There's something to be said for hotel catering. When you're working a corporate show, putting in twelve- or fourteen-hour days, having someone prepare three meals a day is a pretty nice perk. You don't have to figure out where to eat, wait for DoorDash, or spend $25 on a mediocre sandwich from the hotel lobby. You just walk into the crew meal room, grab a plate, and eat.
And for the most part, we're grateful for it.
But after a few days, something starts to happen. You walk into the catering room, lift the lid on the first chafing dish, and there it is.
Chicken. Again.
Sure, yesterday it was chicken with a lemon butter sauce. Today it's chicken with some kind of mushroom cream sauce. Tomorrow it'll probably be grilled chicken with a balsamic glaze. But underneath all that culinary creativity is the same familiar piece of poultry you've been staring at since load-in.
Anyone who's spent enough time working corporate shows knows the routine. Breakfast starts strong with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes. Lunch brings chicken, rice, roasted vegetables, and a salad. Dinner? You guessed it. More chicken.
Every once in a while, the hotel throws in a curveball. Maybe it's a taco bar, barbecue, or a pasta station. Suddenly the entire crew is talking about how great catering is. Word spreads through the ballroom like somebody just announced an early out.
"Did you see they're doing tacos today?"
It's amazing how much excitement a little ground beef and some tortillas can generate after three straight days of chicken.
To be fair, some hotels absolutely crush it when it comes to crew meals. Fresh food, good variety, different menus every day. Those hotels are remembered. Sometimes more fondly than the actual show.
Then there are the others, where yesterday's steamed vegetables become today's roasted vegetables, the rice turns into herb rice, and the chicken gets a different sauce. It's not necessarily bad food. It's just that after six variations of the same meal, the excitement starts to fade.
At some point, you start wondering if every hotel in America orders from the same chicken supplier.
Just Eat It. It's Free.
On a long show day, crew meals can become one of the highlights of the schedule. After hours of rehearsals, troubleshooting, or staring at PowerPoint slides, lunch is a welcome break. And there's always that one person who checks the catering room early.
"What are we having today?"
"Chicken."
"Of course."
Eventually, someone complains. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's the guy who's been on the road for three straight weeks. And inevitably, someone else delivers the line we've all heard a hundred times.
"Just eat it. It's free."
And they're not wrong.
Having meals provided is a genuine perk, and the catering staff feeding hundreds of people on tight schedules deserves some appreciation. But two things can be true at once. You can appreciate being fed and still be completely over another chicken breast swimming in an unidentified sauce.
Sometimes you just want a cheeseburger.
So the next time you walk into the crew meal room, lift the lid, and discover another chicken breast in a slightly different sauce, grab a plate, find a seat, and enjoy the break.
After all, it's free.
And who knows? Maybe tomorrow they'll have tacos.
-CTC Staff
