A World of Choices in How to Host a Taco-Themed Event

Tacos by cart, tacos by truck and tacos from a kitchen: How to choose which is right for your event? Consider your crowd and how they like to be entertained.

 

Some people just have to cook it for themselves. So it is indeed possible to make your own gourmet tacos at home. The various stars of famous television food shows share their recipes for ingredients and tortillas, in both soft- and crispy-shell styles. Of note, they seem to love equally chicken, steak, fish and even turkey fillings, but all seem to think a specific salsa is of paramount importance.

 

But anyone who is entertaining or planning a large business event knows to leave the cooking to the professionals. That still leaves lots of decisions to be made – whether your taco cart caterers should also provide a mobile margarita bar, if you want to round out the experience with Mexican or Caribbean music (heck, tacos are so versatile even a Mozart suite might suffice). Most important, the event planner should decide exactly how the taco service is done:

 

Traditional sit-down taco catering – Many caterers offer a range of menus, one of which might be taco-themed. This is not taco catering per sé, but catering with tacos as the star of the show. But there is the risk of inauthenticity when the head chef is best known for her corned beef, lasagnas or consummé – and probably not carne asada.

 

Taco carts – Perhaps the best part about taco carts is you get the whole kit-and-kaboodle – taco kitchen, taco ingredients, taco cook – right there in front of you. With a taco cart you can pretty much ask to have the taco made any way you like it. A caterer that offers taco carts can also expand with your guest list, adding on one or several carts to accommodate everyone in a timely service fashion.

 

Taco trucks – If the venue for your party accommodates a whole food truck then it might offer the splash your event needs. Taco caterers who work out of food trucks often have a full retinue of ingredients on hand to enable a last minute menu change.

 

When working with any form of taco catering keep in mind a couple things. One, the garnishes, salsas and other ingredients are more important than most people realize. Get your caterer to offer you samples of the pico de gallo, salsa roja or perhaps a cranberry salsa so you can promote it to your guests beforehand. Second, the attitude of taco meals is definitively casual, so expect your guests to mix and mingle. It’s a portable food that enables diners to walk around and carry on a conversation – which is really what party planners and party guests alike want to happen.