Hands up everyone who really looks forward to lunch time when in the office! Working lunches, team celebrations, client events, and away-days deserve better than a sad sandwich platter. If you're considering catering for a Surrey workplace, here's what's worth thinking about, and why you should be thinking about Indian and Indian-inspired food.
What to think about when catering an office event
Headcount and setting — a boardroom lunch for eight needs a different approach to a whole-office party for fifty.
Dietary range — offices are diverse by default. Vegetarian, vegan, allergies and spice tolerance all need covering.
Self-serve or fully hosted — whether you want food dropped off ready to go, a buffet set up and left with you, or full waiting service for a client-facing event.
Formal or informal — a client dinner calls for a different format to a Friday team lunch.
Timing around the working day — catering needs to fit round meetings and a working day, not the other way round.
Where Indian food fits in
It solves the mixed-team problem better than most catering: a large amount of genuinely good Indian cooking is naturally vegetarian, so a diverse office can eat from the same spread rather than everyone getting a different box. It's also got real range — from a light, easy grazing spread for an informal meeting, to a proper sit-down meal for a client dinner — so the same cuisine flexes across very different kinds of corporate event. And it reads as a genuine treat rather than routine catering, which matters when you're trying to make an office lunch feel like an occasion, not a formality.
The options available
Grazing hampers, sandwich platters & salad boxes, private dining, and self-serve hot buffets are the formats best suited to corporate events — from an informal team lunch to a proper client dinner.
What kind of occasion?
Corporate catering covers a lot of ground, so it helps to know roughly what you're planning for — though which format fits really comes down to your audience and how formal the occasion is, not just what kind of event it is.
Corporate lunches
A working lunch, a team lunch, an office celebration, a welcome or farewell for someone leaving or joining. A relaxed team lunch suits a self-serve hot buffet or grazing hampers; a smaller, more formal one can work as private dining. For something lighter and easier still, we also do Indian-inspired sandwiches and salads — a step up from the usual working-lunch platter. Our Sandwiches hamper feeds eight to nine for £108. Whether it's a working lunch for eight in the boardroom or a whole-office lunch for 50, we deliver, set up and clear away, so the team just eats. If we’re dropping off your order as opposed to setting up, for example sandwich and grazing platters, you won’t need us to return to clear away.
Corporate events
A bigger office celebration, an away-day, a launch or a milestone the whole team's marking. A larger, livelier event usually wants a hot buffet or grazing hampers; a more intimate one can be private dining instead.
Client entertaining
A director dinner, a client visit, anything where the event itself is doing some of the talking. Usually private dining, with waiting staff, or a hot buffet for a larger client group.
Gifting
Sending a thank you or a gift instead? Grazing hampers work well as a gift too, alongside chocolate cardamom brownie boxes and chilli cheddar biscuit boxes — a nice touch for clients or the team.
See the full detail on each format, including what's included, on our catering page →
Interested in Indian party catering for a private event instead? Find out more.
Why The Travelling Tikki
All our food is handmade fresh to order — including our own spice blends, roasted and ground in-house, with no artificial colours or flavouring. We only take on a small number of events at a time, so your team gets the same attention to detail we'd give any celebration — in the food, the presentation, and the small things that make an office lunch feel like an occasion. Meat comes from Rawlings & Kensett in Bookham and F. Conisbee in East Horsley, and vegetables from Layton's Green Grocers in Bookham. Let us know about any dietary requirements or allergies when you enquire, and we'll build the menu around your team.
Founder Parul has cooked in Angela Hartnett's kitchen at the London Evening Standard Night Market, and catered two of Tesla's UK launch events — the same care goes into every booking today, whatever the size.
"Everything The Travelling Tikki is about is very much a piece of my heart."
— Parul, Founder & Director
(Round & About magazine, Dec 2025)
What businesses and individuals say
"Absolutely amazing food enjoyed by the team and beautifully presented. Thank you so much for making it easy to host the buffet lunch and would highly recommend."
Read more reviews on our Reviews page →
Our offer for corporate catering
We cater everything from a private dining evening for around six, up to a full office buffet for fifty. We also cater sandwich platters & salad boxes, and grazing hampers to share. The hampers make a great corporate gift too, as do our chocolate brownie boxes and chilli cheddar boxes. All our food is cooked fresh from our kitchen in West Horsley (GU23). We travel up to an hour to an hour and a half from there. Read about a recent corporate event we catered.
Corporate catering, quick answers
Do you cater for offices?
Yes — grazing hampers, sandwich platters & salad boxes, private dining, and hot buffets are best suited to corporate events, from around six for a private dining experience to an office party of fifty for a buffet.
Can you handle dietary requirements?
Every menu is built bespoke around your team, we’re happy to discuss your requirements.
How far in advance should a corporate booking be made, and can you invoice or take a purchase order?
As early as possible to make sure we’re not already busy on the day you need us! Yes we can invoice you. We also accept card payments.
Do you cater office lunches in Surrey?
Yes: team lunches, working lunches and office celebrations, from six to 50 people. A self-serve hot buffet or grazing hampers suit a relaxed team lunch, Indian-inspired sandwich platters a lighter working lunch, and private dining a smaller, more formal one. We can invoice.
More FAQs here or message us if you have further questions.
Planning a corporate event? Tell us your date, headcount and what you need, and we'll get back to you with options. Enquire now on our catering page.