Company Lunch Catering

I don't like the term "foodie."  I like to think that everyone is a foodie - it's just that some palates are more refined than others. Take, for example, the company that I'm currently doing some contract work for in Franklin. Today is a company-wide meeting and since I'm not a true employee, I cover the phones. The one perk - I get to eat before everyone else - and it's on the company. The bad news - the food is painfully awful!

I don't say that to be mean or snobbish, but it's extremely medicore food. The only redeeming item on the menu was the salad. The rest of the meal was rice, some sort of chicken casserole, bread and 2 choices of soup. Let's break each of these items down, shall we?

1) Salad: I'll give it credit. It was mixed field greens instead of the usual iceburg chunks, with a variety of veggies (cucumbers, red and orange peppers, red onions, cherry tomatoes, hearts of palm) and spiced pecans. But I get two choices of dressing: ranch and italian. Now I'm not asking for 10 choices of dressing, but you can't tell me the only thing Americans will eat on their salads are Ranch and Italian. What about a vinaigrette instead of italian? Or a creamy caesar instead of ranch? Neither of these suggestions are that far out in left field, but they are somewhat more creative. Me? I'd rather have a Citrus vinaigrette or maybe a Green Goddess dressing.

2) Rice: Um, yeah, I'm not sure what that was. I think it was Rice Pilaf, but it was all the same color...an odd off-white shade. Oh wait, there were sunflower seeds in it, which added a slightly darker shade of off-white. Oh and there were onions, which added a slightly opaque shade of off-white. It had no flavor AT ALL!

3) Casseroles: Let's get down to the meat and potatoes! Two options here - with or without artichokes. So we get shredded chicken from a can, swiming in a bland curry sauce topped with cheese and buttered bread crumbs. It doesn't sound so bad does it? You just had to be there. I mean shredded chicken from a can? Really?

4) Soups: Loaded Baked Potato and some sort of pureed something florentine. It was the most non-descript tasting soup I had every eaten...

There's a part of me that wants to fault the catering company. But then I realize, it can't all be their fault. I mean, does anyone complain about this food? No, when the entire company comes streaming out of the elevators after their lunch, they are all raving about the food! I can't fathom it. It might be that I work in a homogeneous part of town, which means everyone's individuality is not properly working.

But on the other hand, if the catering company pushed the envelope just a little every once and a while, would the palates out here be a little more excited by something other than Ranch and Italian?

In the end, I guess I shouldn't complain. It was free, right?