The Maiergrill Catering Service is fascinating and unique
A first impression of the Maiergrill Catering Service in 25 seconds:
How can you make your catering unique and fascinating?
Maiergrill Catering Service will be remembered because it is different
Josiane & Hans-Jürg
Wedding catering with 80 guests
«We would like to thank you for your great work. ... Everything was perfect and the food was delicious for all our guests. The service was really great and I can only recommend you. »
Precise catering recipes are our basis for consistency
Danica Helfer
Employee party with 175 guests
«Maiergrill made a significant contribution to the success of our staff party. The organization, presentation, service and quality of the products were very much appreciated. Very good cooperation, thank you very much!» Testimonials
Is it true that you prepare everything on site?
Yes, (with very few exceptions such as salad dressing or dessert creams). This is one of our most important principles! Meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, fruit and even the bread is grilled à la minute on the spot, in front of your guests. This ensures the unmistakable taste and increases the entertainment value.
Do you also do very sophisticated events?
In any case. Basically, each of our events is sophisticated even if the guests feel relaxed. We achieve more class in particular with the table settings, the number of courses, the decorations and the number of players in relation to the number of guests. In other words: with the staging. However, we remain true to our recipes, the Maiergrill and the front cooking system, even when serving in a castle with white gloves.
Are barbecues also suitable for a stand-up party?
Absolutely. We can put together a flying buffet to meet your very specific requirements. For example, à la minute grilled beef shank canapés, giant prawns and monkfish served on a warm slate are particularly popular. For a casual cocktail event, halved barbecue skewers are ideal as they can be held comfortably on the open wood. We also like to complement the barbecues with vegetable dip, small snacks and verrines.
How is Maiergrill Eventcatering committed to sustainability?
Sustainability is a matter close to the hearts of Maiergrill and its employees, so it is logical that we are a member of United against Waste and to participate in Swisstainable, Switzerland Tourism's sustainability programme.
Genuine sustainability is evident throughout the entire service provision process, emanating from the corporate governance and, in our opinion, affects the following key aspects equally:
1. Economic:
Focus on high efficiency - only as much input as necessary - the most sustainable energy is that which is not consumed in the first place.
2. Ecological:
Focus on resource-conserving products and processes - regional purchasing, efficient manufacturing processes.
3. Social:
Employee training on the job and in training modules to understand the big picture, develop leadership skills, promote personal responsibility and common sense and install a culture of respect for people, animals and plants.
Sustainability endeavours are a rolling process that is always ongoing. This can already be seen in the following aspects:
1. wave.catering:
In order to better fulfil our responsibility for future generations and offer our customers more options for even more sustainable event catering, we created wave.catering in 2020 as a green brand to complement the red Maiergrill event catering brand, which is 90% vegetarian and vegan across the entire range of dishes and only uses around 10% meat/fish. At Maiergrill, which specialises in barbecues, the proportion of meat/fish is around 20%. The combination of the wave.catering and Maiergrill concepts is a very effective solution, especially for large corporate events that want to implement a specific sustainability policy.
2. Waste avoidance:
A: Our à discrétion buffets are very often used:
Buffet has the advantage that the guests themselves decide what they particularly like. A discrétion has the advantage that the guest knows on the first pass that he can go back to the buffet a second, third, .... time and therefore only puts the amount on their plate that they actually want to eat. As a result, the plates usually come back empty.
B: Sustainable reserve management:
We have reserves of meat on site, which remain in the cold chain and are only opened if the guests eat an exceptionally large amount or have a disproportionate preference for one type of meat or vegetable.
C: System event caterer:
Maiergrill is a system event caterer with a clear specialisation in grilled dishes and the matching side dishes, which has the advantage that we can cover a maximum of staging forms with comparatively few menu components. As a result, the consumption of the same components is high, which significantly reduces wastage and returns in contrast to a very broad range.
D: A la minute preparation of the grills:
This allows us to respond optimally to actual consumption and only put as much on the grill as is actually consumed.
E: Reusable crockery:
We use reusable crockery wherever possible and sensible. At wave.catering, we go so far as to produce over 30 dishes in beautiful preserving "Weck" jars (preserving jars with a rubber seal and clamping lid), store them in them, transport them in them and even eat them out of them once they have been brought to the desired temperature at the event venue. In this way, we promote a genuine circular economy and earn the term zero waste at wave.catering.
F: Paperless event:
Our event managers used to carry around a 20-page A4 dossier for their event. This has been replaced by an offline tablet, where all documents are available digitally and all information, such as the temperature control of the cold chain, is recorded digitally. Our employees check in and check out on their own smartphone, with digital authorisation from the event manager. This used to be one sheet per employee, per event.
G: Virtually paperless office:
We launched our digitalisation project back in 2019, which has now eliminated four media disruptions and combined the very specific processes in event catering on one platform. This has enabled us to massively increase our efficiency and quality "behind the scenes". Redundancies, multiple entries and therefore numerous sources of error have been eliminated.
3. Recycling:
A: Waste separation: We consistently separate glass, cardboard, organic waste, household waste, etc. and send these recyclable materials to their next destination.
B: Utilisation of leftovers:
Surplus food that
has been opened is distributed among the employees at the end of an
event. This is particularly appreciated by the many students, as they
are doing something for sustainability and at the same time relieving
the budget of their household or even the entire shared flat.
