Healthy BBQ’s

Step 1 – Choose a location and date

• Think about where you will hold the barbecue, how you will cook and serve the food and where staff will eat. For example, will you have a serving table, or serve food straight from the barbecue? Will people sit or stand to eat?
• If you need to book a space or barbecue equipment, do this early to avoid disappointment. Choose a day that suits most people, and avoid days where there are many meetings or other events on.

Step 2 – Covering the costs

• It is a good idea to investigate potential funds that may be available to help cover the cost of the barbecue. Some workplaces or communities have a budget for health and wellbeing activities or a social club.
• Sometimes it may be necessary to ask staff to cover some or all of the cost of the barbecue.

Step 3 – Check your equipment

• Make sure all the equipment required to prepare, serve food and eat is available. Doing this in the weeks leading up to the event will allow plenty of time to buy or borrow any equipment necessary.

Step 4 – Promote your event

Promoting your event well in advance gives guests plenty of time to RSVP, allowing you time to plan and budget accordingly.

• An initial email providing event details and requesting RSVPs and any special dietary requirements, followed by a calendar invitation is an easy and convenient way to do this.
• Remember to send a follow-up email closer to the date, reminding guests of the time, date and location of the event and any special instructions such as ‘bring a plate’ or ‘gold coin donation’

Step 5 – Plan your menu

• Once you have a good idea of the number of attendees and any special dietary requirements, you can plan your menu. Planning in advance will save you time and money, as you can shop according to a set budget and ingredients list.
• Planning your menu also gives you the opportunity to think about healthier foods and drinks and avoid items that are higher in saturated fat, added sugar and/or added salt.

Step 6 – Shop

• Prepare a shopping list which includes all the ingredients you will need, as well as equipment like plates, serviettes or tongs. Cross check your list with your current pantry stock to make sure you don’t double up on any items. Make sure you have room to store and/or refrigerate food and equipment until you are ready to use them.

Step 7 -Prepare and serve

• It’s a good idea to ask some of your colleagues to help you on the day to ensure that the barbecue runs smoothly. Extra help might be needed for setting up, cooking and serving the food.
• It is important for anyone involved with storing, preparing and cooking food to have a good understanding of how to handle food safely. Refer to the following Victorian Department of Health websites for information about food safety:
• Food safety
• Do Food Safely – online learning module

Key tips

Planning the menu

• Avoid over catering on meat – offer only one piece of lean meat or a burger patty (or vegetarian equivalent) per person.
• Choose lean cuts of meat.
• Provide a range of seasonal salads and vegetables.
• Offer reduced salt varieties of sauces (tomato, BBQ, sweet chilli) and let people add the sauce themselves.
• Limit sugar sweetened drinks. Provide water or low sugar/diet varieties.
• Promote your healthier options on menus, display boards and labels.
• If providing the barbecue as a fundraiser, include healthier items in ‘meal deals’, such as providing water with burgers or sausages instead of a soft drink.
• Offer fruit or salad on the side with burgers and sausages.
• Make wholemeal or wholegrain bread the default option and offer unbuttered.
• Ask people to indicate any special dietary requirements one week in advance of the event. This will help your budgeting, shopping and avoid wastage. If asking people to bring a plate of food, provide a list of suggested salads and/or fruit platters on a notice board and ask people to choose an option each. This will ensure a variety of healthy dishes are offer