Do not underestimate the importance of office menu planning, because it is more than just putting some tasty dishes together. There are lots of aspects that should be considered, such as a premise, the nourishment level of the food items and your budget. Meal planning means to serve well balanced and nutritious meals to people. Planning can be a breeze for some chefs, but it can be complicated to decide a menu on the daily basis. There is some factors that can affect your menu planning, including your budget, evaluation of kitchen, preparation and cooking time with the selection of delicious food. The office menu planning is important for official lunch and dinners, events, foreign delegations and meetings.
Nutrition Levels
One of the biggest factors in the office menu planning is the nutrition level, because a well balanced food is always required to provide all nutrients to your body. Food pyramid will help you with all this, because the food group at each level of the pyramid has everything. Bottom of the pyramid includes breads, grains, cereals and carbohydrates. Upper group contains food items containing fat and sugar. A nutritious meal should have animal protein, fish, fruits, vegetables, dairy foods and small amount of fat and sugar.
Check Availability of Ingredients
Before planning any type of menu, it is important to check the accessibility of ingredients, because some fruits and vegetables are seasonal. Every ingredient should have a replacement so that you can manage to prepare a well balanced dish. Plan your office menu according to the season so that you can get all important ingredients.
Budget for Ingredients
Shopping budget is a really important element of menu planning, because a large budget enables you to buy more luxurious ingredients such as meat and royal spices. The smaller budget can restrict your purchasing capacity, and you may have to make some compromises. It does not mean that you can’t prepare delicious food items, but you have to spend some more time while deciding food items.
Menu for Office Potlucks
Office potlucks are often organized for the encouragement of coworkers to have a good relation with others. For best potluck organization, you have to plan everything in advance and decide dishes to entertain all. A potluck lunch with the coworkers will prove a perfect ice-breaker between all employees to gel them all. Select a suitable time for the lunch and give an advance notice to employees to plan and prepare dishes.
Have a look at your physical resources, preparation and storage space to prepare great dishes. Active menu planning will make your party interesting, and it is important to consult all to avoid duplication of the same dishes.
Your menu should be a combination of main dishes, side dishes, desserts and soft drinks to ensure a wide variety of food at your potluck. Prepare a separate list of all additional items so that you can arrange every important thing in advance. Do not forget to consider the people with dietary precincts so that all employees can take enjoyable food items.
Here is preview of a Free Sample Office Menu Template created using MS Word,