Our organization, called the B.O.B or Big Old Building, was a hot spot for big occasions in the West Michigan area so it was essential that the banquet workers created a very professional and enjoyable atmosphere for the event hosts and all their guests because most of the time, these groups paid top dollar to be able to enjoy themselves in this particular building. Global organizations would hold their conferences here, more well off families would reserve this place for their child’s wedding, and non-profits would rent out this highly trafficked joint to bring awareness to their cause or to seek out donations. No matter what the cause, a certain high level of food service was required for the event to be a success. There are many ways of accomplishing this professionalism in food presentation, most of which are associated with the particular kitchen products, food displays or the specialized service that was provided to any attendee. Chafing dishes with roll-tops and Sterno chafing fluid that keeps the food warm, elegant drink dispensers, and even fancy stainless steel flatware were all frequently used during events and are tools that will add to the prestige of any event.

I struggled as a banquet server, not because I was not good at carrying trays of food or arranging the food display in an appetizing manner, but more so because I struggled with the professionalism in the service. I had spent nearly four years working in bars and restaurants prior to this experience and I had found all my success (in the form of tips) by being personable with the guests. I was able to provide better service to the visitors by being myself rather than by following certain codes or professional guidelines. For this reason, my three month period of being a banquet server was very insightful and it taught me a great deal of things about food presentation and the impact that nice kitchen products and utensils have on the professionalism of an event.

Banquet items are never a bad idea even if an individual, family or group is looking for a way to present food options at a more informal event as well. Chafing dishes are a great option and tool if one has the excess funds to purchase one of these items. On the downside though, there are a large number of slow cookers that are offered to the public now that have a fancier look to them, which means that instead of transferring the contents of crock pots to something like a chafing dish, chefs are simply leaving it in the slow cooker with a serving utensil. In addition to this, the purchase of a banquet item is only justified if that item gets used regularly. There is no sense in purchase an expensive kitchen item if the buyer only plans on putting it to use a handful of times.