Graduation Catering

June 16, 2015 - Special Event Catering

Anywhere you look in the San Ramon Valley, high school seniors are getting closer and closer to one of the most pivotal events in an adolescent’s life. For kids at Foothill High School, Amador Valley High School, and other nearby high schools, graduation is just around the corner. As the students and parents of the Class of 2015 prepare to celebrate this important occasion in their lives, they are inundating us with requests for catering. This, of course, means that families are preparing for special gatherings such as graduation parties and dinners with loved ones.

All you should really be worried about on the graduation day of your child should be the celebrations. However, things don’t always turn out that way. For many extended families (I know this, unfortunately, from personal experience) getting together brings about as much stress and chaos as celebration. This is especially true if everyone in the family thinks they know best when it comes to the food. The best way that I’ve found of avoiding various sisters-in-law, cousins, and aunts stampeding into your kitchen, is to go with catering.

As reluctant as I am to share the experience I had during my daughter’s graduation, it is a lesson that needs to be taught to others. This was long before my time with the Pleasanton Catering Company. Since I was trying to save a few bucks, I decided it would be a fantastic idea for each member of our extended family to contribute a dish (or their cooking ideas) to the graduation party. Something deep inside told me that I should hire a caterer, but I didn’t trust my gut instinct. I kept telling myself – what could possible go wrong? I just had to wait and see. You know that scene in the Lion King where Simba is desperately trying to avoid a stampede of about a million wildebeest in the gorge? Well, I was Simba during my daughter’s graduation party. And my kitchen was that gorge. A stampede of cousins, aunts, grandmothers, and some people I barely even knew rushed into my agonizingly small kitchen. As they crowded into the tiny little space, things got tighter and tighter. This had catastrophe written all over it. They all meant no harm, of course, but before long someone had set something on fire. Pure chaos ensued. My gut instinct had been correct. How much better would it have been to have a single professional cook in there taking care of everything? Rather than paying attention to my daughter and her accomplishments, everyone’s gaze was on the disastrous kitchen. Next year, for my son’s graduation, I was determined to find a caterer.

We frequently get questions about how to optimize a catering experience for a graduation party. I would say that totally depends on precisely which factors you’re trying to optimize. For those seeking a big turnout, a Saturday or Sunday brunch works best. We all know how tiring a Friday or Saturday night of celebrating can be, and there’s nothing people like more than waking up late in the day for some tasty and convenient food. Unsurprisingly, most people want to spend dinners with only their closest relatives, so catering for a brunch time affair is our recommended option for maximizing turnout during the graduation festivities.

One of the other most frequent questions we get regarding graduation catering is whether to have it at home or somewhere else, perhaps a more scenic, special location. For those wanting catering at home, this is a personal choice and obviously easy to do. But what catering really excels at is making a location less familiar to you feel like it’s your own. Your graduating senior, understandably, wants his or her graduation party to take place somewhere cool or somewhere fancy to impress people. This is where catering comes in. No matter the location, we can set it up. Our company has done everything, including brunches in the park, fancy ballroom dinners, and drive in movie theaters. Of course, once you select a location you should select food accordingly. Backyard catering on a hot summer afternoon that serves soup and hot cider might not go over so well. Or a tailgate barbeque with escargot.

Either way, I’m sure the party caterer you choose will be able to pair location and foods for you, or at least make recommendations. Your graduating senior deserves to have the best graduation catering memories possible. So, pick a time and place that suits your family (who will hopefully get along much better now that they aren’t crammed together into a kitchen) and watch your little baby celebrate one of life’s most cherished accomplishments.