Did you know that Chicago was voted best big city in the US for five consecutive years? It’s clear how genuinely well-loved the city is by locals and tourists alike. With its unique neighbourhood and spaces with an amazing vibe and personality, it’s also no surprise that it is a hotspot for events by clients and event planners alike. So, if you’re planning an event in Chicago and you need an affordable event caterers in the area, we have listed down your top 10 options below:
If it’s a trusted event catering you want with 50 years of experience, then Jewell Events and Catering is the right caterer for you. They offer their services for special events and weddings. Their clients range from corporate, philanthropic, social and arts organisations/individuals. They provide creative, cutting edge cuisine paired with seamless execution.
The Hearty Boys is a nationally recognised catering company, mainly attributed to its signature style that blends contemporary urban sophistication with casual charm. One of Chicago’s best-known catering companies headed by Chefs Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh – a couple for 25 years. It’s a family run business with both the chefs involved in every step of your event, from initial menu creation to final meal preparation.
With more than ten years of experience, Cocina Fusion is a full-service Chicago catering company that specialises in a wide array of culinary expressions. They cater to events such as weddings, corporate, non-profit, and social. In addition, they offer complete dinner services, interactive dinner stations, brunch menus, bar services, and late-night snacks.
This full-service catering services company has been a certified women-owned business for over 30 years. They can create custom menus for various events, such as corporate, weddings, or social events, to fit the client’s budget, unique taste, and dietary requirements. They provide delicious food, beautiful presentation, and friendly staff to complete the recipe of a successful event.
Naveen’s Cuisine is Chicago’s best recreational cooking school. But, of course, they also provide catering services to events that need it. The team, headed by Chef Naveen, will be happy to help you prepare the right menu then prepare and serve them during your event. In addition, as they have been in the industry for 16 years, the team is well-experienced to cater private parties to large events.
For over 35 years, Blue Plate Catering has been one of Chicago’s most trusted catering services, with approximately 186 square metres of service facility. It’s in this state-of-the-art facility that they cook safe and healthy food for their customers. In addition, they have a team of specialists that will help cater for events of all shapes and sizes, from corporate meetings to galas and other social occasions.
For more information about their catering packages and menus, contact them over the phone (312.421.6666) or connect with them through their social media accounts, such as Facebook or Instagram.
Owned by Ted Grady and Chef Kevin Kelly, J&L Catering is another long-reigning catering services company in Chicago. It has been in the industry for more than 31 years with the goal of bringing freshness and creativity to each client’s custom catering needs. They also work closely with local and organic vendor partners, ensuring that their ingredients are sustainably and responsibly sourced.
Honest Foods catering offers inventive and intuitive menus to events. Whether it be private dinings, extravagant weddings, or regular corporate events and meetings, the team will make sure you will enjoy only delicious and fresh food. They also offer onsite catering through their Step-Van that boasts two full-size ovens, ready to cook good food.
D’absolute Catering can accommodate events ranging from 15 to 1000 guests. Since all events have their own catering needs, they take their time to customise and personalise menus and services for each event. They offer Full-Service Catering, Outdoor Events and Picnics, Drop Off and Set-Up Services, and Premium Bar Service.
Pinstripes offers dining, bowling and bocce all in one location. The space can host events, and you can also hire them for catering services. However, they are also not remiss in offering catering services to various events all over Chicago. They are deemed a local lunch catering company in the city for their selection of menus that can be customised through its Create A Plate Packages.
Below are the packages/menu they offer:
Breakfast
Breakfast Bagels
Breakfast Platters
Breakfast Sandwich Platters
Individual Items (e.g., Fruit bowl, granola and yoghourt parfait)
Lunch
Party Platters
Create A Plate
As a bustling city, it is no surprise that Chicago is filled with events big and small. As an event planner, you need to have event caterer partners that you can trust to provide delicious food for your clients with due diligence when it comes to requirements, special diets, and more. With that, we hope that our list above can help you find the best caterer for your future events.
For many event planners, it is a dream to have an event go as smoothly as they envisioned. But unless they can see into the future, most planned events don’t always go our way. Accidents and last-minute crises happen. If they are not resolved immediately, the whole event can go awry. That’s why having a crisis management plan is essential to minimise the risks and accidents. It’s also a helpful guide for handling an unfortunate situation so planners and hosts can promptly address incidents.
