Nothing says “summer” like a delicious barbecue. The kids play, while the adults get to catch up over some grilled goodness.

If it’s time to start planning your annual company barbecue, it’s a good idea to start with picking a caterer. When you work with Catering by Michaels, we act as complete event planners — handling all the details, so that you can relax and enjoy the resulting event.

Here are a few reasons why Catering by Michaels always puts on an awesome company picnic event:

We’ve Been in Business for a Long Time

Catering by Michaels has almost four decades of experience with picnic-style service. We’ll be celebrating our 40th year in the business in 2020!

We believe we’ve lasted so long in this business because of our distinct style for setting up picnics. For these types of events, we staff a live buffet setup with chefs at grilling stations, so that attendees can get menu items fresh off the grill. Event guests appreciate being able to see and smell their food being cooked.

We Know Our Food

We would never have lasted this long in the business if customers weren’t satisfied with the way we handle every aspect of the picnic planning process.

And when it comes to barbecues, we’re famous for our hamburgers: a proprietary blend that’s always prepared fresh and never frozen. We also bake our bread fresh everyday — not every catering company will go to the trouble.

One of our greatest strengths is our experience around making menu modifications (vegan, gluten-free, etc.) to accommodate special dietary restrictions. We’ve been doing meatless burgers before they even became a thing!

We’ll Do Everything We Can to Make Your Event a Success

Our picnic setups tend to be oriented for more of a corporate customer, but we do accept bookings for social barbecues or picnics under a normal catering booking.

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October 3, 2017

2017 Picnic Season Wrap-Up

October 3, 2017

2017 Picnic Season Wrap-Up

Another successful picnic season has come to a close and we thought it would be fun to share some of the stats, including the astonishing 22,924 guests we served throughout the season and the team of 794 staff members it took to make it all happen.

Here are a few of the interesting numbers:

2017 Picnic Season Wrap-Up Infographic

Thanks to all the amazing companies (big and small) that trust us each year with their annual company-wide picnics. Picnics are always exciting for us since we can really push the creative limits!

It’s never too early to start planning your 2018 picnic. Give us a call at (847) 966-6555 or contact us online to get started. Our experienced team of event coordinators are ready when you are!


August 8, 2017

Tips For Planning An Impressive Company Picnic

August 8, 2017

Tips For Planning An Impressive Company Picnic

Summer is the perfect time for a picnic! Picnics are a great way for corporate businesses to give back to their employees and show their gratitude for all their steadfast hard work. If you’ve been chosen to plan your company’s annual picnic, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve put together the below tips to help you save time, money, and unnecessary headaches.

Here’s how to plan a company picnic with as little stress as possible.

Plan ahead as much as possible.

Easier said than done, right? We understand that it’s not always realistic to carve out extra time to plan a company-wide event when you still have your regular job duties to attend to. That’s why we strongly recommend putting together a schedule that realistically addresses the complexity of putting together such a large-scale event. This will ideally go back 5-6 months before your planned picnic date to give you enough time to secure a venue, hire a rock star caterer, and give employees enough notice to clear their schedules.

The trick here is to find a caterer who has the experience needed to take this off your plate. And it’s a bonus if they have partnerships with picnic venues — that way you can scratch two important to-dos off your list right away, and then breathe a sigh of relief!

Corporate Picnic venue

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August 2, 2016

Bring Employees Together with Corporate Picnics

August 2, 2016

Bring Employees Together with Corporate Picnics

Chicago and it’s neighboring areas provide many exciting opportunities for companies looking for different ways to bring employees together – specifically, team outings. While the standard go-to may point to a White Sox outing or group day at Six Flags Great America, we challenge you to consider something a little more low key. Catering By Michaels is helping Chicagoland companies bring employees together with corporate picnics.

Here’s why corporate picnics are so much better than the aforementioned alternatives.

Food brings people together

Pop corn and hamburger/hot dog stations

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