April is Earth Month – a whole month dedicated to celebrating eco-friendly practices and education both in daily life and business. As a sustainable Chicagoland caterer, we want to do our part in educating others by sharing sustainable partnerships and tips you can use to make your next event as eco-friendly as possible! We’ll discuss how to choose specific dishes for your catered event, how to properly portion them, and the best accouterments to pair with them for a well-rounded, eco-conscious event that both tastes delicious and is great for the planet.
Garlos’ Guacamole Pleasing Platter
Earth Month Tips
Seasonality
Chicagoans are lucky to encounter every season each year (sometimes in one day)! From the chilly winters to the sunny summers, each season provides specific planting and harvest times for fruits and vegetables. Across our menus, we offer plenty of options that feature in-season produce year-round. We encourage you to work with your designated sales specialist to choose delicious dishes that feature in-season, locally sourced ingredients. We also encourage choosing vegetarian and vegan options for your catered event menu, as they have a smaller carbon footprint than meat options.
Composed Caprese Salad
For example, a summer catered wedding reception menu could include:
Hors d’Oeuvres
- Gazpacho Shooter: A Spanish summer classic with tomato, garlic, and olive oil, accompanied by a garlic-toasted flatbread
- Vegan “Sausage” Roll: A delicious lentil-filled puff pastry topped with a red onion chutney
First Course Salad
- Composed Caprese Salad: A delightful, composed salad comprised of yellow & red tomatoes, basil pesto, mozzarella cheese, and a balsamic glaze, garnished with micro greens
Entrées
- Pan-Roasted Halibut: A flavorful dish topped with orange cayenne gastrique, mango, mint & strawberry relish, which you can pair with pan-wilted spinach and savory wild rice blend
- Vegan Moroccan-Spiced Grilled Tofu with Moroccan Barley & Chickpea Salad: This bountiful dish is comprised of grilled tofu, tuxedo barley and chickpeas, cumin-roasted carrots, pistachios, dried apricots, scallion, and pickled red onions
Decadent Sweets
- The Decadent Cheesecake Strawberry: A fan-favorite decadent dessert dipped in dark chocolate
- Vanilla Cream Fruit Parfait: A sweet way to end the night with vanilla pastry cream, fresh seasonal berries, and whipped cream
Signature Cocktail & Mocktail
- Gardener’s Spritz: A refreshing summer sip, this cocktail is made with Empress 1908 Elderflower Rose Gin, Elderflower Liqueur, Lemon Juice, Mint, Prosecco, and soda water
- Sin City Sober: The ideal summer mocktail made with strawberries, mint, lemon juice, and simple syrup
 Gardner’s Spritz Signature Cocktail |
 Sin City Sober Signature Mocktail |
We are thankful to work with many Chicagoland partners who help us achieve sourcing locally as much as possible. We also maintain an herb garden at our commissary during the summer months, where we grow tomatoes, herbs, and edible flowers to utilize in dishes and signature cocktails! We aim to use the tools at our disposal to promote sustainability in our cuisine and bring you a deliciously eco-friendly experience.
Dinnerware & Disposables
The next tip we have to offer revolves around dinnerware and disposables! Each event we help bring to life has its own specifications and customizations, and our sales specialists will help you procure the proper accouterments to match your vision. For full-service events such as weddings or corporate galas, we suggest using china, flatware, and glassware not only for a beautiful presentation but to help prevent potential landfill waste.
Saffron Risotto Cakes
For drop-off catering occasions such as graduation parties or corporate meetings, we recommend using our 100% compostable and/or recyclable disposables. Our palm leaf plates and bowls, as well as our balsa wood platters, are completely non-toxic, chemical-free, and made from 100% renewable resources. For hot boxed individual meals, such as our Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, we use recyclable containers, and for cold boxed individual meals, such as our California Chicken Sandwich, we use our plant fiber containers, which are 100% biodegradable and made from natural plant material.
 Chipotle Chicken Gourmet Sandwich Box |
 California Chicken Gourmet Sandwich Box |
Portioning
Our last tip is a detail that may take a back seat when planning your catered event, but is nonetheless incredibly important – portioning! Be it corporate meetings, a catered reception, or Chicago drop-off catering, our sales specialists will work with you to ensure you order the right amount of food for your event.
For full-service affairs, whether your catered event requires a beautiful plated meal, a bountiful buffet, or sumptuous stations, ensuring you have an accurate guest count will help reduce waste at the end of your event.
Sweet & Savory Plated Salad
For delivered catered occasions, our menus are notated with serving portions or items included on a tray to help you plan your menu in accordance with your specifications. Your designated sales specialist will help you further by clarifying certain details about your event such as the style of service you envision, the timing of the event, and ensuring your guests’ preferences are taken into account.
Drop Off Catering Breakfast Options
Our team aims to ensure you have the right number of tasty dishes while minimizing waste by the end of your event.
Sustainable Partnerships
To ensure that our operations and business practices are as green as our ingredients, we aim to hold ourselves accountable through our sustainable partnerships and recognitions. In an ever-changing environmental landscape, staying up to date on the most eco-conscious initiatives and learning from others in the industry is of the utmost importance. We are proud to be a 3-star certified Green Caterer® as recognized by the Green Restaurant Association. They annually verify that we are maintaining our sustainable practices, and we aim to improve ourselves each year – each step counts towards helping the environment!
Herb Garden
We are also a proud member of the Sustainable Events Collective – a coalition of event industry professionals with varied practices that aim to encourage sustainability in events and promote education on sustainable practices in both personal and professional life. Sustainable Events Collective was previously recognized as both Green Wedding Alliance and Green Events Alliance, and is still the same collective you know and love, but with an updated look! Their initiatives and responsibilities remain the same, and they have many incredible events lined up this year, including their annual Beach Sweep! Stay tuned for more details.
SEC’s Committed Wedding Show
Contact Us
Earth Month is a time to celebrate doing good for the environment, but we want to remind everyone that caring about the planet is always in season! We hope you learned something new and can apply it when planning your next catered event with us. Sustainable catering is far more achievable than one might think, and if you have any questions about your catered event experience, feel free to email us at [email protected]. We can’t wait to help bring your next event to life sustainably!
