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Food trucks line the promenade at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center for the World Tea Expo.
In the meetings industry, food and beverage can all too easily become standardized and stale. But in Long Beach, California, the in-house culinary team at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center goes beyond the norm to impress attendees with culinary experiences that are as delicious as they are engaging.
Showstopping Treats and Feats
In addition to menus highlighting California cuisine and fresh ingredients, the culinary team can work with meeting planners to create customized displays and themes that highlight their unique branding — like company colors and logos — with interactive stations that make for social-media-worthy photos.
Chef Jesus Cibrian, director of culinary at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, takes a keen interest in crafting these one-of-a-kind food stations — like the Donut Wall, an activation that never fails to capture attendee attention. With donuts decorated with special toppings and colorful glazes, the display turns into a delicious mural that makes an ideal backdrop for photos. Another interactive idea is the Chef’s Candy Shop, a self-serve display of 20 candy varieties that can also include mini desserts like cupcakes, cream puffs, and macarons — all customizable to match a group’s brand colors.
The unique Cove space at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center is well-suited for food truck rodeos and street parties.
Mobile Meals
Long Beach’s temperate weather makes it an ideal environment for outdoor food truck events, year-round. This kind of laid-back, SoCal atmosphere is a fun way to encourage attendees to mix and mingle. Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center staff are on hand to help organizers source and book food trucks to make the planning process seamless — a huge help when you consider the many food truck options available in the area: everything from burgers to burritos to sushi.
Food trucks can be set up near just about any venue within the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center campus, but two spaces work especially well. The Terrace Theater Plaza right off Ocean Boulevard provides a scenic setting for outdoor parties and receptions, and food trucks can pull right up to the sidewalk or onto the plaza itself for easy access. Below the plaza, The Cove offers the perfect street party vibe, with concrete pillars lit with colorful light fixtures. Line the space with food trucks and the party will go all night.
The Terrace Plaza and The Cove at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center present a unique opportunity to bring Long Beach’s incredible food scene directly to attendees. Organizers can bring in their preferred caterers as long as they can serve out of an outdoor tent, a fifth-wheel trailer or other mobile set-up, and are licensed to operate in the City of Long Beach.
