Adding catering services to your Mexican restaurant can be a great way to boost sales and draw in new customers, but creating a catering menu can sometimes be complicated. You'll want to make sure you choose items that highlight your chef's talents while still ensuring the kitchen staff can keep up with dining room orders as well as catering demands. Here are just a few options you can use to create memorable events for catering guests while sticking to the theme of your restaurant.

Build-Your-Own-Taco Bar

For birthday parties or casual catered events, a build-your-own-taco bar is a smart choice. It requires minimal prep work for your staff, and it gives guests a fun way to customize their meals. You'll want to make sure you offer several different types of proteins, such as steak, ground beef, and shredded chicken, to provide added variety for your guests. Don't be afraid to add a few adventurous toppings to the taco bar to encourage guests to be creative. Pineapple slices can make a surprising flavor complement for chicken, and Swiss cheese on a steak taco creates a unique Mexican-American fusion flavor.

Tapas

Tapas aren't just for Spanish restaurants; they can work well with Mexican food. The idea behind tapas is that guests can share plates of small bites, which lets your catering customers order several different items off your menu. Tapas can be a great option for wedding catering or more upscale events. For your tapas menu, you'll want to look at which of your regular menu items you can make small. For example, mini tamales and mini sopes can be a great option for a tapas menu, and you can also offer them on your appetizer menu in your dining room. Be sure to take this opportunity to add a few new items to the menu. Challenge your chef to create a few fusion options that can appeal to many different tastes, and offer free samples of the new creations to your dining room guests. They can taste-test the items and help you to determine which should be added to the menu.

Breakfast Buffets

Catering customers throwing a baby shower brunch, morning business meeting, or wedding breakfast will likely prefer breakfast food. Your Mexican restaurant can create a breakfast buffet filled with classic Mexican foods and a few American additions. Consider serving up pans of chilaquiles, chorizo tacos, scrambled eggs, and bacon for your guests, and don't forget the pastries. Instead of serving bagels or donuts, offer a tray filled with pan de huevo, sweet empanadas, and cakes to round out our breakfast buffet.

Work with your chef and your kitchen staff to create a Mexican catering menu that makes sense for your business so you can boost your sales and draw in new customers. Check out tucson arizona Mexican restaurants for more ideas.