Consuite - Menu Planning

Consuites often serve a wide variety of food. The constraints are your budget, the help available, the Hotel/Convention contract, and your imagination. The guide is, "What is your Consuite for?" Light refreshments, snacks between panels, light meals, alternative main meals, or some mix of all, depending on the time of day.

While planning and shopping, keep in mind the old saying, "You can't please everyone". Even if you hosted the Consuite at a grocery/deli, someone would want something you don't have. It might help to have a theme. How much to get depends on how many people attend your convention and how much of that traffic you expect to pass through the room. See Consuite - A Sample Shopping List for an example shopping list for a midsize convention.

Often, other convention areas will also be buying food. Coordinating with them can be helpful, particularly if you are buying so much food that it won't fit in a car. Some conventions have a person whose job this is, and sometimes their job extends to redistributing overbought items to other areas that can use them.

Bare Minimum

• Food - Chips, crackers, dip
• Drink - Water, soda - sugared and diet, caffienated and uncaffienated. Even at this level, a nice touch is to get both Nutrasweet and Splenda (eg Pepsi One) diet sodas.
• Accessories - Cups, paper saucers, napkins

Minimum

• Food - Chips, crackers, dip, fruit and veggies, cookies/sweet biscuits, candy (M&Ms are cannonical requirements)
• Drink - (Chilled and unchilled) water, soda - sugared and diet, caffienated and uncaffienated, juice, milk (skim and whole), bottled tea, fresh coffee
• Accessories - Cups, paper saucers, napkins, utensils (forks, spoons, knives)

Moderate

• Cold Food - Chips, crackers, dip, fruit and veggies, meat and cheese tray, sandwich fixings, cookies/sweet biscuits, candy, breakfast foods
• Hot Food - Chili, stew or soup
• Drink - (Chilled and unchilled) water, soda - sugared and diet, caffienated and uncaffienated, juice, milk (skim and whole), bottled and fresh tea and coffee, hot chocolate, beer and wine (all sorts of laws apply here. And contract clauses as well. Check first!)
• Accessories - Cups, paper saucers and plates, bowls, napkins, utensils (forks, spoons, knives), ice

Deluxe

• Cold Food - Chips, crackers, dip, fruit and veggies, meat and cheese tray, sandwich fixings, cookies/sweet biscuits, candy, breakfast foods, (fresh)popcorn, salads, cakes, pies, ice cream (scoop or soft serve), sno-cones
• Hot Food - Chili, stew or soup, fondue, buffet meals at designated times (beef, chicken, fish, veggie)
• Drink - (Chilled and unchilled) water, soda - sugared and diet, caffienated and uncaffienated, juice, milk (skim and whole)bottled and fresh tea and coffee, hot chocolate, beer and wine, liquor
• Accessories - Cups, paper saucers and plates, bowls, napkins, utensils (forks, spoons, knives), ice

Decadent

Chocolate fountain (either rented or one of the home models) with cubes of fruit, whole berries, pretzels, and cubes of pound cake. ??? All of the above plus table service from the consuite staff ???