Italian food is the most reliably-loved catering option for an office event. Almost everyone eats pasta. The dishes are easy to set up family-style, easy to scale, and easy to make work for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free guests. Here's how to plan one that works.
1. Why Italian Works for Offices
Three reasons. First: it’s the highest-overlap cuisine for adult tastes — almost everyone is happy to eat pasta. Second: it’s easy to scale and serve at room temperature without losing quality. Third: it covers dietary restrictions naturally — vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options all exist within authentic Italian cooking, no special menu required.
2. Pick a Format
- →Drop-off trays:Hot trays delivered, set up by your team. Best for 15-50 people. No staff needed.
- →Buffet with chafers:Hot food set up on a long table. Best for 30-100. Self-serve, no servers needed.
- →Pasta bar / live station:A chef on-site cooking pasta to order. Best for events of 50+ where you want a centerpiece.
- →Family-style sit-down:Large platters at each table. Best for board meetings and team dinners under 30.
- →Boxed individual meals:Best for distributed teams or COVID-era hybrid setups. Each person gets their own box.
3. What to Order (For an Office Lunch)
A safe, satisfying default for 30 people: 2-3 pasta dishes (one meat, one vegetarian, one cream-based), a large mixed antipasti platter (cured meats, cheeses, marinated vegetables, olives, focaccia), a Caesar or arugula salad with fresh shaved Parmigiano, and a tray of cookies or biscotti for dessert. Coffee and water round it out. Total cost: roughly $20-30 per person.
A pasta tray, an antipasti platter, focaccia, and salad — that’s a complete office lunch.
4. Handling Dietary Restrictions
- →Vegetarians:
Easy — most pasta is vegetarian. A pesto, an aglio e olio, or a pomodoro covers it. - →Vegans: Easy if
you skip the cheese — many Italian pastas are tomato-and-oil based, no dairy. Just label clearly. - →Gluten-free:
Order a small tray of GF pasta as an additional item. Most Italian caterers offer it. - →Dairy-free:
Tomato-based pastas, olive-oil-based pastas, antipasti with cured meats — all naturally
dairy-free.
5. Timing & Logistics
Order at least 48 hours in advance for groups under 50; a week for larger events. Confirm head count 24 hours out. For drop-off, plan delivery 30 minutes before serving so the food is hot but not sitting too long. Always order 10-15% more food than your headcount — Italians don’t believe in skimpy portions.
6. From Our Kitchen
Our office catering covers the whole spectrum: drop-off trays, on-site buffets, and live pasta stations with a chef. Ask about our weekly office program — recurring lunches at a discount, no contract.
“Italian food is the highest-overlap cuisine in the office. There’s a reason it’s the default.”
