Catering

[knightwing1995]

I am working on a catering menu. There will be certain levels with certain different items for each with different price levels. My question is How many guests should be confirmed in order to consider catering events?

 

[system]

I think a lot matters on what your definition of catering is here. Are you actually supplying full service of all food & drink plus service and all needed items…plates, flatware, napkins? Or, are you just talking about selling your products in bulk form for family or gathering type events with the food being your only offering?

A lot of restaurants around here offer bulk / buffet style options for their products. They offer discounts for large orders but other than that it is sold on a piece by piece basis. Which direction are you looking to go? Also, I wouldn’t really limit yourself to a base number…as I have had small business meetings catered with less than 10-20 people that a full meal service was provided on site and I am sure the supplier made out ok in the end. Look at your target groups but do not take the risk of not having the smaller customers by saying in your catering literature that you have a 50 person minimum or such. I think you need to look at each situation as its own.

 

[Deacon_V]

I’m not sure I’d want to advertise a minimum client number. We do mostly the drop and run type of catering, though we have done full-service black tie as well. We’re in a small community, but even so we will do lunch meetings one week for 6 people…and the next week at the same firm feed 150. Would I get the call for the 150 if they sourced the lunch for 6 from somewhere else?

I would also suggest that if preparing lunch for 6 people wasn’t profitable, you aren’t pricing your services correctly.

 

[knightwing1995]

I should add that we would be using a food truck that we recently purchased. So we would be cooking the pizzas on the spot and offering a buffet style service. We would be providing disposable plates,flatware and napkins.