At times, planning a large-scale event can seem almost impossibly complicated.
It’s more than writing up a guest list, sending out invitations, and booking a venue. The best events are packed with detail. Every specific element has been seen to and planned for. And what element is more important than the food?
Food can make or break your event. If your food is good, people will linger in their seats or stand beside the dessert table, talking and bonding over their meals. If your food is bad, then your guests will be left hungry, and it’s all they’ll be able to remember once the event is over.
Unfortunately, great food can be incredibly difficult to organize. Many event planners choose to bring in outside caterers, but this can be a mess. Trying to juggle phone calls and emails between yourself, the venue, and the caterers is often overwhelming. And figuring out when and where your caterer should enter the venue is a problem in and of itself.
At Overland Park Convention Center, we do our best to cut through all the red tape and help you ourselves. We offer comprehensive food service for your event.
So no matter what you’re in the mood for, we can prepare it and serve it onsite. Stop stressing about the food and let our qualified team handle it!
A Venue for You
At the Overland Park Convention Center, our team wants nothing more than to help you plan your perfect event. Thanks to our highly qualified team, you’ll never have to feel like you’re working alone.
We strive to offer our assistance with anything you may need. Looking for a sensory-inclusive space? Well, inclusivity is very important to us!
Want a venue that prioritizes sustainability? We’re always working to lower our environmental footprint!
The industry-leading publication EXHIBITOR Magazine named us one of North America’s Top 25 Convention Centers. We’re so proud, and we’re incredibly honored to receive this distinction for the fifth year in a row.
A Food Professional
You want a qualified chef behind the food service for your event, and we have one of the best! Our chef has a long list of accolades.
He worked with the Michelin-award-winning chef, Wolfgang Puck. Our chef also competed on the popular cooking program, Beat Bobby Flay, where he managed to do what most cannot—he defeated Bobby Flay on his own show.
These accomplishments have awarded him many opportunities, like cooking for the Governor of Ohio at the Governor’s Mansion. He even cooked for President Clinton at the White House! Now, we’re incredibly fortunate to have him working with us at OPCC.
Does Your Event Need Food?
You may be wondering if your event needs food at all, and the answer is probably “yes!”
People most commonly associate catering with events like weddings, award shows, and banquets, but you shouldn’t hesitate to include food during conferences, expos, and business meetings.
While it might not be expected, food is always appreciated. It doesn’t have to be a large meal, either. We offer all kinds of different food items. Your clients may appreciate a small snack, even if it’s just a few hors d’oeuvres to keep conversation flowing during an important board meeting.
Food-Related Amenities
Some people might be hesitant to order food for their event because they don’t want the extra hassle.
After all, depending on the caliber of the event, food may require amenities like tables, tablecloths, and cloth napkins. Not to mention a whole service staff! But you don’t have to worry about organizing those kinds of amenities because we supply all of them in-house.
Just tell us your vision, and we’ll work with you to make it happen. We want to make things easier for you every step of the way, so if you have a new idea that can improve your event, be sure to let us know!
A Customizable Menu
Another reason someone might be hesitant to order food with us is because they’re unaware of the breadth of our menu. You don’t want to be forced into serving the same menu as hundreds of events before you. But that doesn’t need to be a concern!
We have a vast variety of options. You could plan dozens of different events at OPCC and never eat the same thing twice. We understand that you want the food service for your event to be unique, and we want to help. So let’s take a look at our different menu options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and beyond!
Breakfast
If you have guests coming to your event early, you want to make sure that they’re fueled up and ready to go. A complete breakfast can make sure everyone is awake and prepared to take on the day.
Breakfast is perhaps one of the most wide-ranging meals of the day. From savory to sweet, breakfast has it all—and we do too! Options for our breakfast include items such as:
- Sticky buns
- Scrambled eggs
- Sausage
- French toast
- Frittatas
- Mini pastries
- Bacon
- Breakfast potatoes
- Yogurt
- And more!
