Institutional
School Event Catering in Medellín
Medellin Elite Catering caters the days a school community remembers: sports days on the field, family bazaars in the coliseo, open houses and graduation nights. Since 2019 we have fed groups from a 15-person board breakfast to a 900-guest party, so a school with 600 families is familiar ground.
Our clients here are private and bilingual schools, parents' associations (asociaciones de padres) and student councils planning one-off events. Each booking gets a bilingual coordinator who works with the principal, the parents' committee and the facilities team.
School events put every age in one place. We plan for toddlers tagging along with older siblings, teenagers who eat double, grandparents who want a proper tinto and teachers who need lunch before afternoon classes.
- Itemized quotes available
- Bilingual English and Spanish coordinators
Plan your event
Our School Event Catering
School event catering is food for a single day or evening at the school, as opposed to daily meals. Formats range from snack boxes and hydration points to live food stations, family buffets and seated dinners for parents.
We bring everything a school canteen usually lacks: chafing dishes, food-grade coolers, serving tables, plates and full cleanup. Your facilities team only needs to give us a covered area, water access and a power point near the service zone.
Because most of the crowd is young, every menu starts kid-friendly and nut-free, then adds adult options. Many schools also book a separate staff break on the same day, and our teacher appreciation catering menus suit that slot well.
Events Through the School Year
Most private schools in Medellín hold six to twelve catered events a year, clustered at the start and end of the calendar. The table follows a Calendar A school; for Calendar B schools (August to June), graduation moves to June.
| Event | Typical month | Format we suggest |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome breakfast for new families | February | Breakfast buffet with arepas, pandebono, fruit and tinto |
| Book Day (Día del Idioma) | April | Snack boxes with juice |
| Children's Day (Día del Niño) | April | Kids' menu with mini burgers, fruit skewers and ice cream |
| Mother's Day assembly | May | Breakfast reception with passed bites |
| Field day or sports day | June or September | Hydration stations, fruit tables and snack boxes |
| Antioquia Day (Día de la Antioqueñidad) | August | Paisa stations: arepas with chorizo, mazamorra, buñuelos |
| Science fair or open house | September or October | Coffee and finger food for visitors |
| Halloween family fair | October | Food carts on prepaid tickets |
| Graduation | Late November | Cocktail reception or plated dinner |
| End-of-year staff gathering | Late November or early December | Buñuelos, natilla and hot chocolate |
Book at least two weeks ahead for staffed events and 48 hours ahead for drop-off snack boxes. The final headcount is due 7 days before the event.
We cater school events across Medellín, Envigado and Itagüí, on the routes we run for catering in Sabaneta, and at campuses in Bello, Caldas and Llanogrande. For schools in Llanogrande, the team leaves earlier to cover the drive over the mountain and still arrives 2 to 3 hours before service.
Field Days and Sports Days
Field days need food that keeps students hydrated and fueled without slowing them down. We set up shaded hydration stations with cool water and electrolyte drinks, refilled every 30 minutes, beside fruit tables with watermelon, pineapple, banana and orange wedges.
Snack boxes go out at the mid-morning break, each with a turkey and cheese sandwich or an arepa with quesito, a fruit cup, a homemade oat cookie and a bottle of water, labeled by grade. For a sports day we plan about 1.5 liters of water per student over the day, which under Medellín's midday sun is rarely too much.
Stations sit under a canopy at least 10 meters from the running track, and cold items stay below 5 °C in coolers until they reach the table. During the rainy seasons (April to May and October to November) we keep a covered plan ready in the coliseo or under the school's roofed patio.
Family Fairs and Bazaars
Family fairs run on food carts and stations that either sell to visitors or serve them against prepaid tickets. The school chooses the sales model, and we set the menu, portion counts and staffing to match.
Favorite stations are a fried empanada cart with ají, a griddle of arepas with chorizo, a salchipapa stand, fruit salad with condensed milk and cheese, and obleas with arequipe for dessert. One station serves about 120 to 150 portions an hour, so a bazaar expecting 800 visitors usually needs four or five.
Most schools choose prepaid tickets because the money stays with the parents' association and our staff never handle cash. When a fair needs a longer list of bites for a seated area or a VIP tent, we add trays from our finger food catering range.
Graduations and Parent Galas
Graduation calls for the school's most formal catering: a cocktail reception after the ceremony or a plated dinner for graduates and their parents. We serve it in the auditorium foyer, on a covered school terrace or at an outside venue such as a hotel terrace or finca.
A 90-minute reception after the ceremony works well with 8 to 10 passed canapés per guest: mini arepas with hogao, chicharrón bites with guacamole, ceviche cups and mini buñuelos. A fundraising gala for parents follows plated service, with 1 server per 10 to 12 guests and either an open bar or a bar by consumption.
Many families hold a second celebration at home the same weekend. For those, our graduation party catering covers buffets and stations for 15 guests and up.
Questions and answers
School Event FAQs
Can you run food sales at a school fair?
Yes, we can run food sales at a school fair in one of three ways. The school can sell prepaid food tickets that we redeem and invoice afterward, we can sell directly with card and bank-transfer QR payments, or the school can cover the food for every family so visitors simply walk up to the stations. With direct sales we hand over a sales report the same evening.
Are your snacks nut-free?
Yes, every snack we prepare for a school event is made without peanuts or tree nuts. Our kitchen uses nuts in some other menus, so we do not call it a nut-free facility, but school orders are prepared on a cleaned line with separate utensils and clearly labeled boxes. For a child with a severe allergy, tell us in advance and we pack that food sealed and named.
Reserve your date
Plan Your Next School Event
Tell us the event, the date and how many students, families and staff you expect, and we will send an itemized quote within 24 hours. Parents' committees can also write to info@medellincatering.com.
- Itemized quotes available
- Menus, staff, tableware, setup and cleanup in one quote
- Food-handler certified team and labeled allergens on every tray
- Monday to Saturday
- 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Sunday
- Closed (events still run)