In event planning, practicality and being prepared is king. And quick-thinking skills can only be enhanced by having a crisis plan for every event you organise.
What is a crisis management plan?
A crisis plan or crisis management plan outlines the responses to a critical situation that would negatively affect an organisation or an event. In terms of event planning, a crisis plan lays down the possible crisis that may arise and the appropriate reactions or solutions for them.
A crisis can happen anywhere at any time. And the event industry is no stranger to those.
Why crisis management is important
With a crisis plan, you can avoid both significant problems that arise as well as minor hiccups that may sneak up on you. For instance, what would you do if the participants got held up by the entrance because your check-in software suddenly did not work? Or what if the keynote speaker did not show up? These are only a few of the possible scenarios that can come up. Other significant problems like natural disasters, security issues, medical accidents, etc., can also affect a planned event big time, which is why as an event planner, having a crisis plan in place is of utmost importance.
Moreover, mishandling crises can also incur planners additional costs, mess up the timings or even increase delays of planned activities or talks, and most importantly, compromise the guests’ level of satisfaction. This could seriously affect the image of the companies involved in the event. And poor handling of unfortunate events can leave an indelible mark on the hosts’ reputation and the event planners themselves.
Purpose of a crisis plan
Now that we know the importance of crisis management, creating a crisis plan should follow. A good crisis plan must be tailored to a specific event, be it a meeting, a conference, a trade show. And with the help of partners or sponsors and public safety departments, an event planner should identify all possible emergencies. When creating a plan, the organiser should also consider the audience or participants, both the size and the demographics.
Preparing for crisis management
Creating a thorough crisis plan
A good crisis plan specifies all the rules that need to be followed, and it also considers a wide variety of possible crises and their corresponding responses. For a specific program for a particular event, you will need to adapt your plan to cover the distinctions of that area and the client and hosts.
For example, consider these questions when creating your crisis plan:
What resources are available in the venue/location to help deal with an incident?
What are the closest medical facilities? Their hours of operation?
Where is the nearest embassy, and how can you contact them?
Crisis communications
The key to effective crisis management is communication. Especially so if you’re handling a big event since one person can’t be in many places at once, communicating with your team is essential. When establishing crisis communications, you can first identify the event audience. Which ones are the attendees, partners (speakers, sponsors, exhibitors), suppliers (security, logistics, venue staff, catering), journalists, and colleagues?
Next, you assign an audience’ owner’ from your team as the primary contact points for each category. These owners should also create the contact lists of the audience they’re assigned to and collate them into a database or registration software so you can easily update this information.
Have a transparent chain of command
Have a tiered plan that details decision-making and escalation in an emergency. First, it needs to be clear who needs to be involved when resolving the crisis and who needs to be contacted to make a decision. This is a standard approach and should be established on-site. Doing so provides clarity of command and lets your staff operate in an organised manner.
Aside from the internal team, the event partners and sponsors should also know who to contact first from your team if an emergency arises. Doing a program pre-con is an excellent way to establish this. If your client has their own security or risk management team, you should also determine their place in the chain of command and identify which situations they will handle and which ones need your team’s attention.
Collect necessary information and documentation
Gathering the attendees’ information and documenting it is vital to communicate with them if an incident occurs. That means collecting their contact information and their emergency contact information.
And suppose you have attendees flying in from overseas. In that case, we also recommend you collect information such as passport details in case of an incident that requires contacting their country’s embassy. Gathering information and documentation is key to protecting your team legally.
Event crisis plan flow
Before:
Prevention: assessing risks, diagnosis of possible situations, a roadmap to action
Transparency clarity in decision making
Crisis management plan
During
Find out the facts
Track solutions
Communicate about the efforts with clear messages
Speak simply and avoid technical terms
Monitor media and public relation
Have a single spokesperson
Have a public response ready
After the crisis
Discuss the case and document it
Update your crisis plan according to the outcome
Transform the situation into an opportunity
Conclusion
In any event, whether big or small, being prepared is key to ensuring that things go as smoothly as possible. And while we can’t prevent accidents from happening, we can surely anticipate them and resolve them with a good crisis plan.
