A luau can be a lot of fun and is a popular theme for a corporate event. When staging a luau the first thing to consider is where to hold it. Depending on the season it could be held indoors or out. It could be held in a room at a hotel, a catering hall or at the beach. Some upscale hotels may have pools and large outdoor seating areas.

Be mindful of the decorations. A lot of palms, tiki torches, water lilies on the tables and of course plenty of leis for the guests. Strings of miniature lights are great. Some may consider sand but I wouldn’t recommend it. Bringing it in and cleaning it up could be a disaster.

Whether serving alcohol or not tropical drinks can be served, the virgin varieties are very popular at these events. Be sure to include the proper garnishes. You will need plenty of sliced pineapple, cherries, and of course those cute little umbrellas. Drinks can be served in coconut shells for that tropical feel.

For entertainment, of course, Hula dancers. Entertainment companies all provide a variety of acts to make a luau seem authentic. Have a limbo competition with Hawaiian music. People love to see how low they can go. There are other traditional danced beside the hula and your entertainers will be glad to help you decide.

As for the food at a luau. Appetizers could range from chicken wings to shrimp and crab puffs, along with beef, chicken and seafood kabobs. Be sure to have plenty of tropical fruit like mango, pineapple and bananas. For the main course Chicken with ginger and snap peas. Duck ,beef chicken and seafood are all very good choices, even though in most tropical locations the most readily available food item is fish, so to seem more authentic include, crab, lobster and other varieties of fish.

For your desserts think about fruit sorbet. They come in a variety of tropical fruit flavors like pineapple, mango, guava and coconut.

So consider a luau for your next event and remember to say aloha.

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Justin Cook stirs up his recipes concerning corporate catering, event planning and other dining related topics on his Just Corporate Catering blog. Please feel free to add comments to his posts and contact Justin with questions or other communication at justin.cook@justcorporatecatering.com