Notes from the pass:
the catering journal

What we have learned feeding 1,400 corporate events in Perth. The useful stuff: portions, timing, dietary maths and what actually happens to your leftovers.

How we feed 1,500 delegates inside a 25-minute window

The full play-by-play of our biggest service: mirrored lines, wave plating and why the last table gets the same hot food as the first.

Read the breakdown

8 min read

Written by Daniel after the resources summit that started it all.

All articles

Practical reads for event organisers

Six mirrored grazing lines at a Perth convention centre

Logistics

Feeding 1,500 delegates in 25 minutes

The service choreography behind our biggest lunch: six lines, three waves, zero queue.

8 min read

Crates of seasonal WA vegetables at the kitchen dock

Produce

The WA produce calendar we cook from

Truffle in July, marron in spring, quinces when Maria has too many. Season by season.

6 min read

Chef weighing a plated portion during prep

Planning

Catering maths: how much food per person

The grams and ratios we use so nobody starves and you do not pay for a buffet of waste.

7 min read

Dietary

Allergen-safe events: one menu for everyone

How we build menus where the vegan, halal and coeliac guests eat as well as everyone else.

6 min read

Packed surplus meals labelled for charity pickup

Sustainability

Where the leftovers actually go

OzHarvest pickups, compost runs and the 5% buffer rule. Our zero-waste routine, honestly told.

5 min read

Barista pulling espresso at a conference coffee cart

Upgrades

Your coffee break deserves better than an urn

Why the coffee cart is the highest-ROI upgrade in conference catering, with numbers.

5 min read

Browse by Event logistics Seasonal produce Dietary planning Sustainability Coffee & upgrades

Meanwhile, in the kitchen

Scenes from this month's prep

Chef torching meringue at the pastry bench — Torching meringue for Thursday's gala

Labelled thermoboxes waiting for the morning van — Thermoboxes staged for a 6 am load-out

Micro herbs harvested for canape garnish — Micro herbs, cut 40 minutes before service

Waitstaff briefing before a conference lunch — Floor briefing before 400 covers

Sourdough scoring in the bakery lab — Scoring loaves in the bakery lab

The monthly email

Seasonal menus and capacity warnings, once a month

When truffle lands, when December books out, when a menu changes. One email a month, written by humans, easy to leave.

Hungry yet?

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Tell us about your event and we will send a tasting box to your office so the food can argue its own case.

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Notes from the pass: the catering journal