The Corporate Catering Order Checklist: Dietary Survey, Headcount, Then Menu
ANI CATERING BOARDROOM FEAST PACKAGE
Most office catering orders go wrong before a single dish is chosen.
Someone picks a menu they like, guesses at a headcount, and never asks the team what they can actually eat.
By the time the food arrives, there's always someone who can't eat half of it.
ANI Catering has been handling corporate catering for Greater Boston offices for over 30 years. This is the order of operations we recommend every time — and it's the opposite of how most people do it.
Step 1: Run the Dietary Survey First
This is the step everyone skips. Don't.
Send a poll to your team before you open a single menu.
You need to know what people can actually eat before you decide what to order.
How to run it:
Use a Google Form, a Slack poll, or a reply-all email
Ask specifically for: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal, kosher, nut allergies, dairy-free
Give it 24–48 hours to collect responses
Aim for 80% participation — you don't need everyone
Why this step comes first:
One serious allergy can make an entire menu unusable
Dietary needs determine which menu categories are even available to you
You can't request substitutions after the food is prepared
"6 people are vegan and 3 are gluten-free" is information that changes your entire order
Common mistakes at this stage:
Assuming you already know what your team eats
Skipping it for small groups ("it's only 12 people")
Sending the survey the morning of the order
Step 2: Lock In the Headcount Second
Once you have dietary data, get a firm number of people being fed. Not a range. Not an estimate.
What to confirm:
Full-time staff physically in the office that day
Any guests, clients, or visitors joining the meal
Remote workers who may be coming in specifically for this event
Add a 10% buffer for last-minute additions
Why headcount comes before menu:
Catering is priced and portioned per person
A menu that works for 20 people is a completely different build for 50
Your caterer needs a real number to give you an accurate quote
Portion sizes differ between a working lunch and a dedicated meal — confirm which this is
What to avoid:
Telling your caterer "somewhere around 30"
Forgetting to count people arriving after the meal starts
Assuming no-shows will balance out the extras
Already have your headcount and dietary needs sorted? That's the hard part done. We'll take it from here.
Get a free catering quote from ANI → Or call us directly: (617) 484-6161
We respond within 2 hours on business days.
Step 3: Choose the Menu Last
Now — and only now — you're readyto look at food.
Use your dietary survey results as a filter, not an afterthought. The menu you choose should cover every restriction on your list without requiring a separate side order for every other person.
What to look for in a menu:
Dishes that are naturally gluten-free or vegan — not modified versions
Proteins available in halal or vegetarian options within the same order
Spreads and sides that work across all dietary needs
A caterer who can tell you exactly which items are allergen-safe
What a good menu selection looks like at this stage:
It covers every dietary need from your survey
It scales cleanly to your confirmed headcount
It fits your per-person budget now that the other two steps are locked in
It doesn't require five separate special-order exceptions
Red flags to watch for:
Only one or two vegetarian options on the entire menu
No halal proteins when your team includes Muslim colleagues
Dishes requiring refrigeration or reheating equipment you don't have on-site
A caterer who can't clearly answer allergen questions
Why Most People Do It Backwards
The instinct is to start with food. Food is the fun part. It's easy to visualize.
Most people open a menu first because it feels like progress
Headcount seems like a detail they can sort out later
Dietary needs feel like edge cases, not structural constraints
The result:
You pick a menu, then realize half the team can't eat it
You order for 40, only 28 show up — or the reverse
You're making emergency calls the morning of the event
None of that has to happen. The fix is just doing it in the right order.
The Three Questions to Ask Before You Do Anything Else
What can everyone eat? — Run the survey.
How many people am I actually feeding? — Get a firm number.
What menu covers both of those answers? — Now look at food.
Three questions. In that order. Every time.
Corporate Catering Order Checklist
Dietary survey → headcount → menu. Always in that order.
Skipping the dietary survey is the most common catering mistake in office settings.
Your headcount determines your budget, portion size, and your caterer's capacity.
The menu is a decision you make with information — not before you have it.
A good caterer will help you navigate all three steps once you come to them prepared.
ANI Catering makes this part easy. Send us your headcount, your dietary needs, and your date. We'll come back to you with a menu that works for everyone in the room — built from 30 years of feeding Boston offices just like yours. Every diet covered. Every order on time.
Get a free catering quote from ANI → Or call us directly: (617) 484-6161
We respond within 2 hours on business days.
ANI Catering & Cafe is a family-owned Armenian and Middle Eastern restaurant and caterer serving Greater Boston for over 30 years. We're based in Belmont, MA and regularly serve offices in Cambridge, Waltham, Newton, Watertown, and surrounding communities.