Event planners have a lot to think about. Not only do you need to think about the location and decor, but choosing the best event caterer is also another significant factor. Doing this will ensure that your guests will truly enjoy your event to the fullest. Below we have listed some of the top affordable event caterers in Sydney.
Fit For A King Catering has been in the business for 35 years. It is known as Sydney’s most iconic and trusted bouquet catering company. It has been the benchmark in Sydney regarding food quality, value, and personalised catering service standards. The team behind these delicious meals sticks to the food and family theme throughout their services.
When it comes to corporate and office catering, Feedwell Catering Sydney offers the freshest meals and dishes! Whether office meetings, corporate events, virtual lunches, or staff meal plans, you can count on their team to deliver and help you out. Their menu has plenty of healthy options available either in platters or individually packed. They also offer last-minute catering!
Enjoy exquisite culinary platters and bites through the Catering Project! Each of their meals and dishes is perfected by the team to suit every social or corporate function. In addition, they have a diverse selection of products that can cater to everyone, no matter their dietary requirements. So, they may be just the right team for clients with particular tastes.
Roaming Gourmet is another catering company that has been in the business for 30 years! With their extensive experience providing catering services for clients, they understand how to work around budget constraints to get the maximum value of every dollar. Set menus will help you control your costs, or you can also request a menu tailored to your budget or occasion.
Below are the packages/menu they offer:
Menu 1
Fried steak on a grill from beef, Feugiat vitae leo, Aussie BBQ
Menu 2
Mexican special potatoes, Vegetarian special dinner, Special American polenta, etc.
Menu 3
Vegetarian special dinner, In faucibus, Suspendisse arcu nisl, etc.
Catering Zone is a team of bespoke caterers, offering fast and convenient catering services to corporates and individuals. They provide curated artisanal catering delivered all around Sydney. More than that, they also source their ingredients from Australia’s best suppliers to ensure freshness and quality with their food.
Food Geek Sydney offers crafted menus with options that would suit the taste of even the fussiest eaters. So, if you have clients with particular tastes and dietary requirements, hire the help of the Food Geek team. Also, paired with their no-fuss theme, their ordering platform is very straightforward, making it easy to navigate and use.
Provide your clients and guests with epic catering with NY-style hand-made pizzas! They offer 22″ pizzas that are not only big in size but also amazing in flavour. Other than pizza, they also offer salad, nachos, waffle fries, and cheesy bombs. Of course, you’ll find a wide variety of pizzas on their menu: New York style, meat, chicken, seafood, and vegetarian.
Bayleaf Event Catering is one of the top-ranking caterers in Sydney. They make sure to provide culinary delights to their clients and fantastic service through the help of their hand-picked culinary team. They have been catering for over 20 years but is now considered luxury event catering.
Fill your event with the unique traditional foods of Mexico. They make sure to use quality products while keeping them affordable to customers. The team provides quality gluten-free products, authentic tortillas, and signature brown rice as a staple. More than that, they also offer fun fiesta boxes – tasty interactive boxes that are filled with Mexican food delights.
Below are the packages/menu they offer:
Big Mexican Fiesta
Mixed empanadas
Ceviche or chorizo
Mini assorted burrito tacos with our slow-cooked Angus beef, Chipotle chicken, Baja fish, vegan or carnitas pork
Quesadillas
Nachos & dips
Churros & chocolate
Corporate Banquet/Wedding
Taco king
Pablito’s taco party
South American barbecue
Stand up cocktail food
Sydney is a bustling city! One of the reasons that make this city so busy is the events that happen left and right every day. To help these events, including yours, be successful, many catering companies offer affordable and top-notch services and delicious food that will leave your client satisfied. So, we hope that our list above can guide you to the best event caterer for your event.
A lot can happen when planning and executing an event, and as the event planner, you need to consider everything to make sure that everything goes smoothly and that everyone is safe. With so many risks, how do you make sure that you have an eye on all of them? More than that, do you also have the correct procedures to deal with them if they happen during the event? This is where the risk register/assessment comes in. This blog will define “risk register/assessment” and a simple guide you can follow to create one as the event planner.
A definition
A risk register/assessment is commonly used in project management and risk management. Its primary role is to identify potential risks. Sometimes, it’s made to pass regulatory requirements, but it’s always a helpful tool whether required or not.
