Ordering Tips & Advice

Ordering enough food for people can be an overwhelming experience. There are many things to consider, such as variety, quantity, special dietary needs, and more. That’s why we’ve designed a menu that is broken up into easy-to-navigate categories, on a user-friendly website.

We’ve also gone one step further by providing a few helpful ordering tips below!
You may also wish to check out the sister Catering Tips and Advice page.

Ordering by Function Type:
Ordering for breakfast? Lunch? A cocktail or sit-down event? We have a few handy tips to consider for some of the most popular types of functions:  

• Breakfast Function – add in a fruit platter or two, and some refreshing juice to wash it all down; coffee and tea is a must. Disposable plates and/or disposable cups always come in handy for a more casual breakfast setting.
• Lunch Function – a classic spread of signature Impressive sandwiches is a no-brainer for your corporate lunch function, but why not order a platter or two of our champion hot finger foods or enticing cold finger foods to satisfy those insatiable appetites? We recommend variety for a lunch spread to surprise your guests and entice them to the table.
• Afternoon Tea Function – this is the perfect time of day to perk up your guests with some of our moreish sweets & cakes – perfectly balanced with some healthy cheese & fruit platters. A coffee and tea station will also serve to chase away those afternoon yawns!  
• Evening Event – give your guests a variety of foods to choose from! For a more casual evening spread, we recommend a selection of both hot finger foods and cold finger foods, and one, or several, of our Beer and Wine Packages, stylishly served in silver tubs on ice. End the night on a sweet note, by offering a range of our sweets & cakes. 
• Sit-down Event – a sit-down function is the perfect time to consider serving a bountiful buffet meal. We can provide on-site chefs and top-grade buffet warmers to ensure your gourmet spread is kept warm and fresh for service.
• Cocktail Event – to give your guests the space and time to effectively mingle and network, consider hiring our professional boardroom level, silver service waiters and/or bar staff to serve your guests.
• Conference – for a conference event, don’t forget to provide a well-stocked tea and coffee station; you may require more than one to avoid any high-traffic catastrophes. We also suggest taking it up a notch by hiring one of our Nespresso machines to meet all your guest’s frothy-coffee needs. 
• Major Event – do you require a marquee, trestle tables, linen tablecloths, chairs and stools, or ice tubs? How about a function supervisor to take care of all your on-the-day needs? Well don’t fret – we can provide all of the above and more!
• Celebration Event – don’t forget to bring the cheer with a personalised celebration cake!  Whether you’re celebrating a “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Retirement”, we can provide you with a mouth-watering centrepiece, topped with a personalised edible plaque, and vibrant celebration candles!  

Food Quantity:
When dealing with food quantities, we have two ordering strategies to choose from:

1. You can state the quantity you’d like for each product by manually typing in the amount before adding to your cart; or
2. Use the Recommended Amount function, which will pass on all mathematical responsibilities to our expert team.  Simply select the Recommended Amount tick-box next to each product before or after you add to your shopping cart. Our team will provide you with the recommended amounts of your chosen items based on both the number of attendees at your function and the variety of products you have selected.

Special Dietary Requirements:
Always make sure you are aware of any attendees who are intolerant to certain foods or have chosen to be on a specific diet. Take a look at our Special Dietary Pages for more information on the following most common diets:

• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Gluten Free
• Dairy Free
• Low Fructose
• FODMAP
• Keto
• Halal

If you are unsure or unable to find out before the event takes place, we highly recommend having a few vegetarian and gluten free products on the table, just to be safe. 

Order History:
Want what you’ve ordered in the past? Head over to our Order History page for detailed instructions on how to access your Order History and re-order your favourite goods!

Short Notice Orders: 
We appreciate that you may not always be notified in advance of forthcoming functions, which is why our customer service representatives are always on hand to assist with any short notice orders. Please see our Express Menu for details on what foods are available for those last minute events, or give us a call on 03 9320 5000 between 9:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday.

Last Minute Changes: 
We understand there are often forces at work outside of your control, which is why our team at Impressive platters will make every possible effort to assist you with any last minute changes to orders. 

