Published November 2017

Have you ever secretly longed to order a potluck dish to a party? Or get dessert delivered right to a baby shower? How about having your side dishes show up at the door just before the guests arrive? It happens more often than you’d think.

“People will order whatever they don’t want to make,” says Tanja Bakic, who oversees catering at Sunterra. Catering doesn’t have to be a big event with a chef and server, she says (although they certainly have those options – bartenders too!). Whether it’s hors d’oeuvres, sides, a main dish or dessert, people can order as much or as little catering as they want, she says.

It’s just after lunchtime on a Monday and we’re sitting in a café away from the hustle and bustle of the catering office. With seven people processing hundreds of orders daily, things get just a little bit busy, Tanja tells me. Especially during the holiday season when turkey orders and special holiday meal packages are added to the already-huge menu. Seriously, they offer hot breakfasts, trays, soups, salad and sandwiches, hors d’oeuvres, boxed meals, lunch and dinner entrees, beverages and desserts!

So with all those choices, what should one order? Tanja gives me the inside scoop; meal packages are the best bang for your buck.

“The portions are quite healthy,” she says. And that goes for breakfast, lunch and dinner – the sunrise breakfast, for example, will definitely keep you full until lunch, says Tanja.

Whether you’re ordering breakfast for colleagues or Christmas dinner for your family, the one thing Tanja recommends is to order early. All catering orders are made fresh at five of Sunterra’s nine markets, so they need time to order the ingredients. You can still update your numbers until the business day before your event, she assures me, and your credit card won’t be charged until that time.

Other insider tips? Schedule delivery earlier than you need and keep the food warm in your oven so you’re ready whenever your guests are. Or if you have spare time or a helper, save on delivery fees and pick up your order for free! Oh, and have a look through the menu to help narrow down options before you call. You can see the full menu including pictures at sunterramarket.com/ordercatering, and even place your order online if you want.

“People are really surprised at how easy is it,” says Tanja. “They’re also shocked when they learn that we’re local. That the pork on their sandwich is from Acme. People really dig that.”