A Quick Guide To Food Preparation in Rental Tents
Preparing and serving food from an outdoor tent is more complex than serving from a kitchen. Here’s what you need to know to succeed at your first event.
Outdoor events, from weddings to graduation parties, have become increasingly popular in recent years. Because of this, your catering company must know how to serve food without a kitchen readily available. Here is a quick guide to preparing and serving food in rental tents.
You’ll Prepare the Food Off-Site
Serving the food in event tents means you won’t have access to a kitchen during the event. This lack of kitchen access means you must prepare the food before you arrive at the venue, transport it safely, and keep it at the proper temperature.
Use insulated food pan carriers to keep food either hot or cold; you can also load them with multiple food pans of various sizes. These carriers make it much easier to transport the food while ensuring it is still hot when it is time to eat.
You’ll Have Beverage Stations
Depending on the kind of event you are serving, you will likely have a beverage station. Beverage dispensers can make serving simple drinks such as water and tea much easier, as the guests will serve themselves. You can also serve coffee from an insulated beverage dispenser or a chafer urn.
Most venues require you to hire or have professional bartenders on staff to serve guests alcohol. Unless your catering company staffs licensed bartenders, you don’t need to worry about preparing and serving alcoholic beverages at a rental tent event.
You’ll Need Serving Equipment
While vendors differ in the types of packages they offer, many include cleanup and service options of some kind. If your catering company includes these services, you’ll need the necessary items, such as serving trays and utensils.
Be sure to also bring the necessary cleaning supplies to wipe down your equipment after the event.
Serving at white event tent rentals is a great way to expand your business and work more events. With this quick guide to food preparation in rental tents, you’re well on your way to serving a successful event.
How we patch holes in asphalt video
When we install tents on asphalt, we can secure them with concrete weights or by driving stakes into the asphalt.
After we remove the stakes, we repair the holes by filling them with crushed stone and topping off the hole with asphalt cold patch.
When we install tents on asphalt, we can secure them with concrete weights or by driving stakes into the asphalt. Most customers choose to have us drive stakes into the blacktop because it’s more economical, faster and more secure.
After we remove the stakes, we repair the holes by filling them with crushed stone and topping off the hole with asphalt cold patch. Then we tamp it down with a sledgehammer.
This creates a durable patch that is barely noticeable. Over time, it fades and becomes even less noticeable. Often when we come back a year later to install a tent at the same location, it’s difficult for us to find the holes to reuse them.
Do you need a tent installed on asphalt? Contact us to order today.
Top Ten Tips to Plan an Outdoor Dining Area
As warm weather approaches, people are looking forward to spending more time outdoors. This year, let them enjoy the outdoors while dining at their favorite restaurant. If you’ve never had an outdoor dining space before, here are my top tips for creating a space outdoors that your customers will love.
As warm weather approaches, people are looking forward to spending more time outdoors. This year, let them enjoy fresh air while dining at their favorite restaurant. If you’ve never had an outdoor dining space before, here are my top tips for creating a space outdoors that your customers will love:
Choose a beautiful space. If people enjoy the scenery, the food will taste better. You may need to do some landscaping, painting or decorating to make everyone feel at home in the outdoors. If your outdoor dining space is visible to passers by, it can even serve as free advertising. Speaking of free advertising, an attractive outdoor space invites your customers to share pictures on social media and bring in more business.
Light the space. It’s amazing how much difference accent lighting can make in beautifying a space.
Make the space comfortable. Depending on the season, this may mean adding heaters and fans or opening and closing the tent walls based on the weather. Side walls that are kedered slide open and closed in a track and will make life much easier for your staff.
Speaking of comfort, choose inviting furniture. Proper furniture is durable even in damp conditions and adds to the outdoor ambience.
Cook outdoors. If possible, prepare the food in front of your guests. It will engage them and encourage food transparency.
Prepare for all types of weather. A sturdy awning or commercial tent with walls can make the space usable in all kinds of weather. Some restaurants use a tent only during the colder season. Others keep it in place all summer to offer shade and protection from rain.
Plan for customer flow. Will people enter through the restaurant or enter the tent directly? Will one hostess seat guests both indoors and outdoors?
Plan waitstaff access. Make it easy and fast to access your outdoor space from the kitchen. This will make the lives of waiters and waitresses easier as well as increase customer satisfaction and speed of service.
Obtain the proper permits, and be sure to follow local rules and regulations.
Many areas will not allow a tent to be in place more than 180 days out of the year. Tent permits may also be required. Your tent provider can help you with this process.
Of course all food safety regulations apply as well.
Be sure to follow any local noise ordinances.
Advertise your patio. Mention your outdoor dining space in all your marketing both inside the restaurant and online. Yelp even has a special category for restaurants with outdoor seating.
Tents For Rent offers tents for long term tent rentals as well as new or used tents for sale. Contact us today to find out how to plan a successful patio dining space.
Where can tents be installed?
Virtually anywhere!
This article is part of a series of posts with further explanation on many of our frequently asked questions.
Virtually anywhere. Below is a sampling of locations that we've installed tents:
Contact us to find out how we can fill your special need for tents