Blog posts tagged with 'caterers'

The year continues to fly by; it seems like July was just yesterday but it’s already the middle of August. The days are getting shorter and cooler, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had on patios and on decks across the nation. Soon though, students will be heading back to school to start a new year of learning.

Life is a series of teachable moments.

Of course, learning doesn’t just have to happen in a school. Any room can be a classroom, if there is a desire to learn. Sometimes learning starts with the phrase, "Here, hold my beer and watch this," and sometimes it is a little more formal. To help facilitate more formal learning, National Event Supply offers our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Training Tables and our NES Wood Folding Training Table. Both of these tables are perfect for temporary or permanent classroom settings, featuring reduced widths, sturdy construction, and easy set-up. If you’re interested in facilitating more informal learning, National Event Supply offers beer glasses in our Eclisse Line.

Interested in a Wood Training Tables?

NES Wood Training Tables are 96 inches (8-feet) long, 18 inches wide, and 29.5 inches tall. They’re made of ¾ inch plywood that is 13 layers thick and has been clear-coated. They also feature grey, powder-coated legs and support rails that are bolted through the tabletop for additional strength. We currently stock these tables with black PVC vinyl edging, but they are also available on a special-order basis with aluminum bull-nosed edging. They are currently available in our Toronto warehouse and are part of our buy 10 get 1 free promotion.

Have you thought about Plastic Training Tables?

NES Reliable Plastic Folding Training Tables are 71 inches long, 19.5 inches wide, and 29.25 inches tall. Being just under 6-feet long, they are perfect for narrower rooms, and feature an additional 1.5 inches for people using the table. They also feature grey powder-coated legs and have an off-white plastic top like our NES Reliable Round Folding Tables and our NES Reliable Rectangular Folding Tables. Unlike our plastic folding tables and our wood folding tables, they have a perfectly smooth top that is ideal for writing or drawing on. They are currently available in our Toronto warehouse and are also part of our buy 10 get 1 free promotion.

Hope everyone's July went well - we're back with our monthly round up of the best articles and blogs in the event planning, party rental and catering industry. There were so many good reads this month it was hard to choose just a handful! Here at NES, we've been testing the durability of our wood folding tables and plastic folding tables to see how they hold up against the elements. If you're interested in seeing the results, check out the current winner of the folding table durability test.

Many dream of having events outdoors during the warmer weather - but sometimes the anxiety associated with lack of control of the weather can deter those from actually making a go of it. While you can take the route of a more controlled indoor event, adding control to outdoor events is possible. Check out this article in Special Events Magazine on tips to ensure you select a caterer experienced with the outdoors.

The Food Channel has released its 2013 Trends Forecast. With tea, agave, "smokin' hot" meats and traditionally seasonal foods being stretched year round, 2013 is a cornucopia of variety sure to not disappoint the adventurous of caterers, chefs and clients. Here's a look at what Canadian Special Events sees happening in the world of food for 2013.

Struggling to find the perfect venue to satisfy your client's every dream? Event Solutions posted an amazing article on a unique type of venue that can hold an intimate or expansive event and is sure to impress even the most cynical of guest. Head over to Event Solutions to hit your next event "Out of the Park".

Over at Restaurant Central, the NPD Group, who sources consumer data to identify trends in the Canadian foodservice industry wrote an article to help better understand the foodservice industry marketplace. Are Canadians eating out more or less often? If they are, where are they eating out, and when during the day are they eating out more, or less, often? "Read this article" to gain a fuller perspective on what's happening in the Canadian marketplace.

Porcelain Dinnerware can be a tough nut to crack. Sure, you have great round plates that rent reasonably well, but so do a lot of your competitors. What you need is something that will catch your customer’s eye, something that not all of your competitors have, and something that can make a statement on a tabletop. What you need is Square Dinnerware! With that said, here are three reasons why you should consider investing in square dinnerware.

1) It’s Not What Your Customers Have!

Go into the average kitchen and take a look at the plates in the cupboard. I bet that they’re round. Nothing makes an event feel different or special than something other than ordinary. Round dishes are normal and ordinary. Square dinner plates? They’re different and extraordinary! While Square Plates won’t guarantee an extraordinary event, they’ll help set the tone of the event for your customer. Their guests will look at their plate and be like “Yo dog, this plate is totally square. This event is off the hook!” or at least they do in my unfinished Great Canadian Novel “The Hunger Games: Four Weddings and a Funeral.” Seriously though, giving your customers something special can get them in your door and get your products into their event.

2) It’s not what your competitors have!

If you’ve got competition in your town, city, metropolis, centre of the universe, having something different can help you win business. Square dinnerware can help you stand out from the crowd and provide an important point of difference between you and every other rental company in the area. If customers can get the unique dinnerware from you, they may also choose to rent chairs, tents, tables, heaters, and a whole slew of your other rental products. Differentiating yourself from your competitors can improve your bottom line and drive rentals to other segments of your business. And who doesn’t like making more sales?

