Host an Event

Would you like to host an Off The Menu Event at your restaurant? We'd love to hear from you!​

The Menu:

We love working with restaurant owners and chefs to create unique and memorable moments for the foodies who have signed up for the opportunity to attend these Off The Menu events. Our goal is to create events that feature dishes that are not normally seen on restaurants menus; dishes that allow chefs to explore their creativity and re-engage with their roots. While we collaborate on the development of the menu, ultimately the menu is yours to create.

After you submit the menu to us,  we may provide you with feedback based on our experience with the audience we have connected with over time.  We will provide you with a list of common food allergies, and we ask that you let us know which menu items may present risks for those particular allergies. To be clear, this is not intended to limit your creativity. Instead, it’s simply our way of ensuring that we let potential attendees know which dishes may have ingredients that trigger the most common allergic reactions.

A final note: dishes can be served Family Style, where large plates of food are passed around, or they can be plated for each person. However, everyone is served the same dish at the same time.   You may include a wine pairing, apéritif or digestif if you like, but it is not required. 

The Tasting:

All events require one private tasting where the two members of the Culinary Slut team have a chance to try the meal that will be offered at the Off The Menu event. We use this as an opportunity to photograph the dishes, learn about the ingredients of each dish and start the process of producing written and visual content that will be used to comprehensively market the event.  The tasting for two people – at the restaurant’s cost – is a requirement to host an event. 

*Please note: that the tasting must occur at least 4 weeks before the public event. 

Advertising and Marketing:

We develop and deploy all marketing material (e.g.: photography; written copy) and pay for all the social media advertising. 

Facebook:

  • Includes An Event Page and Event Cover Design that will feature prominently the name of the host restaurant;

  •  One post every few days for the two weeks before ticket sales end.  A photo of each dish is included as well as a detailed description;

  • A paid ad for the event;

  • A paid boosted post for each dish; and,

  • We select a target audience within 16 kilometres of the city (or town) where the event takes place, with interests related to the menu that has been created. 

Instagram:

  • An Instagram Story that features prominently the name of the host restaurant will promote the event and be saved as a highlight;

  • A post every few days for the two weeks before ticket sales end, describing each dish;

  • We will pay for a boosted post ad for each dish; and,

  • We select a target audience within 16 kilometres of the city (or town) with interests related to the menu that has been created. 

There is an option to have a small flyer printed you can hand out to each customer two weeks before ticket sales end, or to have table tents card (or towers) promoting the event created for your restaurant.  

Eventbrite:  The event will be listed on the Eventbrite website and will include paid advertising for two weeks.

Print Collateral: We will create posters and flyers that can be shared at your restaurant as well as our retail partners.

Ticket Price and Sales:

Ticket price must include non-alcoholic beverages (e.g.: bottled water, juice, soft drinks, coffee and tea).  Unless part of the menu, each diner pays for their alcohol at the end of the meal.  

You tell us how much you need to charge for each person (including applicable taxes and a set gratuity) and we add our marketing recovery fee to derive the final ticket price. 

Ticket sales end one week before the event so you know exactly how many people will come to the event and can prepare accordingly. If you need more time between the end of ticket sales and the event to be ready, this is negotiable. We do not provide ticket buyers with refunds, so once the tickets are sold the number of people is set.

How Many People:

We count on an honest conversation with restaurant owners and chefs to understand how many people you can host.

There is no minimum to the number of people for an Off The Menu event, and we never cancel once tickets are sold. It is important to us that our audience sees us as dependable. If only 6 people buy tickets, then we still hold the event. 

If this is your first time working with us, we recommend a maximum of 30 people.  If the evening goes smoothly we’re happy to have larger events in the future.

If you would like to introduce a lot of people to your cuisine, but your restaurant can only cater to a limited amount of people at once, we can hold the event over two days.  For example, we could do a Thursday and Sunday seating with a maximum of 30 people each.