Catering an upcoming Grad party or Summer kick off? Read what our Catering & Sales Director had to say!
Question: How do I get Gaetano’s catered food in my nice ceramic platters? All of our catering items are served in aluminum trays. We do offer take and bake options that include cooking instructions, these can be brought home and then transferred personal ceramic platters for your event.
Question: What is the best way to set up the food? We recommend setting your buffet line to create a natural flow for your guests. Plates should always be at the start of the buffet line, followed by salads and then your main entrée items such as pastas and proteins. Your buffet line should conclude with bread so that guests can put a roll on top of the food, then cutlery and napkins to avoid going back through the line to grab additional items- unless its for seconds!
Question: Paper plates and plasticware. Or ceramic dishes and utensils? What would you serve? It depends on the type of event your planning! A more formal event may warrant ceramic dishes and true cutlery, however this may leave more to clean up once your event is complete. We do provide paper plates, plastic cutlery, napkins and serving spoons complimentary upon request- which could help in reducing the stress of event set up and clean up.
Question: How do we keep the food warm? To keep your food warm until your guests arrive, set your oven to 150 degrees and place your items on a baking sheet. Be sure to keep the plastic and aluminum lid on your items as this will help to retain the heat. Dishes can be kept in the oven for up to two hours. Mix your items before serving to your guests. *We include warming and reheating instructions with all our catering orders!
Question: Where can I get a chaffing dish? Do your trays work in a chaffing dish? Single use wire chaffing dishes and sternos can be purchased from large retailers and most grocery stores like Smart and Final, Costco and Ralph’s. Our aluminum pans will fit directly inside the single use vessels and sternos can be utilized to keep the food warm throughout your party.
Reusable chaffing dishes such as stainless steel, can be rented from most local party supply companies such as Bright Event Rentals or Ace Party Rentals. Your food items in this case would then need to be transferred from the aluminum trays we provide to the stainless steel inserts that come with the chaffing dishes. Sternos may not be included, be sure to ask your party rental professional when inquiring.
Question: How do we keep the food cold? We recommend keeping your cold items such as salads and appetizers in the fridge until as close to serving time as possible. This ensures your cold items will be presented to your guests cold versus room temperature.
Question: If you were planning a Grad party, what would you order from Gaetano’s? For a daytime graduation party, our sandwich platters are always a hit. You can order one type of sandwich for all guests or customize your sandwich options to get more of a variety to please many palates. For an evening party, a combination of any of our pastas or main entrees would be crowd pleasers. All menu items can be paired with any of our starters such as our bruschetta and fruit trays or any of fresh green salads to create a complete meal. Whether a day time or evening function, we highly recommend adding on dessert to leave your guests with a sweet treat!
**Please be sure to order in advance with at least 24 hours notice so our team can prepare everything in time.**
Click To Order Catering Online
Or call our Catering Department at 310-326-8371 to place your order.
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