Catering Melbourne Blog

What Catering Can Do For You

In today’s society social events are a common feature. Whether they are personal or corporate a catering company can make the organisation and execution of the event easy, convenient and most of all time-saving.

Catering can be used for big or small events and can include not only food and beverages but professional staff as well, such as bartenders, waiters and waitresses. Whether it be a wedding, a christening, or even a team-building party, catering can provide you with a variety of products and services especially designed for that particular type of function. However, packages can always be tailored to suit your specific needs and requirements.

Catering companies typically are capable of servicing a breakfast, lunch or dinner, which may be either sit-down, buffet or fingerfood service.

Depending on your requirements you can pick up the food and drink yourself or have it delivered to the function venue with or without serving staff.

Catering services not only can assist you with food and beverages but may also handle other details of the event, such as flowers, rentals, venues or furniture.

For corporate functions in particular catering services can provide tea, coffee and packed lunches.

Use the internet to research particular catering companies and gain an understanding of the particular services they provide. A good starting point is to use a search engine with a search term such as “catering services”. Most catering companies will provide a list of costs and many even allow you to request a quote on-line.

Finding an on-line catering directory is also a good idea as it will allow you to search by postcode so that you can find catering services that are in your state and close by.

GOURMET SALAD BAR!

Make your next event a hit with a variety of gourmet salads to suit all tastes and impress all your guests!

Select from our variety of premium salads, made fresh for your order, and offer your guests something a bit different.

Our unique range of salads gives you the chance to put together your own menu that is perfectly suited to your tastes. Our salads are fresh, healthy and made from all-local produce to always give you the best quality available. The variety is unbeatable and makes the perfect summer menu.

You can base your entire event catering on our salad menu package, or you can combine it with any of our other menus such as finger food, drinks or buffets etc.

Salad bar functions are served as a buffet, and can be provided as a delivery for you to take care of the serving yourself, or as a staffed function so that all of the set-up, service and clean-up is taken care of for you.

Our Salad Bar Package includes everything you’ll need:
• 8 types of Salad, Premium Breads, Rolls & Butter
• Trestle Table and Linen
• Disposable Cutlery and Crockery
• All necessary service equipment

Sample Menu

Peking Duck Noodles
Vermicelli noodles, oven roasted Peking duck, cucumber, capsicum, carrot, cabbage, coriander, mint leaves and sesame seeds in an oriental dressing

Kasoundi Rice with Tandoori Chicken
Basmati rice, oven roasted Tandoori chicken, currants and fresh coriander in a spicy tomato kasoundi pickle (can be served warm)

Gourmet Tomato with Balsamic (V)
Cherry Tomatoes, yellow teardrop tomatoes, celery, black olives, Spanish onion, snow peas, capsicum and herbs with a balsamic dressing

Seafood Salad with Wasabi Mayonnaise
Seafood extender, prawns, celery and parsley in a Wasabi mayonnaise

Sweet Potato Pinenut (V)
Kumera, red capsicum, roasted pinenuts and shallots in a sesame oil dressing (can be served warm)

Moroccan Couscous (V)
Couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, onion, capsicum, celery, shallots, parsley and garlic dressing

Baby Potato and Basil (V)
Chat potatoes, red capsicum and slivered almonds in a creamy basil mayonnaise

Italian Penne (V)
Penne pasta, eggplant, sun dried tomato, shallots, feta cheese and red pesto sauce in a garlic dressing

More salads to choose from:

Classic Caesar Salad
Cos lettuce, parmesan cheese, bacon and croutons

Greek Salad (V)
Cherry tomato, cucumber, capsicum, celery, onion, olives, herbs and feta cheese

Summer Beetroot (V)
Beetroot, pumpkin, kumera, carrot, sweet chilli sauce, onion, lemon juice and salt (can be served warm)

Gourmet Thai Noodles
Hokkien noodles, carrot, shallots, capsicum, onion, sesame seeds and Thai chilli sauce (Can be served warm)

Indian Rice (V)
Basmati rice, lentils, chickpeas, green tomato pickle, silvered almonds, currants, canola oil, salt and pepper (can be served warm)

Moroccan Couscous (V)
Couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, onion, capsicum, celery, shallots, parsley and garlic dressing

