What is the difference between corporate catering and corporate banqueting?

Corporate catering mainly covers deliveries and simple services: coffee breaks, lunch boxes, office buffets. Banqueting runs the whole event, with front-of-house staff, set-up and control of the timing, as at a gala dinner or a congress with lunch for hundreds of people.

How do you handle lunch at a congress with many participants?

With several service points, shifts and a quick format, such as a buffet with stations or a standing light lunch. The banqueting company needs to know the exact session times and the number of participants for each day.

What VAT applies to banqueting for a company?

For food and drink served with staff, VAT is normally charged at 10%. Whether entertainment expenses are deductible or the VAT recoverable should be checked with your accountant.

How far ahead should you book banqueting for a gala dinner?

There is no fixed rule. For December, the season of corporate Christmas dinners, and for the dates of major congresses in Rome, start a few months ahead, together with the venue.

Corporate banqueting in Rome: galas, congresses and conventions

In short

Corporate banqueting is needed when the event has many guests, several stages and tight timing.

The typical formats: welcome coffee, coffee break, business lunch, aperitivo, gala dinner.

At congresses, shifts, service points and session times are what count.

Food and drink served with staff normally carries 10% VAT: always check with your finance department.

A gala dinner for 300 people in a palazzo in the centre and a three-day congress in EUR have little in common, except one thing: the timing cannot go wrong. Speeches on stage, sessions and official guests set the pace. Corporate banqueting is the service that adapts to that pace.

When you need banqueting and when catering is enough

For a working lunch in a meeting room, boxes or a delivered buffet are enough: that is catering. The difference is explained in the guide to banqueting and catering.

You need banqueting when:

guests are seated or the service has to be synchronised across many tables;
the venue is empty and has to be set up;
there are several moments in the same day;
the audience is institutional or international;
diets and allergies have to be managed reliably across large numbers.

Corporate event formats

Format	When	What it asks of the banqueting company
Welcome coffee	Arrival, before the sessions	Speed, several service points, espresso or dispensed coffee
Coffee break	Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks	Quick restocking, a precise length
Business lunch	Lunch between sessions	Buffet with stations or light lunch, tight timing
Aperitivo or cocktail	End of the working day, product launches	Passed finger food, bar, music
Gala dinner	The main evening	Plated service, stage, speeches, direction

You will find dedicated guides for the individual formats: corporate coffee breaks, business lunches, the corporate gala dinner.

The gala dinner

The gala dinner is the corporate banquet closest to a wedding: laid tables, Italian-style plated service, a programme on stage. The differences:

the running order sets the timing: awards, speeches, videos. Courses are served in the gaps;
service is synchronised: every table receives its plate at the same time, so as not to disturb the speakers;
guests may be international: bilingual menu, religious diets, allergies;
image matters: table linen, uniforms and table setting consistent with the brand.

With foreign guests a menu with a local touch can work well, alongside creative Italian or international dishes: a Roman pasta finished in front of guests, artichokes in spring, a dessert such as ricotta and sour cherry tart. If you go this way, pair it with wines from Lazio and explain the choice on the printed menu.

The congress

At congresses the banqueting company works with large numbers and tight timing. Lunch has to fit between two sessions, the coffee break lasts a few minutes, hundreds of people leave the hall at once.

What counts:

service points: more buffets and more coffee stations avoid queues;
shifts: if the space is not enough, lunch is split into shifts coordinated with the programme;
a quick format: buffets with stations, finger food, dishes that can be eaten standing;
numbers per day: participants change from one day to the next, so agree when the numbers will be confirmed;
diets: flagged at registration, with a dedicated point or labelled dishes.

Find out more in the guide to catering for congresses in Rome.

Where it happens in Rome

Conference centres and hotels in EUR and other areas: sometimes the banqueting is in-house, as the venue's exclusive caterer.
Historic palazzi and terraces in the centre: access within the ZTL (restricted traffic zone), loading and unloading times, cramped kitchen space. Read the guide to catering in the historic centre.
Villas and farmhouses outside the city, for conventions and incentive dinners: shuttles, a field kitchen and a weather plan B are needed.
Industrial spaces and showrooms, for product launches: often empty, to be set up from scratch.

For Rome's ZTL, check the permits on the Roma Mobilità website.

The staff

For a gala dinner, industry guides generally suggest one waiter for every 15-20 guests for plated service and one bartender for every 50-75 guests. At a corporate event there are often also hostesses, a cloakroom and a manager who liaises with the agency or the events office. The roles are explained in the guide to banqueting staff roles.

Invoice, VAT and contract

VAT: for food and drink served with staff, VAT is normally 10%. Simple deliveries may carry different rates.
Entertainment expenses: deductibility and VAT recovery have their own rules, to be checked with your accountant.
Electronic invoicing: provide the company name, VAT number and recipient code before the event.
Contract: minimum numbers, deadline for final numbers, cancellation penalties, plan B.

For price ranges, read corporate catering prices in Rome.

A congress day: sample running order

An indicative running order for a working day. The times depend on the programme and the number of participants.

Indicative time	Moment	What the banqueting company prepares
Before opening	Welcome coffee	Coffee stations, water, sweet and savoury breakfast items
Mid-morning	Coffee break	Quick restocking, fast clearing
Lunch break	Business lunch	Buffet with stations or light lunch, a point for special diets
Mid-afternoon	Coffee break	A lighter format, fruit, water
End of the day	Aperitivo	Passed finger food, bar

Ask the banqueting company to work from the same programme used by the agency or the congress secretariat. If a session runs over, they need to know immediately.

Questions to ask the caterer

Have you worked at this venue or conference centre before? Are you its exclusive caterer?
How do you organise the service around the event's running order? Who talks to the production team?
How many service points do you plan for lunch and the coffee break?
How many front-of-house and kitchen staff, role by role?
How do you handle diets, allergies and religious menus across large numbers?
Can you print bilingual menus and allergen labels?
Is the price inclusive or exclusive of VAT? What is included?
By when do we give you the final numbers for each day?

To continue

Corporate banqueting is judged on precision: timing, numbers, communication with the organisers. Compare two or three companies on the same running order. You will find the list of corporate caterers in Rome and, once you have dates and participants, you can request a quote. To choose methodically, read how to choose a banqueting company.