4. Transport avoidance:
A: Multiple locations in Switzerland, which means that an event is always realised from our nearest location. This is particularly valuable for roadshows where, for example, a customer event is organised in 30 branches throughout Switzerland.
B: Regional pools of players:
We have freelancers in all regions of Switzerland who travel directly to the event location. This reduces the amount of travelling involved.
C: Contact with the customer primarily via telephone and video conference instead of meetings at the customer's or our premises.
D: Home office option:
This eliminates the need to travel to work.
5. Energy saving:
A: Geothermal heat pump at our headquarters Rote Trotte Eventlocation in Winterthur.
B: Energy-efficient preparation directly at the event location on the smokeless Maiergrill.
C: Heating:
In the cold season, we contribute to the heating of the venue with the smokeless Maiergrill.
D: Effective resource management:
If we do not reach a certain minimum utilisation rate per year for infrastructure resources such as vehicles, crockery, furniture, tents and decorations, we rent these as required and outsource them accordingly. In this way, we are moving towards a sharing economy.
What is the difference between a finger food buffet and a flying buffet?
At a finger food buffet, guests help themselves to a large selection of bite-sized dishes, which are presented at a buffet. At a flying buffet, smaller, exquisite appetisers are distributed and served directly to the guests on platters by our service staff, which allows for greater interaction and elegance.
Do you also offer finger food or flying buffets?
Yes, our versatile range includes classic grill buffets as well as elegant finger food options for business meetings or interactive flying buffets, where our service staff serve small, bite-sized appetisers directly to the guests. This is ideal for events with a short duration or a high need for interaction.
Do you provide staff for service and bar?
Yes, with pleasure. Our trained, professional and friendly service staff and experienced bartenders will ensure that everything runs smoothly and that you receive excellent service throughout your event. The number of staff will be optimised to suit your number of guests and the type of event.
How do you ensure that the food stays fresh and warm?
We attach great importance to the quality and freshness of our food. These are freshly prepared on site. For longer service times and to ensure an appealing presentation, we use high-quality chafing dishes and warming appliances to guarantee the optimum temperature and full enjoyment of the food at all times.
We expect many vegetarians at our event. Is Maiergrill Catering also suitable for vegetarians?
In any case. If possible, tell us in advance how many vegetarians you are expecting so that we can take the special veggie options into account. Especially with our main course buffet with six different vegetables, every vegetarian will be happy. In addition, with our 'sister concept' wave.catering, we have now been able to offer you over 30 very versatile dishes since 2020. Of these, 17 are vegetarian and 10 are even vegan.
Why don't you organize events with fewer than 20 guests?
The unique Maiergrill concept is optimized for larger events, promotes encounters and exchanges between guests and really comes into its own when there are 20 or more guests. In addition, the fixed costs become less advantageous with a lower number of guests.
How is it that you are active throughout Switzerland? Isn't it much cheaper to choose a provider from the same village?
Our strategy is to cover the whole of Switzerland and our infrastructure is designed to do this very efficiently. Even if we don't currently have a local branch on your doorstep and the journey takes a little longer, this has little impact on the order amount. There are three main reasons for this:
1. the number of hours worked on site is in any case a multiple of the travelling time and therefore determines by far the largest part of the personnel costs.
2. the time taken to load the material at our location and unload and reload it at the event location, as well as unloading it on return, remains exactly the same, whether it is only a 10-minute journey for an event in the city or 120 minutes for a journey to Davos.
3. we give you the return journey time for event catering.
Conclusion: Even if your event is taking place in Ticino, Engadin or Upper Valais, it is worth contacting us for a non-binding consultation.
Why don't you have a restaurant, a butcher's shop, a bakery or a hotel as your main business like other caterers?
In fact, the majority of catering providers have a stationary main business and see the party service sector as a lucrative side business. We are 100% committed to event catering. This has the advantage that our thoughts, all our processes and the infrastructure are uncompromisingly geared to the very special task of catering.
As a result, you benefit from an excellent price/performance ratio, our professionalism and our wealth of experience and know that your catering event is our priority at all times.
Why is Maiergrill a member of Swisstainable and United against Waste (UAW)?
For many years now, we have been working to optimise the sustainability of our event catering concept. Waste reduction is a top priority in this regard.
The Maiergrill concept is about much more than just event catering; it is about our contribution to the society of the future, one that pays due attention to both our planet and the development of its inhabitants. In this regard, we feel a particular obligation towards the younger generation, to whom we offer meaningful work as freelancers alongside school and university, enabling them to put valuable principles and skills into practice and develop them further.
Why are Maiergrill and its founder, Andreas Maier, cited as experts in barbecue event catering in *Sonntagszeitung*, *Le Matin* and other leading media outlets?
1. Maiergrill combines three core areas of expertise: barbecues, events and catering.
2. With around 600 events per year, we are familiar with the challenges posed by a wide variety of event formats, from small, intimate birthday parties and stylish wedding receptions to corporate events with 2,000 guests.
3. We have catering locations in both German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland and are familiar with the local differences involved in planning and executing event catering throughout the country.
4. We have been active as event caterers for over 30 years and, during this time, have witnessed and helped shape the evolution of event catering. This has resulted in comprehensive expertise in event catering.
5. We pass this expertise on to our staff through our event catering training modules: our event coordinators thus ensure our clients receive the best possible advice, whilst our event managers create unique and captivating events.
Interview in the Sonntagszeitung