A risk register should be a part of your risk management plan, which helps make sure that everything goes according to plan during the event. Other than identifying risks, it also helps you manage those risks and deal with them if they should happen.
Admittedly, you can’t always anticipate every risk that might happen during an event’s planning, execution, and closing. But, with a risk register in place, you can track each known risk and be able to respond quickly in case they become a real problem at your event.
How to create a risk register for your events
So, now that you know what a risk register is let’s talk about how you can create your own with this simple guide.
1. Brainstorm potential risks
Get your team together and brainstorm possible risks that may come up pre, mid, and post-event. Ask your various event team members to get their ideas on what risks they may face in their particular job.
For instance, when planning an outdoor event, a potential risk may be a change in weather. So, you’ll need to make sure that you have a backup plan that agrees with your client.
2. Define each risk
When identifying risks, make sure to be thorough when describing them so you understand whether they are a real issue or not. Following our weather risk example during outdoor events, don’t simply write “weather”. Instead, be specific and say, “event date is near the start of the rainy season, so possible quick weather changes despite an all-day sunny weather forecast.”
3. Identify risk impact
If you successfully describe each risk, you will need to have a clear idea of how it will impact your event. Going back to our weather risk example, a change in weather is clear to have a massive impact on your event as it will force guests to change location. Or, when you’re currently filling the area with decorations, and it rains, it may damage the decorations and derail all your efforts so far. With that, “weather” is a risk with a high level of impact.
Also, there are three levels of risks – high, medium and low. Categorising risks through these levels will make the next step much easier.
4. Make a risk response plan
So, you identified and defined risks and specified their impact level; the next step is to create a response plan for each risk. This is another essential part of your risk register, as it will need a lot of time and effort to plan it properly. You’ll need to be thorough but straightforward without being too excessive. Make a plan that you can implement quickly if the risk becomes a real problem.
Categorising the risks into low, medium and high also helps to understand the amount of effort to the response plan. For example, if the risk is high level, you will want to address it immediately and put it before other risks that may be low or medium.
5. Assign risk owners
And finally, assign owners to risks. This is an excellent way to delegate and ensure that every risk is well accounted for. Ensuring that potential risks are quickly mitigated before they become irreversible.
Event planners are always busy, and a slight hurdle can be disastrous when not solved immediately. But with an effective risk management plan in place, you can be more confident that your event will proceed smoothly, pre-, mid-, and post-.
Welcome to the bustling City of Angels, where seeing celebrities is every day! This prominent city, known as the home for the rich and the famous, boasts countless venues for your event. And while you may think that these venues will take a lot out of your pocket, there are several event spaces out there that are available at an affordable price. Check out these low-cost venues in Los Angeles below.
Don’t be surprised if we will be featuring quite a few Concrete Studios’ event spaces in our list. With so many venues available for the public, we just can’t choose a favourite since all of them offer the best space. For instance, we first have Studio A and B in their main office. Studio A features creative walls, while Studio B features beautiful natural light. Each event space has its own set of amenities available for use, especially if you’re renting the space for a photoshoot or a film.
Location: 1340 East 6th Street, Suite 104 (Main Office), Los Angeles, CA 90021 Capacity: Up to 12 people max Price: Starts at £37/hour Travel: Near 6th / Alameda Bus Stop
Next, we also have Studios C to G. Studio C boasts floor-to-ceiling windows up to 9 feet that let in the beautiful natural light of the city. Studio E features a white background, while Studio G is the opposite with its bright-coloured sets. The former has a roll-up door, a makeup station, and a white brick wall that you can use. Meanwhile, Studio G has an inspired theme bar, a mirror wall, and others. The studios all have a vast space with various equipment and amenities included.
Location: 1340 East 6th Street, Suite 104 (Main Office), Los Angeles, CA 90021 Capacity: Up to 12 people max Price: Starts at £37/hour Travel: Near 6th / Alameda Bus Stop
Last on our list that’s located in the main office of Concrete Studios LA is Studio F. Studio F, on the other hand, is the largest space for rent by Creative Studio. It has a 16 x 18ft cyc wall, giving you plenty of room to customize for your event. It has vintage and rustic props that you can use for your event, photoshoot, or film. In addition, it gives off a classic “Vanity Fair” editorial atmosphere which you can use to your advantage if the theme is related to your event.
