When it comes to catering for a photo shoot, you often have to feed a wide range of people that have different tastes, needs and preferences – and all within a certain budget. You also want to spend what you need to make sure everyone is well fed, while still managing costs. Since photo shoots can last several hours, you need to be sure and provide healthy, nutritious foods that will keep everyone fueled up for the long haul. Your models may need lean sources of protein, while your clients may balk at plain chicken breasts and broccoli. The crew may find coq au vin to be off-putting, while others may be unhappy with vegan lasagna. Here are some great ideas for an amazing catering menu that can keep everyone happy.
1. Fajita bar
A fajita bar offers a wide range of options for all of the different dietary needs at a photo shoot. Vegetarians and vegans can put together a vegetarian meal with rice, beans and fajita veggies. Fajitas also offer gluten-free options and low-cal options. Models can eat plain chicken and veggies and the crew can go whole hog and slather their fajitas with guacamole, sour cream and enough cheese to float an armada. Moe’s or Chipotle catering is an especially good option for fashion shoots, as they take care of everything for a very reasonable price.
2. Pasta bar
At first glance it might not seem like a pasta bar would provide options for models, but the options actually abound. Just be sure to serve items separately rather than in large trays. You can provide grill chicken that can either be eaten plain or in chicken fettuccine Alfredo. You can also get whole wheat pasta options and salad. Many pasta bars can also include gluten free options, such as noodles made from rice flour rather than wheat flour. Vegans can have pasta with red sauce and Portobello mushrooms or even vegetable lasagna. Vegetarians can even have pasta Alfredo. The crew can of course indulge in all the breadsticks and red sauce their hearts desire. One of my favorite options for photo shoots due to excellent food and low prices is Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
3. Salad and Sandwich bar
Not all photo shoots take place indoors, so a salad and sandwich bar can be a great option for outdoor shoots, particularly in hot weather. Sandwich meats and cheeses can be made into lettuce wraps for the calorie conscious, while hearty breads, rolls and buns can be made available for the rest. Salad veggies can do double duty as sandwich veggies, which should keep clients, models and crew all equally happy. Just remember to offer low-cal options for condiments.
4. Party trays
Not all shoots last all day and sometimes they last long enough for people to need more than a single meal but not quite long enough to warrant two full meals. For that, there are a wide variety of trays available. From shrimp trays, to meat, cheese and cracker trays, a party tray provides more sustenance than a snack, but doesn’t require the labor of a full meal. You can also order hot appetizer trays with more filling items like cheese sticks, jalapeño poppers, popcorn chicken or chicken wings. Veggie trays make a great option for vegans, vegetarians and the more calorieconscious. It’s a little known fact that Costco has excellent party platters and actually serves more organic food than any other retailer in the USA.
These days, when planning a catering menu for a photo shoot, you have to take a number of factors into consideration. Not just individual tastes and preferences, but even dietary restrictions. It is important to do your best to ensure in advance that everyone’s dietary restrictions are taken into account and everyone has an option they can eat. You may not be able to make everyone happy, but you can at least keep them fed!