Venue checks for Christmas workplace catering

Name the correct supplier entrance and contact

Give the full venue address and identify the entrance suppliers should use. A postcode alone may not describe a loading area or reception route. Mention any arrival window, check-in procedure or restriction identified by the workplace, and name a contact available when the catering team is expected.

If the event organiser will be attending a meeting or another part of the programme, appoint someone else to receive suppliers. Give that person the current catering and access brief. The contact needs to know the agreed position and the venue instructions, rather than simply recognising that food has been booked.

Follow the route to the actual working area

Describe the route from unloading to the room, including steps, lifts, narrow doors or distances the venue wants discussed. Useful photographs and a labelled sketch can connect the entrance with the proposed working position. Ask Fables which access information is needed for the actual catering arrangement.

Check any shared route or lift with the workplace contact, particularly if other suppliers are arriving at the same time. Include relevant restrictions on the delivery timetable. Do not assume an unobstructed guest entrance is automatically the approved route for equipment or catering deliveries.

Discuss room use and available facilities

Explain how the room will be used for food and what the workplace already supplies. Share known information about working space, water or power where relevant, then ask Fables to confirm the requirements of the proposed menu and service. Avoid filling gaps with an assumed equipment specification.

A room booked for a Christmas lunch may be used for normal work immediately beforehand or afterwards. Identify who moves furniture and when the space must be ready. If an additional room or alternative position is proposed, discuss its route, supplies and practical use before treating it as confirmed.

Connect serving and eating areas with the layout

Mark where food service takes place and where guests eat. Include nearby doors, drinks points and other planned activity so the venue and caterer can discuss the overall arrangement. Tell Fables whether guests sit together, mingle or arrive by team, and identify practical needs that affect the setup.

Confirm furniture, tableware and serving help separately. List what the venue already provides and what remains to be discussed in the quotation. A photograph of another event does not establish the equipment included in this booking or show that an identical layout will fit the workplace.

Resolve clearing, storage and collection access

Ask where used items should go and how hired equipment or other supplies will be handled after the food service. Name the providers responsible for clearing and any handover to the workplace team. Include room closing or access deadlines instead of leaving them until the end of the celebration.

Keep the final venue brief with the menu, counts and timetable. If a gate, room, lift or access period changes, tell Fables through the booking contact and ask for the connected arrangement to be reviewed. Circulate the updated version to the people receiving suppliers so their instructions match the agreed plan.

Details to gather before enquiring

• Address, approved supplier entrance and available reception contact
• Unloading-to-room route, restrictions and useful labelled photographs
• Room access periods, existing facilities and provider-confirmed requirements
• Serving and eating layout with furniture and tableware responsibilities
• Clearing, storage, collection and final access arrangements

Questions to settle with your event team

Do we need to know every equipment requirement before enquiring?

Send the venue information you have and identify the open questions. Ask Fables to confirm what the proposed menu and service arrangement require rather than guessing specifications.

Can the organiser receive suppliers from another room?

Name a person who is available at the expected arrival time and has the current access and catering brief. Resolve how practical questions reach the appropriate venue or booking contact.