Location: 1340 East 6th Street, Suite 104 (Main Office), Los Angeles, CA 90021 Capacity: Up to 12 people max Price: Starts at £48/hour Travel: Near 6th / Alameda Bus Stop
Finally, we move towards the second location of Creative Studios LA, located in East Olympic. There are six event spaces/stages to choose from in this location. They all have different themes and designs that will fit your event or photoshoot theme. Admittedly, there are only a few people allowed in each room. So, best contact the management first to further inquiries related to your event. Creative Studios also offers three Rooftop event spaces – potential venues to look into, especially for night events that benefit from the LA city lights.
Location: 1753 East Olympic, LA CA 90021 Capacity: Up to 5 people max Price: Starts at £37/hour to £45/hour Travel: Near Olympic / Alameda Bus Stop
Embassy Suites is Hilton LA’s Glendale Hotel. It is near Griffith Park, LA Zoo, The Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, and other exciting attractions. The hotel boasts up to 5,000 sq. ft. of event space available for all sorts of events such as weddings, private or office parties, meetings, and more. There’s also on-site catering available so that you won’t have any worry about food and drinks for your guests. Of course, prices and capacity depend on the venue and package of your choice.
Location: 800 N Central Ave, Glendale, CA 91203 Capacity: From 50 up to 380 guests (depending on the venue) Price: Starts at £2/person up to £78/person (depending on the package) Travel: Near Central at Arden Bus Stop
Located in the heart of the Fashion District of Downtown Los Angeles is Custom Made Creative Studios that caters to various events. This includes exhibitions, auditions, meetings, private parties, food and drinks tasting, training, workshops, seminars, corporate events, and more. It is a bright space with an area of 1,600 sq. ft, making it extremely roomy. In addition, it boasts natural light and an expressive atmosphere that gives good vibes to guests. There’s a variety of equipment and amenities available for your event. You can also customize the setup according to event requirements.
Location: Maple Avenue, 1206, Los Angeles, 90015 Capacity: Up to 60 people Price: Starts at £41/hour Travel: Near Pico Blvd & Maple Ave Bus Stop
Mo’s House of Ax is “the axe-throwing destination that has it all.” This venue has a unique crafty bar and event space. Here, guests can “eat, drink, and throw!” It’s a contemporary craftsman home, newly-built in mid-city LA. It has over 9,000 sq. ft. of space that you can use to your full advantage for a variety of events such as private parties, office or corporate events, graduations, weddinG — and even divorce! With an axe-throwing bar included, your guests will surely enjoy their stay in this venue.
Location: South Western Avenue, 611, Los Angeles, 90005 Capacity: Up to 500 people Price: Starts at £35/hour Travel: Near 6th & Western (Eastbound) Bus Stop
Also located in the heart of LA, this event space features thoughtful architectural details and a stylish interior for your events. It boasts natural yet diffused lights to match the whole team. Moreover, it also has a lush backyard if you want to host your event outdoors. It can also accommodate bounce houses for those kids’ parties. It’s a fresh space with four bedrooms, perfect for photoshoots and events. In-house catering is, of course, available, but outside catering is also allowed. The kitchen is only open for light prep for catering and not cooking a full meal.
Location: South Norton Avenue, 2824, Los Angeles, 90018 Capacity: Up to 100 people Price: Starts at £67/hour Travel: Near Crenshaw / 29th Bus Stop
Let’s end this list with the priciest out of the most affordable venues we can find. With over 8,000 sq. ft. of space, this venue is truly a Hidden Gem in LA. As seen above, it’s a tri-level backspace that consists of a wooden terrace, a paving stone deck, and a garden. The first level can fit up to 40 people, while the remaining levels can fit 100 people each. It’s a charming and tranquil venue, minutes away from Downtown LA, but still a peaceful place surrounded by trees and city views.
Location: Linda Vista Terrace, 3435, Los Angeles, 90032 Capacity: Up to 240 people Price: Starts at £70/hour Travel: Near Huntington / Portola Bus Stop
This list proves that you don’t need to have a large budget to host an event in the famous City of Los Angeles. All you need to do is choose the right venue for your event, budget accordingly, and enjoy!