Fruity Couscous (V)
Couscous, currants, dried fruit medley, almonds and parsley in a lemon and orange dressing

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad (V)
Chickpeas, haricot beans, soy bean, artichokes, capsicum, onion, shallots, coriander and a garlic pesto dressing

Classic Waldorf Salad
Red and green apples, celery, walnuts, sultanas, sour cream and mayonnaise

Potato Sour Cream & Herb Salad
Potato, sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, garlic, mustard and herbs

Chicken Mustard Pasta Salad
Penne pasta, chicken, celery, onion and parsley in a grain mustard mayonnaise

Fettuccine Basil Mayonnaise (V)
Fettuccine, capsicum and almonds in a basil mayonnaise

Seafood Coriander Pasta Salad
Spiral pasta, seafood extender, celery, coriander pesto sauce, full egg mayonnaise, capsicum, shallots, onion, snow peas, coriander, salt and pepper

Price per person - $29.90 (inc. GST)

We are here to provide delicious, affordable, convenient catering to suit all of your needs and requirements.

Whether you require a small delivery of platters or a fully staffed function, we have a range of menus to suit your requirements. We also have a team of wonderfully professional staff who will take care of everything.

From hot and cold finger food, mouth watering sandwiches and assorted cold platters through to our buffet menus we’ve got all your functions covered.

Our menus are fully flexible, our service tailored to suit your individual needs and our prices are set to appeal to even the tightest of funding budgets.

For a full list of our menus and services visit our website at www.cateringonthemove.com.au

Call us on 1800 005 778 to find out how you can join our VIP club and enjoy 10% off all your bookings – effective immediately with no expiry!

This Valentine’s Day, restaurant goers across Australia have the chance to share some love with families affected by the Victorian bushfires.

Instead of simply shooting cupid’s arrow, patrons at all participating restaurants across Australia have the opportunity of donating to an appeal for those affected by the Victorian bushfires. This Saturday, an estimated 15,000 restaurants nationally are expected to be involved in the unique ‘Share the Love’ fundraising initiative.

Valentine’s Day Diners will be able to donate either directly at participating restaurants or after their meal through a dedicated website www.bushfires729.com.

This innovative appeal has been created by Restaurant & Catering Victoria and StreetSmart Australia and builds upon the success of the ‘dine out, help out’ campaign that raised over $224,000 last year for homeless Australians.

“Often we don’t always know how to help,” said Adam Robinson, Director of Street Smart Australia. “The Appeal is a simple way for Valentine’s Day diners across Australia to eat well and at the same time feel good about helping out those affected by the bushfires,” Mr Robinson added.

Restaurant & Catering Victoria and StreetSmart have pledged that 100% of donations from the Valentine’s Day appeal will be used to help bush fire victims. An independent panel made up of community leaders and restaurant industry representatives will oversee the appeal fund’s operation.

Restaurants who wish to participate in the Sharing the Love Appeal this Valentine’s Day can register by contacting Restaurant & Catering Victoria or StreetSmart Australia direct.

Fast food stores are weathering the economic downturn far better than fine dining nosheries as cash-strapped customers trade down from white-tablecloth restaurant service to cheap and cheerful convenience outlets. “Australians have a culture of eating out and are not prepared to give it up, despite harder economic times,” says Tim Emmerson, the food project manager at market researcher BIS Shrapnel. “So they trade down from eating in restaurants to eating at a fast-food outlet.” Emmerson says Australians’ love affair with convenience food shows no sign of abating. For every dollar spent on food and non-alcoholic drink, 44 cents is spent on fast food—up from 42 cents last year. While posh restaurants are struggling in the downturn, McDonald’s, the world’s biggest fast-food chain, reported last week that global sales rose 7.1 per cent in January. Ellada Mirimanium, industry analyst for independent research house IbisWorld, says: “It’s all about price substitution. Tougher times call for cutbacks in discretionary spending on luxury, but Australians still want to eat out and are seeking cheaper alternatives which offer value for money. Aussies love their convenience food.” The Australian, February 16.

