Cocktail party catering: Put the focus on the party

Planning a cocktail party without cocktail party catering means fun cocktail party attire, good music, creative drinks, time with friends - and coming up with cocktail party foods! Planning a cocktail party with a catering service means you get to take advantage of all the fun things about a cocktail party, and let someone else take care of cocktail party recipes and the cooking and clean up!

Employing a cocktail party catering service means you'll get more time with your guests during the party, and more time to focus on the things that you like before the party. Maybe you'd rather spend your time coming up with a cocktail party theme - or cocktail party decorations. Hiring a cocktail party catering company will allow you to do just that.

Pairing food with the theme

At a cocktail party, a lot of focus is on the food and its presentation. Because people usually are standing around, mingling, talking - and of course, holding a cocktail! - the cocktail party appetizers need to match the feel of the evening. Experienced catering professionals will likely have many of these appetizer suggestions in the repertoire for you to choose from. Typical cocktail party catering foods are easy to eat, bite sized and not too messy. Guests should be able to eat them with one hand, and not have a huge mess by the time they're done.

If you've got a specific theme in mind - like a girls' cosmopolitan cocktail party, or a tropically themed party, or maybe a bachelorette party - just any "normal" cocktail party appetizers won't suffice! You'll need foods to match your drinks, your decorations, and the overall impression of the party. Top caterers can help you with this and provide helpful suggestions. Cocktail party catering companies will also be open to your suggestions, and can make your perfect party vision come to life!

Some of these companies even offer services where they help pair your theme, decorations and cocktail foods together, to make sure everything comes off looking put together. You need to decide before you interview or hire a cocktail party catering company what you expect them to do, and what you're willing to pay for these services.

How to pick a cocktail party catering service

An experienced, professional, cocktail party catering team will make your food prep, service, and clean up a breeze. While this is a completely different genre than a catered business event, lunch caterer, or even a dinner party catering service, many catering companies are able to roll all these offerings into one enterprise. So just because a catering company is known for one thing, doesn't mean it won't be good for your cocktail party catering needs. There are also companies, of course, who specialize in cocktail parties.

And if you have a favorite appetizer at a favorite restaurant, ask them if they do any party catering.  You may even be able to pick up their specialty to serve, and not have to pay for a complete cocktail party catering service!