The annual dinner is different from every other corporate catering job. A team lunch that is merely adequate is forgotten by Thursday. The staff dinner is discussed for the next twelve months, and the budget is usually signed off once a year with no second attempt.
What it costs at each size
- 50 staff on the AED 65 classic: AED 3,250
- 100 staff on the classic: AED 6,500, or AED 8,500 on the AED 85 zouq
- 200 staff on the classic: AED 13,000, or AED 17,000 on the zouq
- 300 staff on the classic: AED 19,500, or AED 25,500 on the zouq
The AED 110 premium package, which includes a whole mutton dam pukht ouzi served on rice, comes to AED 11,000 at 100 staff and AED 22,000 at 200. For an annual dinner that centrepiece is often the thing people actually remember, which makes it easier to justify than it looks on a spreadsheet.
Where the money is best spent
Not on moving from the classic to the zouq package across the whole headcount. At 200 staff that is a AED 4,000 upgrade spread thinly enough that most guests will not notice it.
Spend it on live counters instead. A live BBQ or live tandoor counter at AED 10 per person is AED 2,000 across 200 staff, and it is visible, it smells like an occasion, and it solves the queue at the same time. A live jalebi counter at the same price does the same job at the dessert end. Live puri is AED 15.
One live counter on the classic package reads as a bigger event than the zouq package with none.
The three things that go wrong
First, the queue. A single line serving 200 people means the last person eats cold. Split the stations or double the line, and use a live counter to draw a share of the crowd away.
Second, the headcount. Companies book the invite list rather than the attendance. UAE staff dinners routinely see 15 to 25 percent not turn up, and our terms, like the industry's, are that the bill stands at the number booked. Book the realistic figure; the bill adjusts upward if more arrive.
Third, the timing. Final numbers are due three days before the event. That is also when the remaining 50 percent falls due, the first 50 percent having been taken on booking.
How far ahead to book
Three to four weeks for anything over 100 staff. December and the run-up to it is the busiest window for corporate dinners in the UAE, so a date in that period wants more notice rather than less. Lead times by event type covers this in full.
Venue
We cater at your venue across Sharjah, Dubai and Ajman with our own staff, chafing dishes and setup, and table and chair setup is available at AED 15 per person. For smaller teams the restaurant itself takes group bookings, which removes the logistics entirely.
All four packages and the full 160-dish list are on the catering menu. For everyday team meals rather than the annual event, see office lunch ideas.
Planning this year's staff dinner?
Tell us the date and the headcount and we will come back with the menu and the total.
See Corporate Catering
