Office Lunch Catering in Aurora, IL: How to Plan the Right Meal for Your Team

Office Lunch Catering in Aurora, IL: How to Plan a Meal Everyone Will Enjoy

Planning lunch for an office sounds simple until you are responsible for feeding an entire group of coworkers.

You have to figure out how many people are eating, what everyone likes, how much food to order, whether people have dietary restrictions, when the food needs to arrive, and whether everyone should receive an individual meal or share a larger spread.

And then there is the biggest question:

What should you actually order?

Office lunches work best when the food is easy to serve, filling enough to get people through the afternoon, and varied enough that employees do not all have to eat the same thing.

That is one reason catering can make an office lunch much easier than asking everyone to place separate orders.

Mayo Grill offers catering for office lunches and business gatherings in Aurora, with options including Italian beef, Philly cheesesteaks, wings, gyros, sandwiches, sides, and other menu choices.

The goal is not to create the biggest possible lunch.

The goal is to make lunch easy for the person organizing it and enjoyable for the people eating it.

When you order lunch for one person, you only have to think about what you want.

When you order lunch for 10, 20, 30, or more coworkers, you suddenly have several different preferences to consider.

Someone wants Italian beef.

Someone else wants a Philly.

Another person does not eat red meat.

Someone wants wings.

Another employee wants a salad.

And someone inevitably asks whether there is something lighter.

A restaurant with a broad menu can make that much easier.

Instead of trying to find one food that everyone likes, you can build a mixed order.

Mayo Grill’s Aurora catering service is designed for parties, business events, office lunches, meetings, and other group occasions.

The current catering menu includes larger options as well as individual meals, allowing an office to choose a format that fits the group.

When Should You Cater Lunch for the Office?

You do not need a major corporate event to justify catering.

An office lunch can be a simple way to make an ordinary workday easier or to give employees a reason to step away from their desks.

Office catering can work well for:

You also do not have to wait for a special occasion.

Sometimes the best reason to bring in lunch is simply that the team has a busy day and nobody wants to spend half of the lunch break figuring out where everyone is going to eat.

For a broader look at choosing food for a larger group, Mayo Grill also has a guide covering the best food for group orders in Aurora.

The guest count is the foundation of an office catering order.

If 15 people are eating, your order will look very different than an order for 50 people.

But do not automatically assume that your total number of employees is your lunch headcount.

Some employees may be working remotely.

Some may be out of the office.

Some may bring lunch from home.

Some may have a meeting somewhere else.

Try to get a realistic number before placing the order.

These are planning ranges rather than strict formulas.

The right amount of food depends on whether the lunch is a complete meal, how many main options you are serving, and what sides or other foods will be available.

Mayo Grill’s guide to how much food to order for a party can also help when you are working with a larger employee count.

Individual Meals

Individual meals make sense when employees have very different preferences or when the group is relatively small.

You can create a simple form or list and have each employee select a meal.

This approach also makes it easier for someone who wants a specific entrée to get exactly what they want.

Shared Catering

Shared catering works especially well when the office wants a more traditional lunch spread.

Instead of 25 separate orders, you can put several large food options on the table and let employees serve themselves.

A Combination of Both

You can also combine the two.

For example, individual salads or sandwiches can be ordered for employees with specific preferences while larger quantities of wings, fries, or another shareable food are placed in the center of the table.

What Food Should You Order for an Office Lunch?

The biggest mistake is trying to find one food that everyone will like.

That is rarely possible.

Instead, build the menu around a few different categories.

The goal is variety without creating an unnecessarily complicated order.

Mayo Grill’s menu includes Italian beef, Philly cheesesteaks, gyros, burgers, chicken, wings, seafood, salads, loaded fries, hot dogs, sides, desserts, drinks, and more.

That makes it possible to create a mixed office order without asking employees to settle on one type of cuisine.

Mayo Grill currently offers a five-pound Italian beef catering package listed as serving approximately 13–15 guests.

The package includes French bread, fries, hot giardiniera, and au jus, which means the main food already comes with several of the traditional accompaniments needed for lunch.

That can simplify planning because you are not starting with the beef and then trying to figure out every additional item from scratch.

If you want employees to understand what makes the sandwich different, Mayo Grill’s Italian beef page provides more information about the menu item and its catering option.

You can also pair Italian beef with wings, salads, Phillies, gyros, or other foods to create more variety.

A Philly can be especially useful when you want an alternative to Italian beef.

