With widespread COVID-19 vaccination efforts underway, 2021 is off to a positive start. As more shots get into arms, people are ready to get out and celebrate.

Birthdays, anniversaries, and wedding receptions are all important parts of our lives. After a long year of separation, you want to make sure your first event is a smash. You also want to make sure your guests are safe.

Are you planning your first event in over a year? You’re probably curious about the latest event catering trends. K. Pacho has you covered.

Read on to learn more about 2021’s catering trends and why we’re the perfect spot for your next big party.

Social Distance is the New Normal

Safe gatherings and social distance are the latest trends for catering companies. Vaccinations alone won’t be enough to make people feel completely safe.

Although people are ready to gather, they’ll feel more comfortable at a safe distance. When you book a caterer, you want assurance that guest safety is the highest priority.

You’ll need a larger space for fewer people. K. Pacho has enough space to accommodate your party. We also offer many different dining layouts, and our catering manager will work with you to meet your safety needs.

• Chef’s Table: An intimate space seating up to 10 guests perfect for a small business event or private family party.
• Private Dining Room: Normally seats up to 20 guests but is perfect for a moderate-sized gathering with proper spacing.
• Backroom: This space seats up to 100 guests but can fit 60 socially distanced guests at multiple tables.
• Main Dining Room: K. Pacho’s main dining room offers guests social distancing in a gorgeous, comfortable space.
• Bar and Lounge: Our bar and lounge have space for 100 guests and comfortable sofa-style seating for comfortable gatherings.

Staggered Meal Times

Pre-pandemic events were all about gathering as many people as you could in one space. Unfortunately, those types of events are still not possible.

The latest catering trends give you options. Host your next event at K. Pacho and stagger the meal times. Shift dining is a fantastic and safe way for your event to host as many guests as possible.

Between your dedicated dining times, the K. Pacho staff flips and sanitizes the room per CDC guidelines and our own strenuous COVID safety plan.

Social Wrist Bands

Many people spent the last year working from home. If you weren’t able to work from home, you still avoided large social gatherings.

As a sense of normalcy returns, people will have a different comfort level as they gather again. The challenging part while hosting an event is to make everyone feel comfortable.

Some people are ready for close, social interaction. Some aren’t. How do you mitigate that?

A new catering trend is colored wristbands illustrating an individual’s comfort level. Here’s how they work:

• Red: No physical contact, uncomfortable with social interaction.
• Yellow: Comfortable with socially distanced social interaction.
• Green: Comfortable with any social interaction.

K. Pacho’s catering staff will help you distribute these wristbands and work overtime to ensure your guests’ comfort.

Plated Dinners

Buffets, grazing stations, and passed hors d’oeuvres are staples of catering businesses. K. Pacho offers the most creative Mexican-style cuisine guaranteed to please even the pickiest eater.

Your guests, however, may not yet feel comfortable showing themselves to the buffet. Buffet-style service isn’t for everyone, and you have to respect that.

Until people are comfortable, why not utilize the catering trend of individual dinners? These are, of course, nothing new in the catering world. More businesses now offer this style of service to put guests at ease.

The Safety Swag Bag

The swag bag, or goodie bag, is a way you keep your company at the front of any client’s mind after an event. These bags expand your reach and leave your guests feeling cared for and respected.

When you’re inviting strangers to an event, it’s impossible to know what safety precautions they take. Everybody has an opinion on masks and social distancing.

The first thing you should know when booking a caterer is that K. Pacho takes these guidelines seriously. We want all of your guests to have a safe, comfortable experience.

You can take safety to the next level by giving out a safety swag bag to your guests. These bags are a hot catering trend and feature masks and hand sanitizer with your company logo.

Everyone in the room will have a mask to help protect your other guests. Handing out the safety swag keeps you from having to play the role of public safety officer while you’re hosting your party.

Bring Your Party Home

Catering companies and restaurants had to pivot hard in 2020 to stay afloat. Take-out dinners and at-home catering became a part of everyone’s business model.

Service industry experts expect this trend to continue. Why not? An at-home catered party can be both comfortable and fun.

We’ll take your next family event over the top. We offer a selection of family-style meal packages and to-go cocktails prepared by our chefs and mixologists. Let us do the work for your next at-home event.

2021 Event Catering at K. Pacho

The restaurant business and event catering changed so much in the past year. The latest catering trends reflect much-needed comfort and safety.

At K. Pacho, we’ve embraced these trends and set a few of our own. Contactless menus, extra sanitation, and heightened service protocols are a few of the ways we go above and beyond to keep you safe and happy.

Are you ready to book an event in the New Hyde Park area that features the most delicious Mexican cuisine? Contact us today and find out what we offer.