Office away days serve a purpose that the everyday working environment cannot easily replicate: they bring people together in a different setting, with time and space for conversations, collaboration, and relationships that the normal working week does not allow. Food is not incidental to this — shared meals are one of the oldest and most effective mechanisms for building trust and cohesion between people. This post covers how to structure catering across an away day, what dietary considerations are particular to this setting, and how food quality shapes the day's success.
Why food matters more on an away day than at the office
Research in social psychology has consistently found that people who eat together form stronger relationships and show greater cooperation than those who do not. The shared meal is not simply a functional break — it is a social act that creates reciprocity, lowers barriers, and generates conversation that does not happen in formal meeting settings.
On an away day, the lunch break is often where the most valuable informal connection actually takes place. A group sitting around a genuinely good spread of food, with no screens or work tasks, is in the optimal state for the kind of relationship-building that the away day is designed to achieve. Treating this moment as a logistics problem to be solved as cheaply as possible undercuts the central purpose of the day.
Equally, the quality of food communicates something directly to the team. An organisation that books a quality venue for its strategy session but provides poor catering is communicating — unconsciously or not — that the team's comfort and enjoyment is a lower priority than the meeting content. A well-considered catering order communicates the opposite.
Structuring food across the away day
A full away day typically runs from morning to late afternoon. Each food moment in the day has a distinct function:
- Morning refreshments set the tone before the first session begins. Quality coffee, tea, and something to eat on arrival signals that the organisation has considered the experience rather than assumed everyone ate before they left home.
- Lunch is the social centrepiece of the day. A shared buffet or platter spread works well for a standing or informal lunch; individually portioned meals suit a more formal sit-down. The format matters less than the quality and the time allowed — a lunch break of forty-five minutes with good food achieves more for team cohesion than a ninety-minute break with poor food.
- Afternoon refreshments serve an energy management function. The post-lunch energy dip is real; a considered afternoon break with substantive food — not just biscuits — maintains concentration through the final sessions.
Dietary inclusivity in the away day setting
Away days concentrate colleagues from across an organisation at a single table who may normally eat in different buildings, different canteens, or not at all together. This makes dietary requirements visible in a way that everyday working life does not. The colleague whose halal requirement or nut allergy is easily self-managed at their desk becomes an issue if the shared table has no appropriate options, or if they receive a separately labelled plate that distinguishes them from everyone else.
The goal is a table where every person can eat everything on offer, or where options are varied enough that the choice is genuine rather than a single fallback item. This requires advance thought: collecting dietary requirements from the whole team before the day, and choosing a caterer whose baseline kitchen standards cover the most common requirements without special preparation.
London workplaces in particular often include colleagues with halal requirements, nut allergies, and gluten sensitivities in numbers that make these not edge cases but common considerations. A certified halal, nut-free kitchen removes the most frequent points of exclusion at source. Vanda's Kitchen's kitchen is independently certified halal throughout and entirely nut-free, with over 60% of the menu gluten-free as standard.
Logistics for off-site away day catering
If the away day venue has no catering provision, or if the venue's in-house catering does not meet the team's dietary requirements, an external caterer who delivers and sets up is the practical solution. Key logistics to confirm in advance:
- Delivery access at the venue — not all conference centres or unusual venues have straightforward delivery arrangements
- Equipment requirements — whether hot-holding equipment is needed, and whether the caterer provides it
- Timing — catering for a morning arrival and a noon lunch requires two separate deliveries or a single arrival with appropriate storage
- Labelling — Natasha's Law allergen labelling on all individual items is a legal requirement and a practical aid when team members with specific requirements are self-serving from a shared spread
Minimum order is £150, with free delivery on orders over £600.
For Office Away Day catering across London — independently halal-certified, 100% nut-free and fully allergen-labelled — browse our catering shop or WhatsApp the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
How does shared eating contribute to team building?
Research in social psychology consistently finds that people who eat together build stronger relationships and show greater cooperation than those who do not. The shared meal creates informal conversation, lowers social barriers between people who work in formal roles relative to each other, and generates trust through the reciprocal act of eating together. On an away day, the lunch break is often where the most valuable relationship-building actually happens.
What format works well for away day catering — buffet, platters, or individual portions?
Platters and shared buffet formats work well when you want to encourage movement and informal conversation during the meal. Individual portions suit a more formal sit-down setting or when the headcount is large and self-service becomes unwieldy. For most team away days, a platter format with a good variety of options creates the most reliable social dynamic around the table.
How should I handle dietary requirements for an away day?
Collect requirements from the full team before the day, not on the day. On an away day, dietary requirements become visible at a shared table in a way they are not during everyday working life. The most effective approach is choosing a caterer whose kitchen standards cover the most common requirements — certified halal, nut-free, and good gluten-free provision — as baseline, so that individual accommodation is rarely needed.
Can you cater at venues outside your normal delivery area for an away day?
Vanda's Kitchen delivers across central London and inner London zones. Away day venues in areas beyond the standard delivery range can be accommodated by arrangement. It is worth confirming delivery access and logistics with the venue in advance, as some conference and event venues have specific requirements around external catering.
What is the minimum order for away day catering?
The minimum order is £150, with free delivery on orders over £600. All food is freshly prepared on the day of delivery and arrives with full Natasha's Law allergen labelling on every item.
Related: Team-Building Food Ideas for London Offices: Catering That Brings Teams Together · Healthy Office Lunch Delivery London: Fresh, Nutritious Food That Your Whole Team Can Eat