easier to track costs, dietary notes and delivery instructions.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>For workplaces that feed teams regularly, consider creating a few reliable order templates: a 20-person breakfast, a 40-person sharing lunch, or a \u003Ca href=\"https://anddine.co.uk/blog/how-to-cater-client-meetings\">client meeting package\u003C/a>. You still have room to vary the food, but the operational work is already done. &Dine can support this with flexible ad-hoc ordering, recurring workplace meals and higher-touch event planning, depending on what the occasion needs.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2>A better rule than “as late as possible”\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>If the food is there simply to keep a meeting moving, a couple of working days may be enough. If it needs to impress clients, bring a team together or support a carefully planned event, give it the time it deserves. Ordering early does not make catering complicated. It gives you better food, clearer choices and fewer messages to send on the morning itself.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Set the date, ask about diets and book the delivery window while the event is still taking shape. Your guests will notice the difference when the food arrives ready to share, not rushed into the room.\u003C/p>","2026-11-02T02:10:37.000Z","https://afocirmbqdxnkyescnev.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/featured-images/58e1f3fd-5f62-4aef-9ba2-268336efc3aa/workflows/377ff6d5-b68a-491f-ba68-8a8f583ad459.webp",[],7,"https://anddine.co.uk/when-should-catering-be-ordered"]