Start the day off on the right food with our many breakfast options.
Lunch
Our options for breakfast are expansive, and this variety continues through lunch. If you’re hosting a day-long or a week-long event, lunch can provide a nice break from the hustle and bustle of a busy conference or a packed trade show.
Lunch gives guests time to unpack after the morning’s activities and an occasion to prepare for the rest of the day’s itinerary. Lunch can be light for those saving room for dinner, but for anyone who missed breakfast, lunch could also be a necessary pick-me-up. Lunch items include:
- A variety of salads, including antipasto and bleu cheese
- Wraps
- Pitas
- Stir fry
- Pork medallions
- Chicken breasts
- And more!
Snacks
Snacks are an important part of the food service for your event.
Depending on how busy your guests are, they might not have time to sit down for lunch. This is understandable, especially if your event’s schedule is packed wall-to-wall with can’t-miss events. But you don’t want anyone to go hungry while they’re walking through the trade show floor or listening to exciting guest speakers.
As a result, you might want to offer snack options for guests. These are smaller-scale food choices for anyone who either doesn’t have the time or the room for a full-sized meal.
We have options for those looking for something a little more health-conscious, as well as options for someone looking to satisfy their sweet tooth. Either way, they’re all delicious. These options include:
- Cupcakes
- Mixed nuts
- Fruit and cheese skewers
- Brownies
- Mousse shooters
- Donut hole skewers
- Trail mix
- 7 layer dip cup
- Ice cream sandwiches
- Chips and salsa
- Mini cannolis
- Pretzel bites with cheese dip
- And more!
Dinner
Dinner sets the tone for the evening. Depending on the event, you may want us to serve something a little more sophisticated or a little more casual. But no matter the kind of dinner you want, we think you’ll be impressed all the same.
Take a look at some of our dinner options, and see how you can start your evening off on the right foot. We have choices like:
- Garlic chicken breasts
- Squash risotto
- Truffle risotto
- Bone-in pork chops
- Braised short ribs
- And more!
We also offer Jack Stack BBQ. Jack Stack is a Kansas City staple, operating out of the city since 1957. Visitors from all over the country love Jack Stack, and we think your guests will like it too!
Dessert
What menu would be complete without dessert? For many of your guests—especially if they’re coming from out of town—an event or conference might be the perfect occasion to treat themselves. Make it easy for them with our dessert menu.
We think people have the tendency to overlook dessert. We want your guests to be impressed during every meal, so we put some extra care into outlining dessert options. Take a look; we have:
- Bailey’s Irish Cream cheesecake tarts
- Coconut, cocoa, and chopped nut truffles
- Amaretto-coated blueberry and lemon pound cakes
- Black forest custards
- Strawberry shortcakes
- And more!
Drinks
After all that eating, a little drinking might be in order, too! We have drink options for all occasions. For many, a wedding isn’t complete without a champagne toast!
Hosting an all-ages event? We have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available for underage guests or anyone who doesn’t feel like drinking! But for those who do want to imbibe, we have a whole list of cocktails, wine, and imported beer. Take a look at our drink options for your next event:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Lemonade
- Gatorade
- Rockstar
- Pepsi
- Mountain Dew
- Vodka
- Tequila
- Chardonnay
- Merlot
- Cabernet
- Corona
- Bud Light
- Miller Light
- And much, much more!
Schedule Your Event Today
We want to help make the event planning process easier. Food is an important part of any occasion, and our accomplished culinary team can lighten the load. You won’t have to worry about managing caterers or cooking food yourself—we can take care of the food service for your event.
If you’d like more information about how to plan your menu or how to schedule your event, reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you.
Want an estimate on how much an event might run you? Take a look at our virtual event estimate tool. This tool is a short, easy-to-understand questionnaire that will ask you some basic questions about your event.
When we know more about your event, we can formulate a basic, commitment-free estimate. The tool is totally free to use, so there’s no reason to wait. Try it now!
