Company BBQs are a great way to bring your staff together to enjoy themselves outside of a work environment. As summer approaches, outdoor events like BBQs are fun and family-friendly. By incorporating these ideas into your company BBQ, your event is sure to be a success!
Pick a Theme
Assigning a theme to your company BBQ allows everyone to get in the spirit of things. Decorations, the food that is served, and the dress code can be based on the theme. Some fun BBQ themes include:
- Red, white, and blue
- Hawaiian luau
- Western
- Summer camp
Don’t let these options limit you! The sky’s the limit when it comes to event planning creativity. Just make sure it’s family-friendly and easy for everyone to adhere to. Consider choosing your theme based on where your company is located and the age range of employees.
BBQ Sauce Taste Test
Did you know that barbecue sauces from different regions taste different? Many of them have sweet notes from fruits that are incorporated into the recipe. A taste test competition is a great way to tie the theme into a fun game. The major regional BBQ sauces are Kansas City style, Alabama white sauce, Eastern Carolina style, St. Louis style, Lexington dip, Carolina Gold sauce, and Texas style. Provide information on which notes are present in each sauce, then have volunteers conduct a blind taste test to guess which one is which. The winner can take home a flight of BBQ sauce bottles as a prize.
Host Games
Games are fun for kids and grown-ups alike. They can bring everyone together as an icebreaker, or provide entertainment for the kids as the adults socialize. Here are some suggestions for family-friendly games:
- Three-legged race
- Water balloon toss
- Horseshoes
- Cornhole
Games are also a great opportunity to tie in the theme of the BBQ. For example, if your theme is Western, horseshoes would be a fitting game to play. If you choose Hawaiian luau, you can tie players’ feet together with a lei to stay on theme. The possibilities are endless!
Swap Recipes
Swapping BBQ recipes creates a sense of sharing and community amongst coworkers. Food often carries memories, and as people share how they made their food, they can also share what they remember about it. A recipe swap is a great way to incorporate a potluck into the BBQ as well, that way everyone is pitching in for food. Catering can be expensive and overwhelming to plan. A potluck ensures that there will be enough food and everyone will have something they love to eat.
Teach Techniques
Allowing employees to learn unique BBQ techniques from one another is a great way to make the event more engaging. Find a local chef who is willing to come and teach grilling techniques to your group. If there is a BBQ aficionado in the group, they can also help lead the tutorial. This helps maintain BBQ as the focal point of the event and helps everyone learn a thing or two. Event organizers can coordinate with the chef and keep pieces of meat or other foods on hand for the class in a portable fridge.
Hold a Cook-Off
A cook-off is another fun way to integrate friendly competition into the BBQ event. If you have some self-proclaimed chefs in your group, have them prepare their best dish during the BBQ. Event organizers can provide outdoor grills to cook on. Then, have the rest of the group vote to decide which one is the best. As they are cooking, the chefs can provide insight into how they came across the recipe and what their special techniques are. Other members of the group can follow along and maybe learn something along the way!
Rent Food Trucks
If not many people are showing enthusiasm about cooking, or if it is just too overwhelming to plan, rent food trucks! This is a great way to support local businesses and provide a variety of food options for everyone. You can invite multiple BBQ food trucks from the area, or choose different foods that relate to your event’s theme. Renting food trucks can also help you save time and effort on setting up before and cleaning up after the event. Also, no one will be stuck cooking the entire time, and everyone can instead focus on enjoying the event. If food trucks are not feasible for your event location, you can also cater food from a local restaurant.
Conclusion
Company BBQs provide a casual environment for coworkers to come together outside of the office. Picking a theme, hosting games, and providing lessons on BBQ techniques are just a few ways to engage everyone. Though planning one can be overwhelming, there are several tips you can implement to make your event a success.
