An important aspect of any event, is the menu. Any quality restaurant, hotel or catering service should offer a menu tasting opportunity to their clients before event day, especially in the case of personal events such as a wedding or large family reunion.

Menu tasting is not just about whether or not you enjoy the food, it is also a general quality control measure for your event. The meal you serve will play a major part of how much everyone, you as the host as well as your guests, will ultimately enjoy the event, and is one of the few things you can actually preview before the big day.

Here are a few reasons why menu tasting is a necessary step in your event planning process.

You get a better understanding of your menu and service

Whether buffet style or individual servings, you are likely going to select a menu of multiple courses for your event. Your menu tasting is an occasion to see how all the flavours from the various dishes go together, and will also give you an opportunity to pair your meal with an appropriate selection of wine, cocktails or other beverage options.

Even if it’s something as simple as rearranging the order of dishes served, or narrowing down side dishes as per the choices provided by the caterer, your tasting session will give you that overall vibe and feel of event day and what to expect service-wise.

So that you have no unpleasant surprises

In a menu with multiple courses, it is likely you will enjoy certain dishes more than others. It is possible that caterers might just add in a few ‘menu fillers’ to the list that may (or may not) complement the flavours of the other dishes, but might not be that enjoyable to the people eating them.

Whether it means knowing that your guest list may not have a high spice tolerance, or simply swapping out a dish that contains an ingredient you don’t enjoy, pre-sampling your entire menu will help you avoid any unwanted surprises.

This also avoids any unpleasant feedback after your event, or having to unfairly give your caterer a less-than-positive review later.

To make sure the menu represents you (and your loved ones)

When hosting people dearest to you, it is important that you share with them a bit of yourself (even if you’re not the one cooking and serving the meal!). For personal events such as weddings, menu sampling allows you to add that personal touch to your catering choices; for example for couples who love a certain foreign cuisine or met in a foreign country, to arrange for that cuisine to be served to their invitees.

Menu tasting will not only give you the chance to share all your favourite tastes and dishes with your guests, it will also give you a chance to tell a bit of your story via the food you serve.

And finally, menu tasting will also give you the chance to sample the alternative versions of dishes for any of your guests with dietary restrictions or specific meal preferences, making sure those dishes are of equal quality while feeling assured that all your loved ones feel included.

Looking for a personalised menu for your next event? Select pre-packaged bundle menus or even select multiple a la carte dishes for you and your guests for your nex party! Check out the all-new Party Planning services on GemSpot on website and mobile!