PTA events – Make yours a tasty experience - (or, how to avoid tasteless nosh!)

The Golden Rules of Catering

1. Know your event and your audience.

• Is your event indoors or outdoors?
  
• Do you need to be able to serve the food quickly, eg in an interval or will you have to store it over a long period of time?
  
• Who will be eating – adults and/or children?
  
• Is catering part of the event or your main fundraiser?
  
• Do you need to cater for special diets, for example vegetarians, those who cannot eat pork or beef?
  
• Don’t forget to label foods that include or may include nut substances; you don't need to go over the top, just a general notice will do

2. Keep it simple

• Organise your food around tried and tested recipes – don’t be too ambitious, especially for the first time!
  
• Make it easy to eat – don’t try spaghetti on paper plates!

3. Food hygiene is the number one priority

• Under the SPTC public liability insurance, your PTA is covered for serving and selling food. But, you must comply with the health and safety regulations of the premises you are using. It’s a good idea to take sensible precautions, for instance avoid using raw eggs, fresh cream, etc.
  
• Think about how you are going to keep things hot or cold.

4. Quality counts

• You want good food and good value. Its not always best to cut corners – cheap food can often be poor quality and won’t sell.

General Advice

• Recruit a “cook team” – they can cook together and freeze things in advance
  
• Its often cheaper to buy in bulk – find someone with a discount card/membership of a local Cash and Carry.
  
• Don’t take people for granted – make sure that your cooks know that they can be reimbursed for the cost of ingredients.
  
• Disposable cups, plates, etc are more hygienic, but don’t forget to add them to your costs

Something to Drink?

• Are you serving and/or selling alcohol? If you plan to sell alcohol, then you should get a “temporary permission” from your local council. This is a short-term license for voluntary groups and will cost about £10. If you decide to apply for a licence, contact your Local Authority Licensing Department and remember to do this as early as possible as this could take a while to process
  
• Keep ice in a (clean) bucket and this will keep cans and bottles cool
  
• Don’t forget soft drinks for children and as an alternative to alcohol
  
• If you are going to use an urn for serving tea and coffee, make sure you set this up in good time. Remember to put it in a safe place and watch those electric leads!

Handy Hints for Barbecues

• Great fun, but best done by those who know what they are doing.
  
• Think about your site – needs to be sheltered and safe
  
• You will need proper storage for raw meat waiting to be cooked.
  
• Do not keep raw and cooked meat together and don’t use the same plates for both
  
• Store fuel safely and think about fire prevention – keep a bucket of sand next to the barby
  
• If you are really concerned about cooking meat, invest in a meat thermometer