Corporate Diwali · Dubai
Corporate Diwali catering in Dubai, for the office lunch, the staff party and the client evening.
Diwali is Sunday 8 November 2026, so offices celebrate on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November or the week after. One kitchen for the food, the counters and the mithai.
Diwali is the one week of the year when most Dubai offices with an Indian team want Indian food on the table, and want it done the way families do it at home: a chaat counter going as people arrive, proper mains, jalebi hot from the pan and a box of sweets at the end. It is also the week when every Indian caterer in the city is full.
We have cooked Diwali for offices for years. The two largest office parties in our order book, for 150 and 90 guests, both fell in Diwali week. The group behind us has run Indian kitchens in the UAE since 1985, and our sweets come from Chhappan Bhog, the kitchen chosen for Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Emirates Palace and holder of the 2019 Guinness World Record for the largest display of sweets.
When
The dates offices book in 2026.
Diwali is not a UAE public holiday and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, so office celebrations land on working days either side of Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November. Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November go first, because they let the team celebrate before the family weekend. Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November follow for offices that prefer to celebrate after it.
Hold the date as soon as it is agreed internally. The menu, the headcount and the purchase order can follow; final numbers are due 72 hours before the event.
| Date | Day | What offices book |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 29 Oct to Fri 30 Oct | The week before | Early celebrations and client evenings |
| Thu 5 Nov | Two days before Diwali | The most requested office lunch of the year |
| Fri 6 Nov | Dhanteras | Office lunches and early-evening staff parties |
| Sun 8 Nov | Diwali, Lakshmi Puja | Family day; offices are closed |
| Mon 9 Nov to Tue 10 Nov | The days after | Late celebrations and team lunches |
| Thu 12 Nov to Fri 13 Nov | The week after | Staff parties and community events |
Formats
Four ways offices celebrate.
- The Diwali office lunch: a buffet in the pantry or a meeting room for the whole floor, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian lines kept apart and labelled.
- The staff party: an evening spread in the office, on a terrace or in a hired venue, with live counters and a dessert table.
- The client evening: canapés and a plated or buffet dinner for clients and partners, served by our own team.
- Mithai for everyone: a box of Chhappan Bhog sweets for each employee or client, delivered to the office before the holiday.
The menu
What an office Diwali spread looks like.
Built from the dishes Dubai hosts order most from our kitchen, with the vegetarian side as full as the rest. Every dish can be swapped from the catalogue.
| Course | On the buffet |
|---|---|
| Live counter | Live jalebi with rabri, or a chaat counter with pani puri, dahi puri and sev puri |
| Starters | Pav bhaji tikki, hara bhara kebab, beetroot peanut kebab, peri peri chicken tikka, Nawabi mutton seekh kebab |
| Mains | Dal Bukhara, paneer lababdar, butter chicken, Bombay veg biryani |
| Rice and breads | Zeera rice and an assorted bread basket |
| Sides | Cucumber raita and mango mustard salad |
| Sweets | Gulkand gulab jamun and assorted mithai from Chhappan Bhog |
In an office tower
What the building allows decides the counters.
Many Dubai office towers do not allow gas cylinders on the floor. Tell us the building and we check with facilities before we plan. Where gas is not allowed, the counters that need no flame carry the party: chaat and pani puri, ice gola, fresh fruit and ice cream, with hot food served from chafing dishes. Where it is allowed, or on a terrace or in a venue, live jalebi, tawa and tak-a-tak come into play.
We need a service lift, a loading bay or parking slot for the van, and about two and a half hours on site before the first plates. Security passes for the team are arranged with your facilities team in advance.
Procurement
A quote finance can approve.
Every quote breaks out food per head, service staff, the catering setup and VAT as separate lines, with no service charge hidden in the per-head number. Vendor forms, trade licence and HACCP certificates are sent on request.
A hundred staff on the Classic package at AED 140 per head come to AED 15,540 with two waiters, the AED 500 catering setup and 5% VAT. A hundred and fifty on Premium, with a live counter included, come to AED 29,348.
| Line | Calculation | AED |
|---|---|---|
| Food | 100 guests × AED 140 | 14,000 |
| Service staff | 2 waiters × AED 150 | 300 |
| Catering setup (transport, setup, chafing dishes, plates, cutlery) | Flat | 500 |
| Subtotal | 14,800 | |
| VAT | 5% | 740 |
| Total | 15,540 |
Common questions
Answers before you ask.
- When should our office celebrate Diwali in 2026?
- Diwali is Sunday 8 November 2026 and is not a UAE public holiday. Most Dubai offices celebrate on Thursday 5 or Friday 6 November, before the family weekend, or on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November after it.
- How much does an office Diwali lunch cost in Dubai?
- From AED 140 per head on Classic, AED 180 on Premium and AED 210 on Luxury, plus AED 150 per waiter (one per 50 guests at a buffet, at least two; one per 20 for passed canapés), the AED 500 catering setup and 5% VAT. A hundred staff on Classic come to AED 15,540 all in.
- Can you cater Diwali inside an office tower?
- Yes. Many towers do not allow gas cylinders, so we check with your facilities team first and plan counters that need no flame where needed: chaat, pani puri, ice gola, fruit and ice cream, with hot food from chafing dishes.
- Can you cater vegetarian and Jain staff alongside everyone else?
- Yes. Vegetarian, Jain (no onion, no garlic, no root) and vegan dishes are cooked on a separate line and labelled on the buffet in text, so nobody has to ask.
- Can each employee get a box of mithai?
- Yes. Chhappan Bhog mithai boxes can be added to the order, or ordered on their own and delivered to the office before the holiday. See our corporate mithai gifting page for how bulk orders work.
- How far ahead should we book for Diwali week?
- Hold the date as soon as it is agreed. Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November fill first. The menu and the purchase order can follow; final numbers are due 72 hours before the event.
- Can you provide vendor registration documents?
- Yes. Trade licence, VAT registration and HACCP certificates are sent on request for vendor onboarding, and every quote is itemised by line.
- Do you cover offices outside Dubai?
- Yes. Dubai and the Northern Emirates from our Dubai team, and Abu Dhabi from our head office.
Keep reading
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