Taco Cart Catering: Success is in the “Small Details”

The food cart craze has firmly taken hold in the realm of creative entertaining. But not all caterers and their offerings are alike. There is a range of quality between, say, different taco catering companies, such that the discerning party planner needs to go about selecting a vendor strategically.

Certainly it helps to do a tasting with one or two caterers – or more – before an event. This not only helps narrow the menu choices and amenity offerings (e.g., whether or not to include a margarita bar), but it also allows you to check out details that might not be readily apparent from a website description or telephone conversation.

What kinds of details? Aside from the big stuff – how the food tastes, pricing, assessing if the venue will accommodate taco cart caterers who serve from mobile cart stations – there are smaller details that can nonetheless make or break a party. Here is the list of not-really-small details to consider:

Schedule – Quiz your caterer on arrival times relative to everything else in the event set-up as well as when guests are scheduled to arrive. Will food service begin immediately or an hour or two into the event?

Clean presentation – The carts should shine, the service and prep areas constantly kept clean, and the service staff themselves need to be neat. In many municipalities, food service workers are required to be certified for food handling. So ask about that.

Sufficient number of carts – While there is no exact formula for the taco-service-carts-to-event-guests ratio, it needs to be discussed by the taco catering representative who can speak knowledgeably about past events.

Adequate supply of service ware – Mobile taco catering simplifies a host’s tasks by serving largely hand-held menu items. But napkins and plates (for children and the elderly) might be necessary. Discuss the nature of your guests, including their age range, to determine how to best accommodate everyone.

Fresh ingredients – Mobile taco catering is all about freshness – in the main ingredients (beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, etc.), the taco shells or burrito wraps, and in particular the fillings (vegetables, cheeses, spices, etc.).

Communications – From your first phone call to the caterer through the planning stages and on event day, the event host should never be left in the dark on what to expect. The caterer should be proactive in supplying information and answering questions throughout.

A wise person once said, “take care of the details and the big stuff takes care of itself.” To a large extent, event planning often works like that. But the first step is to find a taco cart catering partner who is thinking the same way.