You can make changes to your order up until the day of your delivery; if it has already left the kitchen, we will do our best to fulfil any additional requirements as fast as possible. However, please note: you can only add to your order. All cancellations and reductions need to be made by 11:00am one day prior to the day of your delivery. 

If your order is for a Monday, all cancellations and reductions need to be made before 11:00am on Friday, as we do not operate on the weekends. 

View our full Terms & Conditions for further details.

Cancellations:
Please see the following details for our policy on cancellations; you can view our full Terms & Conditions for more information.

For orders fewer than 25 persons or under the value of $400: cancellations, reductions, or postponed orders must be confirmed by 11:00am one business day prior to the delivery date.  

For all buffet meals: cancelling, reducing, or postponing must be confirmed by 11:00am, two business days prior to the delivery date.

For whole celebration cakes, a 48-hour cancellation policy applies.

For orders over 25 persons or over the value of $400: cancellations, reductions, or postponed orders must be confirmed two business days prior to the delivery date and there will be a 25% to 50% cancellation fee incurred.

For orders over $1,000: cancellations, reductions, or postponed orders must be confirmed two business days prior to the delivery date and there will be a 50% cancellation fee incurred.

For orders over $3,000: cancellations, reductions, or postponed orders must be confirmed three business days prior to the delivery date and there will be a 50% cancellation fee incurred.

COVID-19 notice: All cancellation terms may vary during the current pandemic and will be considered on an individual basis.

General Ordering Tips:
Below are a few general ordering tips straight from the thoughts of our catering specialists:

• We eat with our eyes before our mouths, so pay attention to the colours of the foods on your menu to ensure variety
• Make sure the flavours of your gourmet finger food choices are compatible. For example, avoid mixing Asian and European dishes
• Pay attention to the textures of the foods you want to order (think creamy, crispy, crunchy, light, dense, rich, etc.) and try to balance it out
• Avoid ordering the same titular ingredient for consecutive meals. For example, do not use pumpkin as the starring ingredient in your entree as well as your main course (unless of course your guests are pumpkin fiends!)
• Be aware of the number of attendees and also the male/female ratio, as men do tend to eat more than women!
• Round up your food quantities, don’t round them down. It’s always better to have a little left over rather than leaving your guests hungry. The more variety of items you choose, the less of each will be required
• If you have a budget, let us know so that we can stick to it! 
• Consider the time of day and order accordingly.  Most people tend to eat more at Morning Tea and Lunch, however not so much at Afternoon Tea
• Consider the type of meeting you are catering for – if the attendees are in separate rooms, we recommend items served individually, such as Lunch boxes. If it’s a stand-up meeting, we recommend smaller and bite-sized items, such as cold finger foods and hot finger foods. If the function is a larger and with more senior attendees, you might consider to add wait staff and serve buffet-style, sit-down dinner selections
• Always consider offering both hot and cold foods on a buffet spread
• Would you like to provide crockery and cutlery for your guests?  You can choose from either china/porcelain or disposable.  Even though most of our foods are ‘finger foods’, our buffet meals or salads are best accompanied by crockery & cutlery.  If you don’t have sufficient amounts of plates, forks, knives and cups in your office kitchenette, then it’s better to be safe than to be sorry 
• Allow time for the unforeseen. Nobody enjoys waiting for their food.  It’s always best to request the delivery for 5 to 10 minutes prior to when you’d like the food to be consumed if hot foods are involved.  If your food platters are all cold, then it’s wise to request for them to be delivered 15 to 30 minutes prior
• After you have submitted your order, please keep an eye out for your Order Confirmation from one of our Sales Experts (and not the automatic responder you receive after clicking on the submit button).  If you do not receive a confirmation emailed to your inbox within one hour of placing your order, please call us on 03 9320 5000

Don’t forget to give our catering team a call if you have any queries on 03 9320 5000.

Get a Quote:
Place a request for a free quote here or call our catering specialist team on 03 9320 5000 between 9:00am and 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, for a free quote!