An internal hackathon, a product launch week or a release sprint changes how a tech office eats. People start early, skip lunch, work into the evening and live on coffee unless someone plans something better. Good food will not ship the product, but bad food (or none) shows up in tired, irritable teams by day two.
This guide covers how to plan catering for these events in UAE offices, whether you are a startup in Dubai Internet City or an engineering team in Silicon Oasis.
Start with the shape of the event
Write down three things before you order anything:
- How many people, and for how many days. A 24-hour hackathon for 30 people is a very different order from a five-day sprint for 12.
- The hours people will actually be in the office. Most sprints have a long tail into the evening; a hackathon may run overnight.
- Who is coming from outside. Judges, mentors and partner teams count as guests.
Then plan food around the points in the day when energy drops: mid-morning, mid-afternoon and early evening.
What to serve, and when
| Time | What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Coffee, tea, fruit, yogurt, pastries or wraps | People skip breakfast on event days |
| Mid-morning | Nuts, fruit, water | Keeps focus without a sugar crash |
| Lunch | One proper hot or cold meal, eaten together | A real break resets the team |
| Mid-afternoon | Protein snacks, cut veggies and hummus, iced coffee | The hardest slump of the day |
| Evening | A team dinner if people stay past 7 pm | Snacks are not dinner |
| Late night | Soups, wraps, herbal tea, decaf | Food that does not wreck sleep |
The protein snacks guide and the chilled snacks guide help with the afternoon slot, and nuts and seeds are the easiest thing to keep on every table.
Quantities that rarely go wrong
As a starting point per person per full day:
- 3 to 4 hot drinks and at least 1.5 litres of water.
- 2 to 3 snack portions between meals.
- 1 portion of fruit set out in the morning and refreshed after lunch.
For overnight events add a late meal and another round of hot drinks. Order slightly over for the first day and adjust; leftovers from day one tell you what people actually eat.
Coffee without the crash
Tech events run on caffeine, but six espressos and two energy drinks by midnight help nobody:
- Keep the coffee machine clean and stocked, and check it at lunch. See coffee and coffee machines.
- Add cold brew or iced coffee for the afternoon; the cold drinks guide has options.
- From the evening, put out decaf and herbal teas. The decaf guide explains the choices.
- If you stock energy drinks, keep them limited and visible rather than unlimited. The energy drinks guide covers the caffeine numbers.
Dietary needs on a mixed team
Tech teams in the UAE are some of the most international in the country. Ask about dietary needs in the event sign-up form and plan for:
- Vegetarian and vegan options at every meal, not just a side salad. Meat alternatives make it easy to serve one plant-based main that everyone can eat; the meat alternatives guide has ideas.
- Halal as the default for all meat.
- Allergies, labelled clearly on every tray. See the allergen labelling guide.
Keep it inside the budget
- Set an event budget per head per day and keep it separate from the regular pantry. The cost per employee guide gives a baseline.
- Order meals for the people who are actually staying, not the whole office.
- Put leftovers in the pantry the next morning rather than throwing them away; the food waste guide has more tips.
Industry notes
- Startups and scale-ups often combine a hackathon with recruitment or investor visits. Our tech companies and startups page and the tech companies pantry guide cover the everyday pantry.
- Fintech teams run release sprints around regulatory deadlines; see our fintech page.
- Teams in Dubai Internet City and Dubai Silicon Oasis can add event items to their regular delivery.
The short version
- Plan around the energy drops: mid-morning, mid-afternoon and early evening.
- Serve one real lunch together and a proper dinner if people stay late.
- Budget 3 to 4 hot drinks, 1.5 litres of water and 2 to 3 snacks per person per day.
- Switch to decaf, herbal tea and soups after dark.
- Ask about dietary needs at sign-up and label everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much food do we need for a hackathon? As a starting point, plan 3 to 4 hot drinks, at least 1.5 litres of water, 2 to 3 snack portions and one portion of fruit per person per full day, plus lunch and, for long days, dinner.
What are the best snacks for a sprint week? Snacks with protein and fibre that keep people going without a sugar crash: nuts and seeds, protein bars, yogurt, hummus with cut vegetables and fresh fruit.
Should we provide energy drinks at a hackathon? If you do, keep them limited and offer plenty of alternatives such as water, iced coffee, decaf and herbal tea, especially late at night.
How do we handle dietary needs on a large tech team? Ask in the sign-up form, serve at least one vegetarian or plant-based main at every meal, keep meat halal and label allergens clearly on every tray.
Can My Healthy Office deliver extra stock for an event week? Yes. You can add event items to your regular order for specific days and return to the normal order afterwards.
