Bring the right people
Two or three opinions are enough. More than that and nobody agrees. Choose people who will tell you the truth.
Judge like a guest
Taste the dish at the temperature it will be served and ask how it holds for an hour on a buffet line.
- Ask about portion sizes
- Check how dishes are kept warm
- Confirm dietary substitutions in writing
Prepare before you arrive
Send the caterer your guest count, dietary needs, and a rough idea of the menu at least a week before the tasting. They will prepare dishes that are close to the real event instead of a generic sample.
Bring a notebook or use a shared note on your phone. After the fifth dish, everything starts to blur, and written comments are far more useful than memories.
Score each dish simply
Use a simple score from one to five for taste, presentation, and portion size. Discuss only after everyone has written their score, so the loudest opinion does not decide.
Pay attention to balance across the whole menu, not just individual dishes. Three rich, creamy dishes in a row may each taste good but feel heavy together.
- Taste, presentation, and portion
- Balance of spicy, sweet, and fresh
- How each dish looks after twenty minutes
Follow up in writing
Within a day, send the caterer a short list of changes and final choices. Ask them to reply with an updated menu and confirm the price, so nothing is lost between conversations.
If a dish needed major changes, request a second short tasting for just that dish. It is a small cost compared with serving something uncertain to hundreds of guests.