An animal liberation group is offering a $15,000 prize to a chef who can create the best vegetarian alternative to foie gras, ruffling feathers among Sydney’s leading restaurateurs. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals aims to give “fine diners a compassionate alternative to eating the diseased liver of a tormented bird”. Foie gras (fat liver) is made by force-feeding geese and ducks with a pipe until their liver swells to many times its normal size. The Bathers’ Pavilion chef Serge Dansereau, whose restaurant is among those named by PETA for serving the luxury food, has no intention of taking it off the menu. He said it was impossible to create a vegetarian foie gras. “Foie gras is foie gras and that’s the end of it. As a chef it’s all about balance,” he said. Quay chef Peter Gilmore said he had not served foie gras for five years because “I believe it probably is cruel—but people are best to decide by themselves if they want to eat it or not.’ The Sun Herald (Sydney), February 15.

The lack of available credit and a reluctance by financiers to lend has hurt the already flat hotel development business, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ latest Australian Hotel Development Register shows. The register covers the 10 major markets of Australia and indicates that the number of tourist accommodation rooms under construction or proposed has fallen since March because of the global financial crisis. The trend is likely to continue for at least another six to 12 months as tourism numbers flatten, especially numbers of international visitors. But there have been some developments. One is the opening late last year of Accor’s new Pullman Hotel, near King Street Wharf. The Sydney CBD market is benefiting from the lack of new supply in the market and, when tourism numbers improve, the city will be caught with a lack of beds. Sydney Morning Herald, February 14.

Woolworths is to pool the resources of newly acquired online wine auction business Langton’s and big-box liquor chain Dan Murphy’s to tighten its hold on the premium end of the drinks market. Woolies is understood to have paid about $13 million for Langton’s, Australia’s biggest mover of top-shelf and past-vintage wines. Steve Greentree, Woolworths’ director of liquor, said the Langton’s purchase would allow the 96-store Dan Murphy’s chain to access corners of the market that were previously closed to it. “They are the experts when it comes to super-premium wines, and Dan Murphy’s is always looking at how to advance in that area and try to find more stock and build relationships,” he said. The Australian, February 16.

One of the Barossa region’s leading advocates for new grape varieties, Joanne Irvine, left, was yesterday named the Barossa Winemaker of the Year at the Declaration of the Vintage ceremony in Tanunda. After winning many awards with traditional varieties, Ms Irvine, daughter of industry veteran Jim Irvine, has forged a strong reputation with lesser-known Zinfandel and Alborino wines. The traditional Barons of Barossa ceremony named grower Mick Koch Vigneron of the Year for his pioneering sustainable vineyard practices. The Advertiser, February 16.

America’s dairy cows are now being redirected to the slaughterhouse in the thousands as milk prices plummet to levels that make production unviable for many farmers.

Some dairy farmers have reported that they have had to sell a portion of their herds for slaughter because feed prices are still high and demand is falling around the world, placing pressure on the price of the staple. In some cases in the US the price of milk farmers receive is now around half of the production costs, and if the price continues to flounder then potentially 15% of the nation’s dairy cows could be slaughtered for beef this year.

“This could destroy our dairy infrastructure,” Mike Marsh, CEO of the United Western Dairymen trade association, told the Associated Press. “We need to get supply and demand into alignment as quickly as possible so this economic trainwreck isn’t strung out.” The price has fallen away dramatically around the world to such an extent that mature dairy cows would have sold for about US$2.500 in November yet now, the lack of buyers means selling them to the beef market at under half that is now the more lucrative option.

The recent Australian Agriculture in Focus report by Rabobank pinpointed the difficulties facing dairy farmers around the world, although noted that the fall in the Australian dollar had at least managed offer some advantage to Australian farmers.
“As the economic crisis hit in 2008 the lack of credit availability created difficulties for all borrowers including farmers, processors, distributors and retailers,” General Manager of Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research, Bill Cordingley, advised. “The exodus from futures markets, a shortage of credit for companies trading in agricultural commodities and the damage to consumer wealth have all added to the downward pressure on commodity prices.”

Mr Cordingley added that, while all agricultural commodities would be affected, the commodities most likely to be impacted are those that are seen as discretionary spending such as natural fibres, wine and even dairy. “Particularly in developing nations dairy is still considered a discretionary purchase so prices are likely to drop along with the reduced consumption of milk, cheese and yoghurts,” he said.