A full day of meetings calls for plenty of good ideas, a productive agenda, and preferably, something better than a vending machine lunch.
When you’re organizing an employee training session, company workshop, or all-day conference, food deserves more thought than simply deciding what to serve for lunch. There’s breakfast to consider, coffee to keep flowing, and the all-important question of how to feed everyone without interrupting the agenda.
And while nobody wants attendees going hungry, ordering too much food can be just as frustrating as running out.
The secret to planning catering for an all-day meeting is knowing when to serve food, what makes sense for each break, and how much your group will actually need.
Here’s how to put together a catering plan that keeps everyone fed and your meeting on schedule.
Start With the Agenda
Before choosing breakfast sandwiches or deciding between boxed lunches and a buffet, take a good look at the day’s schedule.
When will people arrive? How long are the presentations? Will attendees stay in one room or move between training sessions? And perhaps most importantly, how much time is actually available for meals?
A meeting that begins at 8 a.m. calls for a different catering plan than one starting at 10 a.m. Similarly, a workshop with several short breaks may need a different approach than a conference with one scheduled lunch hour.
Look for natural stopping points in the agenda. Food service works best when attendees can step away from presentations, enjoy their meal, and return without feeling rushed.
Also, account for the time it takes people to collect their food. A 30-minute lunch break doesn’t provide 30 minutes of eating time when 75 people are waiting in a buffet line.
Build Your Meeting Catering Schedule
One of the easiest ways to plan meals for an all-day meeting is to create a catering timeline alongside the event agenda.
For a typical training day running from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., your schedule might look something like this.
Of course, not every meeting follows a neat schedule. Training sessions with breakout groups, hands-on activities, or rotating instructors may require different meal times.
If your group is moving between rooms, for example, boxed lunches could be easier than asking everyone to return to one central buffet.
A helpful planning trick: Share your meeting agenda with your caterer before finalizing the menu. That way, the food and delivery arrangements can be planned around the times you actually need them.
Choose the Right Breakfast Catering
For meetings that begin early, breakfast can help everyone settle in before the first presentation.
But don’t automatically order a full hot breakfast just because the meeting starts in the morning. Consider when attendees are arriving, whether they’ve had time to eat beforehand, and how soon lunch will be served.
A continental breakfast can work well when guests are arriving over a 30-minute period or the agenda gets underway quickly.
Lee n’ Eddies offers a Traditional Continental Breakfast with assorted Danish, fresh muffins, juices, and accompaniments.
If breakfast is intended to be a more substantial meal, our Good Morning Breakfast includes scrambled eggs with cheese, breakfast sausage or ham, potatoes, biscuits, and fruit.
For smaller training groups, breakfast Party Packs serving approximately 12 to 15 people are another option.
You can explore the selections on our Breakfast Catering Menu.
Whichever option you choose, think about where people will eat. If laptops, paperwork, or training materials cover the tables, it’s worth building a short breakfast period into the schedule rather than expecting everyone to eat during the opening presentation.
Make Lunch Work for Your Meeting
Lunch is usually the biggest meal of an all-day training event, and it’s also where a little planning can save a lot of time.
The best corporate meeting meals depend on how your attendees will spend their lunch break. If everyone has an hour to relax and socialize, a hot buffet can be a welcome change from sitting through presentations.
For shorter breaks or training sessions spread across several rooms, individually packaged meals may be easier to manage.
Here are three lunch catering options worth considering.
Boxed Lunches
Boxed lunches are particularly useful when attendees need to eat quickly or return to separate training rooms.
Lee n’ Eddies offers Executive Box Lunches with sandwich choices such as Turkey Breast and Provolone, Turkey and Ham Club, and the Executive American Sub. Each includes a choice of side, a cookie, condiments, and cutlery.
Sandwich Trays
Sandwich trays work well for casual meetings where people can serve themselves.
Our Lunch Basket includes assorted signature sandwiches, a choice of salad, and cookies and brownies. This option is a good fit for smaller teams or meetings with a flexible lunch period.
Hot Lunch Buffets
If lunch is a scheduled break for everyone to gather, consider serving a hot meal.
A buffet gives attendees an opportunity to step away from their workstations, enjoy a proper meal, and catch up with coworkers.
Lee n’ Eddies offers a variety of options through our Corporate Catering Menu, including drop-off and full-service catering.
One thing to remember is that the serving style matters as much as the food. If you’re feeding a large group, make sure the lunch schedule allows enough time for everyone to get through the line.
Plan Coffee and Beverage Breaks
Coffee has a way of disappearing quickly at an all-day meeting, especially when the morning agenda is packed.
For many attendees, a midmorning break is less about having another meal and more about getting up, stretching, and refilling their cup.
That’s why coffee break catering doesn’t always need to include food.
If breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. and lunch begins at noon, a beverage break around 10 a.m. may be plenty.
However, if the morning session runs longer or breakfast was limited to coffee and pastries, some additional refreshments might be welcome.
Lee n’ Eddies offers freshly brewed coffee, bottled water, and assorted juices through our Beverage Catering Menu.
Don’t overlook water, either. Keeping it readily available throughout the day is more convenient than making attendees wait until the next scheduled break.
For afternoon sessions, consider whether guests will want another coffee refresh or simply cold beverages. You know your group best, so plan around what they’re likely to drink.
Avoid Over-ordering Food
When you’re responsible for feeding a room full of coworkers, it’s tempting to order a little extra of everything.
Nobody wants to be the person who runs out of lunch.
But breakfast, lunch, and afternoon refreshments should be planned together, not treated as three separate catering orders.
For example, if you’re serving a hearty breakfast at 8 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m., attendees may not be especially hungry when the second meal arrives.
The same applies to afternoon snacks. If lunch includes dessert and the meeting ends at 3 p.m., an additional dessert spread may be unnecessary.
Instead of adding food to every break, consider the timing and size of each meal.
For a longer meeting with a lighter breakfast, you might choose a more substantial lunch. If you’re serving a generous hot breakfast, a simpler lunch menu may be a better balance.
There’s also the guest count to consider.
If 60 employees are attending the meeting but 15 won’t arrive until after breakfast, you may only need 45 morning meals.
For meetings with different attendance counts throughout the day, provide those numbers to your caterer rather than using one headcount for every service.
That small adjustment can help reduce waste and keep your catering costs in check.
Remember Dietary Requirements
Food allergies and dietary restrictions deserve attention before the catering order is placed.
The simplest approach is to ask attendees about dietary requirements when they register or confirm their attendance.
For corporate meetings, that information can be especially helpful when selecting boxed lunches or arranging a buffet.
Lee n’ Eddies offers vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free selections, along with individually packaged meal options.
Discuss specific restrictions with the catering team so you can confirm which selections are appropriate.
If multiple dietary meals are being provided, organize them separately and make sure attendees know where to find their food.
Nobody should have to spend their entire lunch break trying to figure out which sandwich they can eat.
Get the Setup Right
Even a perfectly timed catering delivery can cause problems if there’s nowhere convenient to put the food.
Before the event, identify a suitable serving area and consider how people will move through the room.
For a buffet, allow enough space for attendees to approach the tables, collect food, and return to their seats without blocking doors or walkways.
For boxed lunches, a pickup table away from the main entrance may be all you need.
If beverages are available throughout the day, consider keeping them in a separate area so people can refill their cups without interrupting lunch service.
You’ll also need to think about serving supplies, trash disposal, and what happens when each meal is finished.
For meetings held in rented conference rooms or outside venues, confirm the available setup space and any delivery requirements in advance.
Lee n’ Eddies offers both drop-off and full-service catering, so you can choose how much assistance you need with food service.
Use This Catering Checklist
Before you finalize your training day catering order, make sure the important details are covered.
- Confirm attendance: Check how many people will be present for each meal, including instructors and event staff.
- Review the agenda: Identify breakfast, lunch, and beverage break times.
- Choose your menus: Match meal sizes and serving styles to the schedule.
- Collect dietary information: Ask attendees about food allergies and dietary requirements.
- Plan the serving area: Allow space for food, beverages, and guests moving through the room.
- Discuss delivery and setup: Confirm when food should arrive and what help will be needed.
- Review the quantities: Consider the entire day's menu before deciding how much to order.
- Arrange cleanup: Determine how serving supplies, leftover food, and trash will be handled.
Finish the Day Strong
By midafternoon, your attendees have probably spent several hours listening, taking notes, asking questions, and working through training materials.
It’s tempting to bring out another big round of refreshments to perk everyone up, but take a look at how much time remains.
If the meeting ends at 4 p.m. and lunch was served at noon, a simple afternoon beverage break may be enough.
If the event runs into the evening, additional food may be more appropriate.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The goal is to provide enough throughout the day without leaving half the afternoon refreshments untouched.
Let Us Handle Lunch
And breakfast. And the coffee.
When you’re organizing an all-day meeting or training event, the last thing you need is another collection of details to keep track of.
Lee n’ Eddies has been serving Chicagoland since 1959, helping businesses plan everything from office lunches to large corporate events.
Our customizable menus, breakfast selections, beverages, and flexible service options make it easier to coordinate meals around your schedule and guest count.
Whether you’re hosting a small leadership meeting or training a large group of employees, we’ll help you put together a catering plan that makes sense for the day.
That’s what we mean when we say One Call Does It All.
Ready to take food planning off your meeting agenda?
View our Corporate Catering Menu or Request a Quote from Lee n’ Eddies to get started.