Mayo Grill offers both Philly cheesesteaks and Philly chicken options, and the catering menu includes Philly trays for larger orders.

This makes it possible to put a sandwich-based lunch together while still giving employees choices.

You can learn more about the available options on Mayo Grill’s Philly cheesesteak page for Aurora.

For an office lunch, the simplest approach is usually to choose one or two Philly options rather than ordering every variation.

Should You Include Wings in an Office Lunch?

Wings are useful when you want something employees can share without everyone having to order the same meal.

They can be served alongside sandwiches, salads, fries, or other foods.

Mayo Grill currently lists 50-piece and 100-piece traditional wing trays for larger orders.

The current wing options include fries, ranch, and blue cheese on the side.

If you are trying to determine how many wings your office actually needs, Mayo Grill’s guide to how many chicken wings to order per person is a useful starting point.

You can also review the full Mayo Grill chicken wings menu before choosing the quantity.

Mayo Grill offers gyro meals as well as half and full gyro pans for larger group orders.

The half pan is currently listed as serving approximately 6–8 people, while the full pan is listed as serving approximately 14–16 people.

The pans include pita bread, fries, tzatziki, onions, and tomatoes.

That makes gyro another food that can work as a substantial part of a mixed office lunch.

Employees who prefer gyros can choose that option while other coworkers select Italian beef, Phillies, wings, chicken, burgers, or salads.

You can review the full Mayo Grill gyro menu in Aurora when deciding whether it fits your office lunch.

This is one of the easiest things to overlook when planning an office lunch.

If every option is heavy, employees who prefer something lighter may feel like they have very few choices.

A salad can solve that problem without requiring an entirely separate restaurant order.

Mayo Grill’s current salad menu includes Garden Salad, Greek Salad, and Grilled Chicken Salad.

The Mayo Grill salad menu gives employees a lighter alternative while still keeping the entire lunch order with one restaurant.

You can also add grilled chicken to make the salad more substantial for employees who want a full meal.

A good office lunch can often be built around three or four main categories.

For example:

That is already enough variety for a fairly large office lunch.

You can then add fries, drinks, or other sides depending on the group.

The key is to create choices without turning the order into a spreadsheet with dozens of individual selections.

How Should You Handle Different Dietary Preferences?

You do not need to create an entirely separate menu for every employee.

But you should ask about important dietary needs before placing a large order.

This is particularly important if you are ordering for a group where you do not personally know everyone’s preferences.

A simple message can work:

Then build the order around the information you receive.

The important thing is to know about major restrictions before the food arrives rather than discovering them when everyone is already sitting down to eat.

The amount of food you need depends on whether you are serving a complete lunch or simply putting food out for employees to share.

It also depends on how many different foods are being served.

If you order three substantial main dishes, you do not need to order enough of each one to feed the entire office by itself.

Instead, think about the meal as a complete spread.

Mayo Grill’s existing food quantity guide can help you think through larger group quantities.

For wings specifically, the chicken wing quantity guide provides more detailed guidance.

Fries are an obvious choice for an office lunch because they work with sandwiches, wings, burgers, chicken, and other casual foods.

Salads are useful for employees who want something lighter.

Other shareable sides can also give people something to snack on while they are waiting for the main meal.

You do not need to order every side.

Two or three options are usually enough for a mixed office spread.

That combination gives employees choices without overwhelming the lunch organizer.

How Far Ahead Should You Order Office Catering?

The more people you are feeding, the less you want to leave the order until the last minute.

An individual lunch can often be handled quickly.

A 30-person office lunch is different.

You need to account for the guest count, menu, quantities, preparation time, pickup or delivery, and the actual time employees are scheduled to eat.

For a larger office order, call Mayo Grill ahead of time so the restaurant can discuss the menu and current availability.

Planning ahead also gives you time to adjust the order if the employee count changes.

Pickup can make sense when someone from the office is already nearby and can bring the food back.

It can also be useful when you want more control over exactly when the food arrives.

Mayo Grill’s Aurora takeout and pickup service allows customers to order ahead and collect food from the restaurant.

Delivery can be more convenient when nobody wants to leave the office, especially during a short lunch break or a busy workday.

Mayo Grill’s local delivery availability depends on the address entered during ordering.

For directions, hours, pickup information, and the restaurant address, you can also use the Mayo Grill Aurora location page.

How Should You Set Up an Office Catering Table?

A little organization makes a big difference when 20 or 30 people are trying to serve themselves at once.

Put plates and utensils at the beginning of the table.

Place the main dishes next.

