Everyone knows that food is one of the most important elements of any successful event. If you’re going to hire a caterer, choosing the right one can be critical, especially given that ~50% of your event budget will go to this single item. Look online for reviews (EasyEventPlanning.com may have reviews of caterers in your area). You often need to book a good caterer at least 6-12 months in advance of your event.A caterer will need to know the basic details of your event right up front - date and time, location, number of guests and budget. Having an idea of the serving style you’re looking for – sit-down meal, food stations, passed hors d'oeuvres, French, Russian, family style, buffet, dessert only – before meeting with the caterer will be helpful but a good caterer should be able to customize a menu and provide a variety of choices within your budget. Make the caterer aware of any special dietary needs of your guests well in advance. Here are a few helpful questions to bring to that interview:
Experience
1. How many events can you cater in one day?
2. Do you have any other events booked on my event date?
3. Have you catered weddings or my type of event before?
4. Have you catered at this location before?
5. What is the largest number of guests you’ve catered for in the past?
6. Do you specialize in a cuisine type?
7. Do you specialize in any type of serving style?
8. Are you able to accommodate special dietary needs – kosher, gluten-free, etc?
9. Do you specialize in an event type?
10. How long have you been in the catering business?
11. How long have you had this particular catering business?
12. What kind of training/education have you had?
13. What made you go in to this field?
14. What were you doing before?
15. Will you personally attend/supervise my event?
16. Would you personally be doing the cooking for me event? If not, can you please tell me about the experience of the chef? How long has (s)he worked for you?
17. Can you tell me about the experience of your serving staff? How long have they worked for you?
18. Can you tell me about the experience of your bartenders? How long have they worked for you?
19. Have you had any dissatisfied clients in the last 6 months? What happened?
Licenses/Permits
20. Are you licensed by the state?
21. Do you have a health permit?
22. Do you carry insurance? For all of your employees too? (You may want to ask for copies of these licenses, permits, insurance certificates)
23. Do you have a liquor license? Are you willing to serve alcohol even if you don’t have one?
Services, etc.
24. Do you use both fresh and frozen food and produce?
25. Will any of the food for the reception be previously frozen?
26. Do you bake your own desserts/breads or use a bakery? If so, which one?
27. Can family recipe dishes be prepared?
28. Do you offer free tastings? Can I try all of the items you’ll suggest for my event?
29. How many people can I bring to a tasting?
30. Are your portion sizes fairly standard?
31. Can I see the kitchen where the food will be prepared?
32. Can you design menu boards for food stations?
33. Do you do table displays or decorations? Do you have a portfolio?
34. Do you have a website? 35. What will the servers and bartenders be wearing?
36. What do you do with leftover food? Can we take it home or donate it?
37. When will you need my final guest count?
38. What will the guest-to-server ratio be? (You want at least one server for every 30-50 guests for a buffet and one for every 10-15 for a plated dinner)
39. How many bartenders will you have available?
40. How many bars can you set up?
41. Are the beverages served by the wait staff or served at the bar?
42. Can I talk to your last 3 or 4 catering clients?
43. What rentals do you think I’ll need? Can you take care of ordering those?
44. Do you take care of any needed rental returns or do I?
45. Do you bake cakes?
46. Do you rent chocolate fountains?
47. Can I have the cell phone number of my contact person? Is (s)he able to receive emails on his/her phone?
48. How quickly can I expect a reply to an email/voicemail?
49. Why should I hire you over other caterers?
Pricing
50. Do you have sample menus or do you customize each event?
51. What is included in your catering prices? (set up, clean up, staff, rentals - table linens, napkins, dishes, and glassware, etc)? May I see your samples?
52. Is there a break for children’s meals?
53. How much are taxes and gratuities?
54. Are there any additional fees that are not included in the proposal?
55. Do you charge for cake cutting?
56. Are “vendor” meals (i.e. photographer, DJ, etc.) discounted?
57. What are the costs for the bar/bartenders?
58. What is the cost for a champagne toast?
59. Is there a corking fee?
60. Is there a deposit? If yes, how much and when is it due?
61. How much will it be if my event runs overtime?
62. When will you need to have my final guest count?
63. What is your payment policy?
64. What is your cancellation policy?
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