Hiring a Caterer. What you
need to know.
Every catering event is different from backyard bbq's and deli trays to lavish receptions with gourmet food, each person has a specific idea in mind when it comes to their event. If you've never hired a caterer before, there are certainly a number of questions you should ask yourself before doing so. This list is a helpful guideline to those questions.
| What type of service is required? | |
| Drop-Off—The least expensive. Your meal is dropped off and is self-served | |
| Limited Service—Delivered, set-up, picked up | |
| Full Service—Delivery, set-up, servers, clean-up | |
| Gourmet Service—The most expensive. Your meal is cooked (at least to some degree) on site to customers request with high quality service. | |
| What kind of meal will be served? | |
| Buffet—Food placed on buffet tables and guests serve themselves (or can be buffet served by wait staff) | |
| Food Stations—Different types of food or cuisine tables located in different areas of the room. (also can be self serve or wait staff served) | |
| Sit Down—Wait staff served (sometimes first course is preset) | |
| Combination— Wait staff passes Hors D'oeurves with a pre-set salad, buffet dinner and served Dessert. You can decide which works best for you. | |
Catering Costs. |
|
| Setting
one cost for catering is like setting one cost for a house. Depending
on the quality, how big, the location, etc. your costs will differ.
It will cost a lot more to serve Filet Mignon to your guests than
Roast Beef. As well, tiny shrimp are a lot less expensive than Fresh
Jumbo Shrimp. Are you having paper products or fine china? Dishes take time to wash and that means more labor time for the servers. The length of the event also comes into play. Does the staff need to be there early enough to set-up tables and clear the last wine glass away, or are they just there for a couple of hours? You should also consider the length of time the caterer has been in business and whether or not they can provide you with references. All of these will affect your costs. |
|
Where is the event held? |
|
|
In an elaborate
ballroom with expensive linens or a rustic barn with red and white
chech table cloths, there are many different types of locations
to choose from. |
|
Now that you have some questions to answer you are probably ready for the next step and that's to call caterer's to request bids on your menu. If you have a menu in mind or at least an idea of what you want, that's of great assistance to a caterer. Also helpful is a budget. If the caterer knows about how much you want to spend, he or she can prepare a menu or menus based on that budget instead of throwing out menus that mights be far less or beyond your means. |
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