How big event catering with Dana Prime works
Booking large event catering for a corporate occasion should not feel like a leap of faith. Dana Prime runs a straightforward three-step process so organisers and executive assistants know exactly what to expect before a single dish is confirmed.
- Brief: You share the essentials by WhatsApp or the enquiry form - company name, event type, venue, expected guest numbers, duration and date. We ask about dietary needs, service style preference and any theming so the proposal matches the occasion, not a generic template.
- Tasting: Every booking is preceded by a free tasting. This is where menu choices are narrowed down from our 136 dishes across 16 courses, portions are checked against guest numbers, and any adjustments for dietary requirements are agreed in person. We quote after the tasting, once the final menu and service style are set.
- Delivery: On the agreed date, our own delivery, setup and serving team arrives at the venue with equipment, chafing units, service ware and staff already briefed on the run of show. Nothing is subcontracted out for the final leg - the same organisation that cooked the food delivers, sets up and serves it.
This sequence exists because corporate events rarely tolerate surprises. An executive assistant coordinating a product launch or a company milestone dinner needs a single point of contact who can confirm numbers, timings and menu changes right up to the week of the event, and a kitchen with the daily capacity - over 7,000 meals cooked each day - to absorb late guest-count adjustments without disruption.
Throughout the process, communication stays on WhatsApp or by phone, so approvals and last-minute changes do not get lost in email threads. For organisers managing multiple stakeholders internally, having one direct line to the catering team simplifies sign-off considerably.
Service styles: buffet, plated, canapé and live stations
The right service style depends on the shape of the event, the venue layout and how much time guests have to eat. Dana Prime offers four core formats, and most large corporate events end up combining two of them.
Buffet service suits conferences, staff town halls and multi-session events where guests arrive in waves and need flexibility over when they eat. It also handles large and uncertain final headcounts well, since serving lines can be replenished continuously through the sitting.
Plated service fits formal dinners, award ceremonies and executive functions where a fixed running order matters - welcome remarks, main course, awards, dessert. Courses arrive on a set timeline and our serving team works the room table by table, which suits a scripted evening far better than a self-service line.
Canapé service is built for standing receptions, product launches and networking events where guests circulate rather than sit. Items such as smoked salmon blini, caprese skewer and falafel bite with tahini are passed continuously by our serving staff, keeping the room moving without a queue forming anywhere.
Live stations - including a grill live station, pasta live station or shawarma live station - add an interactive element to longer events, giving guests something to watch as well as eat, and work particularly well positioned near a networking area rather than the main seating.
Many corporate bookings pair a plated or buffet main service with a canapé arrival reception, or close the evening with a dessert and arabic coffee and dates station as guests move to a lounge area. We help decide the combination during the brief stage, based on guest numbers, venue layout and the run of show, and confirm it at the tasting.
On the day: timings, setup and clear-down
For a corporate event, the catering timeline has to sit inside a wider schedule that includes registration, speeches, entertainment and departure - so precision on the day matters as much as the food itself.
Our own delivery, setup and serving team arrives at the venue ahead of the agreed guest arrival time, with a setup window built around the venue's access rules and loading logistics. This is agreed in advance for venues across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, where loading bay access, freight lifts and event-space handover times vary considerably between hotels, convention centres and standalone venues.
Once on site, the team sets up buffet lines, plated service stations or canapé pass points, arranges chafing dishes and service ware, and does a final check against the agreed menu and guest count before doors open. Throughout service, staff replenish buffet lines, manage plated course timing against the run of show, or keep canapé trays moving continuously - whichever style was agreed at the tasting.
Because the same team that plans and cooks the event also delivers and serves it, there is no handover to a separate contact on the day. If the run of show shifts - a speech overruns, a session is added - our on-site lead adjusts service timing directly rather than waiting on instructions relayed through several people.
After the last course is served, clear-down begins as guests move to networking, entertainment or departure, so the venue is not left with a visible break-down of the catering setup mid-event. Equipment, service ware and any waste are removed by our team before the venue's own handover deadline, which matters particularly for hotel ballrooms and convention spaces with back-to-back bookings.
Organisers and executive assistants are welcome to have a single point of contact confirm final numbers and timing changes up to the days immediately before the event, given the daily capacity of our kitchens in Abu Dhabi Industrial City (ICAD II).
Why corporate organisers choose Dana Prime
Choosing a caterer for a large corporate event usually comes down to a few practical questions: can they actually cook at this scale, will they turn up and set up properly, and can the food be trusted before it is served to guests and clients. Dana Prime answers each of these with attested facts rather than claims.
Founded in 1998, Dana Prime has operated for over two decades from its own kitchens in Abu Dhabi Industrial City (ICAD II), cooking more than 7,000 meals daily. That volume is not a one-off surge capacity - it is the everyday operating scale of the kitchen, which means a single large corporate event sits comfortably within normal daily output rather than stretching it.
Delivery, setup and serving are handled by our own team, not a subcontracted partner brought in for the day. The people who set up the buffet line or pass the canapé trays are the same organisation that planned the menu at the tasting, which keeps accountability in one place if anything needs adjusting on site.
Both ISO 22000 and HACCP certifications are held across the kitchen operation, covering food safety management and hazard control from preparation through to service - relevant for any executive assistant who needs to confirm compliance standards to internal stakeholders or building management before an event is approved.
Dana Prime currently serves 22 client organisations on an ongoing basis, alongside one-off corporate events, and holds a 4.6-star Google rating. Coverage extends across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and the wider UAE, so organisers running events across multiple emirates can work with one caterer rather than coordinating separate suppliers.
Before any booking is confirmed, every client is offered a free tasting. This is not a courtesy gesture - it is the point at which menu, portioning and service style are actually agreed, and we quote only once that tasting has taken place.
