Salt Lake City is best known for its cultural background, outdoor recreation opportunities, and the Great Salt Lake. But beneath the tourism draws is a thriving local community and a dynamic corporate landscape.
Salt Lake is home to unique qualities that make it the perfect place for companies to leverage corporate catering as a culture builder, a recruitment and retention lever, and an employee satisfaction tool.
However, this doesn’t mean that organizing corporate catering in Salt Lake City is always easy. In fact, if done incorrectly, it can be more of a headache than a benefit. That’s why it’s important to approach the planning and implementation process carefully. By partnering with the right workplace food provider, you can simplify corporate catering, helping everything run smoothly without putting unnecessary pressure on your admin team.
Like every city, Salt Lake City has a unique culture, culinary scene, and corporate landscape. The city’s competitive market and meal preferences make corporate catering a powerful way to get ahead of competitors.
Despite hosting over 200,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the city is described as having a “small-town” feel. Salt Lakers are known for being friendly, community-oriented, and hospitable, so it only makes sense that these community values would extend to the workplace.
When you host corporate events, employees get to socialize during the workday, and providing food can help facilitate this connection. When they get the chance to bond, employees feel more comfortable at work and build mutual trust that allows them to collaborate better.
Salt Lake City features a wide array of industries, including healthcare, finance, manufacturing, tourism, and tech. Across the corporate landscape, companies are competing for the same talent regardless of what they specialize in. This makes it more important than ever to offer a positive employee experience that brings in new talent and encourages current employees to stay.
When you bring food to the weekly all-hands meeting, provide boxed lunches during long midday training sessions, or host casual celebrations after work, you prove that you’re willing to invest in your employees and attend to their needs. This can be a big draw for potential candidates as they evaluate their employment options. It also makes your current employees feel appreciated and helps them stay invested in the company’s mission.
Salt Lake City’s culinary scene is full of local staple dishes that make it stand out, such as funeral potatoes, fry sauce, and pastrami burgers. In their personal lives, employees enjoy these unique local flavors and comfort foods.
When you bring their favorite dishes into the office, you give employees a chance to connect to their personal lives while at work. By appealing to their tastes, you can engage employees and keep their interest throughout your event.
While corporate catering is likely to be a hit among Salt Lake employees, it has to be executed well to be effective. If your food doesn’t meet your team’s needs, arrives late, or the offerings are disappointing, employees will lose interest quickly. This will make employees less likely to attend or look forward to future events, and you won’t see the engagement and culture-building benefits you’re looking for. Consider the following factors when looking for a good corporate catering partner.
Employees are used to Salt Lake’s unique flavor profile that can’t be replicated by generic catering spreads. They’re looking for both familiar comfort foods and diverse cuisines alike. The best way to make your corporate catering stand out is by partnering with local restaurants. This gives employees access to restaurant-quality food and allows you to bring their favorite spots into the office. It also helps you switch up your menu options every time, so you can keep things fresh, which is especially important for recurring events.
Because Salt Lake City is home to such a diverse array of companies, a one-size-fits-all catering solution won’t work for most events. Differing headcounts, company cultures, event types, budgets, and employee expectations all need to be considered.
To make sure corporate catering elevates your event as much as possible, work with a catering partner that’s willing to tailor everything to fit your needs. They should be able to accommodate your budget, offer multiple catering formats, scale according to your group’s size, and provide plenty of menu options.
A quality corporate catering partner will be able to take the logistics and coordination off your plate while still meeting all of your needs. By partnering with a third-party workplace food provider, you can hand off the responsibility of communicating with restaurants, setting menus, coordinating delivery times, and handling setup and teardown logistics. Instead, you can simply communicate your needs and they’ll do the rest for you, allowing you to focus on the other aspects of your event.
Salt Lake City hosts plenty of stellar catering options, and it can be difficult to narrow down your choices. To help you get started, we’ve rounded up three caterers to check out for your next event. They’re all part of Fooda’s extensive restaurant network, making it easy to bring them into the office.
Chanon Thai Cafe is a neighborhood staple with flavorful dishes and authentic cooking methods. Appetizers, soups, salads, sides, entrees, and desserts create a large, well-rounded menu. With sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy flavors, you’ll be able to find something for everyone.
Boxed lunches, build-your-own bars, sides, and desserts make up Maize Homestyle Tacos’ menu. Tacos, burritos, and bowls offer fresh flavors that never lose their authentic Mexican roots. They also have gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options, along with health-conscious dishes, making them a great choice for offices with diverse dietary preferences and needs.
Asian Star is known for their pan-Asian and fusion cuisine. They offer plenty of variety with dishes from different cultures, creating a cohesive-yet-diverse menu. Choose from stir-fries, noodle dishes, rice bowls, and expertly prepared meats and vegetables. Their starters add even more options, and their vegetarian and gluten-sensitive dishes make them an inclusive choice.
The type of corporate catering you offer will depend on the scale and purpose of your event. A midweek celebration calls for a more casual catering format than a high-stakes client meeting. Additionally, each catering option comes at different price points and is able to accommodate different group sizes. Here’s a quick guide to help you select the best option for your next event:
Organizing corporate catering should be easy. With Fooda’s Corporate Catering solution, you’ll work with dedicated catering managers to make sure all of your corporate catering needs are met. You get impressive catering spreads without having to worry about any of the logistics. Everything is handled for you, and you get access to some of Salt Lake City’s most beloved spots.
If you’re ready to bring great, low-effort corporate catering spreads to your next Salt Lake City office event, contact Fooda’s sales team to get started.
What food is Salt Lake City known for?
Salt Lake City is best known for regional comfort food dishes such as funeral potatoes, pastrami burgers, fry sauce, dirty soda, and green Jell-O. Farm-to-table spots and Latin American, Asian, and Middle Eastern cuisine are also common staples in the area.
How much does corporate catering cost in Salt Lake City?
The total cost of corporate catering in Salt Lake City varies based on a number of factors, including headcount, caterer, and catering format. More upscale catering formats, such as white-glove service, will be more costly, while simpler, unserviced catering will be less expensive. To simplify the budgeting process, work backward, setting a budget beforehand and looking for a catering partner that’s willing to work within it.
How far in advance should I book corporate catering in Salt Lake City?
This depends on the type of catering you’re looking for and your headcount. Larger orders will need significantly more lead time, as will serviced formats, while small boxed-lunch orders can often be placed with as little as 24 hours’ notice. As a general rule, it’s better to book earlier to ensure you’re able to get what you need.
How do I accommodate dietary restrictions in Salt Lake City corporate catering?
To make sure you’re meeting everyone's needs, it’s best to get a list of dietary restrictions and accommodations beforehand. That way, you can work with your catering partner to make sure everyone will have something they can safely eat. The easiest way to find a caterer that can accommodate everyone is to work with a provider that has existing relationships with a variety of catering partners. That way, you can find a suitable option without putting too much strain on your admin team.
What’s the best corporate catering option for large events in Salt Lake City?
The best way to feed large headcounts is by selecting a catering format that’s equipped to handle high-volume orders. Buffet lines typically work best, as everything is prepared and delivered in bulk. It’s also important to remember that some caterers have strict minimums and maximums, so be sure to check the numbers before you commit.
