If you've worked in tech, you've probably heard the Peter Drucker quote "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." It may even be on a poster in your office. It's one of the central rallying cries in tech culture, from the Valley to every other tech hub around the world – including Waterloo Region.

But sometimes we get culture and amenities or perks mixed up. This is especially true for one of the most sacred cows of tech perks – catered lunches. Whether they're daily, weekly or monthly, these meals can bring the team together to form tighter bonds, speed up onboarding of new staff and, most importantly, spur those serendipitous meetings that lead to great ideas.

While the goals behind catered lunches are altruistic, there's also the downside that employees aren't getting outside and interacting with their communities. Those serendipitous meetings in your office are great – but they can also happen outside your walls and expose you to ideas and problems you might not normally come across. There's also an economic loss. When you're out and about heading to grab lunch, you are more likely to stop inside other shops – and great retail options make our downtown and uptown cores even better.

I've worked at a company that had catered lunches and the best thing about it was getting to try food from restaurants I hadn't been to before. With that in mind, here's some ideas for local restaurants to try based on a survey of the KW Techs Slack team's favourite catered lunch providers.

Gilt Restaurant and Lounge (305 King St. W., Kitchener)

Gilt was one of the places I had catered lunch from long (too long) before I stepped foot in their space on the ground level of 305 King St. W. in downtown Kitchener. The crew on KW Techs Slack listed some of their favourite Gilt dishes like chicken caesar salad, bacon-wrapped dates and wild mushroom risotto. When I go to Gilt now, it's usually on a Friday for their $10 burger and soup special – one of the best dishes and deals on King Street.

The Yeti Cafe (14 Eby St. N., Kitchener)

A favourite of companies in downtown Kitchener, The Yeti Cafe is known for sandwiches like "The Bob," "Cowgirl" and our personal favourite here at Communitech, the "Terry Pender," named after long-time Waterloo Record tech reporter Terry Pender. You can find The Yeti on Eby Street across from the Kitchener Market.

Vincenzo's (150 Caroline St. S., Waterloo)

When I first moved to Canada, a co-worker brought me over to Vincenzo's to get a sandwich. That was the moment I decided to stay in Canada forever. Okay – that may be slightly exaggerated, but it doesn't change the fact that a counter full of Vincenzo's sandwiches is one of the best catered lunches to be had here in town. They're located in the Bauer Building across the street from the Allen ION station.

Ellison's Bistro (14 Charles St. W., Kitchener)

Another downtown Kitchener favourite is Ellison's Bistro. Ellison's caters their mouth-watering jerk chicken to quite a few companies around town. The experience is even better in their restaurant on Charles just down the street from North.

Taste of Seoul (154 Victoria St. S., Kitchener)

Whether it's a catered lunch for 10 people or 100 people, there are few things that scale as well as Taste of Seoul's bibimbap. This delicious combination of rice topped with seasoned vegetable, gochujang chili pepper paste, teriyaki sauce, fried egg, tofu and more is a great option when you have multiple dietary restrictions to meet, with its interchangeable ingredient list. They're located a short walk down from the Tannery on Victoria Street.

Taco Farm (8 Erb St. W., Waterloo)

Whether it's a catered lunch or a waddle-out Wednesday, Taco Farm is a crowd pleaser from uptown Waterloo to downtown Kitchener. While a catered lunch from Taco Farm is great, it probably doesn't include one of their margaritas, so going to Taco Farm in person is my preferred way to enjoy. You can find Taco Farm between the Communitech Data Hub and BRCH Social in Uptown Waterloo.

Get out there and enjoy something local!

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While we're splitting the cheque (who got the extra guac?), I see and hear that...Just in time for the federal election, CIGI presents "Fake News and Elections: What We Need to Know Before Heading to the Polls." This discussion with Darrell Bricker, CIGI Senior Fellow and CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, will explain social media's role in propagating fake news and look how it impacts our elections. Thursday, Oct. 3 is the kick-off of the Night Light Film Festival at the Apollo Cinema. $66 gets you admission to eight movies (including a Drunken Cinema screening of "The Lost Boys"), a special festival pin and 10 per cent off snacks. Festival runs through Sunday. Finally, come celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Kitchener Market this Saturday, Oct. 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. with live music, drinks, cake and more.