3) They’ve got the Look!

If you’ve got catering customers looking to make a splash, or event planners who want to make their event memorable, square dinnerware can help make a table go from blah to boom. Square dinnerware can be mixed and matched with other unique pieces to create a table to remember. Instead of a round salad serving bowl, they could go with a square salad serving bowl. Why use an oval platter when you could use a rectangular platter. And they don’t have to just stick with square dinnerware, small rectangular platters inject a bit of pizzazz into a plate of appetizers, or a fantastic dessert. We eat with our eyes, and plating a gorgeous piece of meat on a square dinner plate can make a good meal great! Don’t believe me? Restaurants are moving to square and rectangle plates because they add a little va-va-voom to the table.

If you think you might be interested in Square Dinnerware why not check out our Quadrato Line. Our Quadrato Line is a full service line with four different plate sizes, eight different bowl sizes, square and rectangular platters, and all the accessory pieces needed for a table that will drive your customers wild! Quadrato Dinnerware is heavy-duty porcelain dinnerware that will excel in a commercial or rental situation, while costing a fraction of what the square lines from Dudson, Steelite, and Royal Daulton which you typically buy at your local Restaurant Supply Houses charge.

It’s hard to believe that July is almost over. It seems like just yesterday that we were bundling up against the cold and using road salt for something other than showing how strong our wood and plastic tables are. While July may be gone, there is still a month of summer left. There is still a month of sitting on the patio at your favourite pub, bar, bistro, or restaurant, drinking cold beer and enjoying the dying sunlight at the end of a long day. Yes, my friends, August is still to come! And if you’ve been dealing with rain, or other inclement weather, there is still a chance to make your patio a glorious destination for those who seek nothing more than to savour every moment of a fleeting summer.

Back in Stock: Bistro Chairs

It always seems that we’re short an item as summer hits its stride and this year is no exception. After a bit of a slow start, we managed to completely sell out of our White Bistro Chairs. When we realised we were going to run out of the perfect chair for patios and outdoor events, we got on the horn and ordered a container to be shipped to us tout suite! And make no mistake; they are the perfect chair for the patio. They’re incredibly comfortable and incredibly strong, perfect for lazy days tipping back a few brews. Unlike patio chairs that you can pick up at any big box store, these chairs won’t buckle or collapse when a larger customer takes a seat. And with their curved and textured seat, your customers can sit in comfort while they peruse your menus. Our NES Reliable Bistro Chairs come in black or white and ship from our Toronto Warehouse. They are priced at $19.95/ea and go down in price with volume.

Beer Glasses

If you’re in the rental business, it can be tough to find beer glasses that have attractive prices and don’t require beer goggles to get past the ugly. Luckily, National Event Supply has you covered. In our Eclisse line we have two different sizes of Beer Glass that would be perfect for any event that you may be hosting. Our 12oz Beer Glass is almost 7 inches tall with a nice thick base to prevent tipping. We also have a 14oz Beer Glass that has a bit of a stem and a bowl a bit like a wineglass. One might call it chalice shaped if one were a bit pretentious. Our 12oz Beer Glasses are $1.75/ea and our 14oz Beer Glasses are $1.85/ea.

Ribs are Nice, Steak with all the Fixin’s is Nicer

In a previous blog article, Jonathan showed off his barbequing prowess with some gorgeous BBQ Ribs. When he showed me the pictures of those succulent ribs with that spicy sauce sizzling over a low fire, the sugars carmelizing… I wanted them. It didn’t matter that it was 9am—those ribs looked like a little piece of heaven.

I went home and thought about it and decided that I needed to see if I could surpass his barbequing skills. Behold the fruits of my labour! Beautiful, thick rib-eye steaks; twice baked potatoes overloaded with cheese, chives, and goodness; and some fresh corn, grilled to enhance its flavour. This glorious meal was served on our Angelika Dinnerware, and was followed by a tangy key-lime pie.

Enjoy Summer, My Friends!

It may be hot. It may be sticky. Highways may be crammed with cars and constantly being repaired. But in 6 months when winter has taken hold of the country and the Christmas decorations are being put away for another year, you’ll miss summer. You’ll miss laughing with friends on the patio; drinking ice-cold margaritas on hot, humid days; and the feeling you get when the sun beats down on your face. Enjoy summer, my friends. And if you need some bistro chairs for your patio, or beer glasses for an event, don’t hesitate to drop us a note.

Our last three stress test videos have focused on our wood and plastic rectangular tables. We've seen how much weight it has taken to overstress a 6-ft rectangular plastic folding table, an 8-ft rectangular plastic folding table, and an 8-ft rectangular wood folding table. Today, we're going to take a look at our NES Reliable Folding Bar Chair. Our folding bar chairs are made of the same material as our NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chairs which we overstressed and endurance tested. Will the NES Reliable Folding Bar Chair be able to hold as much weight as the NES Reliable Plastic Folding Chair? Watch the video and find out!

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net