Follow those with sides and shareable foods.

Keep sauces, toppings, napkins, and other small items toward the end.

If possible, use more than one serving area for a very large office.

This prevents everyone from standing in one line waiting for the same food.

The best office lunches are usually easy to eat and easy to serve.

Think about whether employees can comfortably eat the food while sitting at a conference table, in a break room, or at their desks.

Sandwiches, wings, gyros, salads, fries, and similar foods are generally straightforward to serve.

You should also think about the length of the lunch break.

If employees only have 30 minutes, a complicated setup with dozens of individual meals may slow everyone down.

A shared spread can sometimes be much faster because employees can walk up, choose their food, and return to the table.

Start with your budget per employee.

Then decide what matters most.

If variety is important, put more of the budget toward two or three different main foods.

If the office mainly wants one type of food, you can put more of the order into that option.

Larger quantities can also make sense when you are feeding a group.

Mayo Grill’s current menu includes larger wing trays, Italian beef catering, gyro pans, Philly trays, and other group options.

The full Mayo Grill menu is useful for comparing the available food categories before deciding what combination makes sense for your budget.

Office Lunch Catering Menu Ideas

If you know the number of employees but still do not know what to order, start with a simple menu concept.

These are examples rather than fixed Mayo Grill catering packages.

The best option depends on the office.

A small team may prefer individual meals.

A larger team may find a shared spread easier.

You may have a smaller group, but employees can still have very different preferences.

Individual meals can work especially well for a small office birthday.

For a larger celebration, a mixed order can be easier.

Mayo Grill’s existing guide to birthday party food in Aurora also discusses how to build a menu around different ages, appetites, and group sizes.

The same general approach works for an office birthday:

Choose a few main foods.

Add something shareable.

Include a lighter option.

Then add dessert separately if the office is celebrating with cake or another treat.

What Should You Do With Leftover Office Food?

If you are catering for a large group, it is possible that some food will remain.

That is not necessarily a bad thing.

A small amount of leftover food can be useful for employees who want something later in the afternoon.

The key is to avoid ordering dramatically more food than you need simply because you are worried about running out.

That is another reason why getting an accurate headcount is so important.

If the office has a refrigerator and appropriate storage space, leftovers can sometimes be saved according to the office’s normal food-safety practices.

For a particularly large lunch, you may also want to designate one person to manage leftovers rather than leaving every tray sitting open after everyone has finished eating.

Mayo Grill’s current catering options give offices several ways to build a lunch.

The menu includes five-pound Italian beef catering, larger traditional wing orders, half and full gyro pans, Philly cheesesteak and Philly chicken trays, and other group-order options.

Individual meals are also available for offices that prefer to let employees choose their own food.

The restaurant’s broad menu means one office does not have to settle on one type of food.

An employee can choose Italian beef.

Another can have a Philly.

Another can order a gyro.

Someone else can choose wings, chicken, seafood, a burger, or a salad.

That variety is one of the biggest advantages of using one restaurant for an office lunch.

For current catering prices, availability, and larger orders, it is best to contact Mayo Grill directly because some catering items use custom pricing based on quantity and event needs.

Example: Building an Office Lunch for 20 People

Imagine you have 20 employees eating lunch.

Instead of ordering 20 identical meals, you could build a menu with several choices.

For example:

The exact quantities would depend on how many employees choose each option and whether the food is being served as a full meal.

The point is that you do not need to make every employee choose the exact same thing.

A mixed order can provide variety while still being much easier to organize than 20 completely unrelated restaurant orders.

Know how many people are eating.

Choose food that is easy to serve.

Give employees enough variety.

Think about lighter options.

Plan the quantities around the entire meal rather than treating every food as if it were the only thing being served.

And most importantly, give yourself enough time to organize the order.

Whether you are feeding a small team or a much larger office, the right menu can make lunch easier for everyone.

Office Lunch Catering FAQs

Best Food for Group Orders in Aurora, IL — ideas for choosing food when several people need to eat together.

How Much Food for a Party? Aurora, IL Group Food Guide — useful for larger group quantity planning.

How Many Chicken Wings Per Person? — helpful when wings are part of the office order.

Mayo Grill Aurora Catering — view the restaurant’s catering options for offices, events, and larger gatherings.

Office Lunch Catering & Aurora Favorites

954 East New York Street Unit B

Aurora, IL 60505

(331) 258-6603

Monday–Saturday: 10 AM–10 PM  |  Sunday: 11 AM–8 PM