In this Knowledge Series video, Rx for Catering’s Claire Gould shares best practices for negotiating culinary menus, contracts and bars. If you have more questions on food and beverage topics, she invites you to e-mail her.

What’s covered in this video:

• 1:00-13:23 – Culinary negotiation best practices and common meeting planner mistakes
  • Highlights:
    • 5:30 – What if you can’t do a tasting?
    • 7:00 – A cautionary note about banquet servers and their training
    • 8:53 – Bartender fees and skimpy beverages
    • 9:30 – Why you need to specify venues will use china and glass
    • 10:45 – The bane of canned beer
    • 11:44 – Beware of food packages
    • 12:45 – The importance of knowing your history
• 13:23-15:05 – Reader questions about how to determine hidden fees, avoid budget bombs and what to look for on BEOs
• 15:05-21-44 – Creating a true partnership with catering managers
• 21:44-23:28 – What does a culinary negotiator do and how does it benefit meeting planners?
• 23:30-27:00 – Culinary trends
• 27:00-39:10 – Plate presentations
  • Highlights:
    • 27:00 – Why you always need to bring a camera to tastings
    • 31:30 – Slides of the good, the bad and the ugly
    • 36:21 – Things to avoid and look out for
• 39:11-42:00 – Bar inventory and getting the best value with your bar menu
• 48:00 – Closing thoughts and contact information