Catering advise needed.

tinknal · #1 03/11/10, 08:25 AM

I'm in my third month of the restaurant business now. I've just bid to cater my first big "affair" (a wedding reception). I'm confident that I have the low bid on catering. I'm also confidant that I will make money at the price quoted.

The trouble I'm having is how to calculate how much food to buy to;

A, Make sure I have enough, and

B, make sure I don't get too much.

Is there some kind of reference work or online calculator that can help with this?

Thanks, Al

Rcrewofmany · #2 03/11/10, 08:41 AM

Try some of these links.....

http://www.angelfire.com/bc/incredib...eringinfo.html

http://www.angelfire.com/bc/incredible/indexnotes.html

http://ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/plan/quan100.html?

http://lotsofinfo.tripod.com/weddinghelp.html

We have thought about doing catering. So these are from my research.

Good Luck!

tinknal · #3 03/11/10, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rcrewofmany

We have thought about doing catering. So these are from my research.

Good Luck!

WOW, great links. Thank you thank you thank you. I bookmarked every one of them. My rough estimates were fairly close on a lot of the items. The sites gave me plenty of ideas.

watcher · #4 03/11/10, 09:09 AM

I can't give you any numbers but I will give you some advice. You should always have "too much". Nothing will ruin your repuation, which what a business like this lives or dies on, than not having enough food. The problem is not having too much too much

tinknal · #5 03/11/10, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by watcher

I can't give you any numbers but I will give you some advice. You should always have "too much". Nothing will ruin your repuation, which what a business like this lives or dies on, than not having enough food. The problem is not having too much too much

Exactly. That is what I'm shooting for. I think one of my best selling points is that leftovers get sent home with the customer.

blooba · #6 03/11/10, 11:41 AM

Also be prepared if a dish gets ruined i.e. burnt, overseasoned,spoiled ect.,ect.. It happens to the best of us. Hopefully nothing happens and usually the "too much" will cover you to a certain extent.

Ken Scharabok · #7 03/11/10, 03:46 PM

Last couple I have been invited to were either a hot table or you had to order your entree in advance.

Get a reputation for quality, not necessarily on being low-cost.

tinknal · #8 03/11/10, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Scharabok

Get a reputation for quality, not necessarily on being low-cost.

Luckily, because of low overhead I can do both. I'll only be catering "In house".

**highlands** · #9 03/11/10, 05:21 PM

[QUOTE=tinknal;4323936]I'm in my third month of the restaurant business now. I've just bid to cater my first big "affair" (a wedding reception). I'm confident that I have the low bid on catering./QUOTE]

Don't focus on low-balling. That's a good way to lose your shirt. Do quality and charge a price that reflects the quality. Low price makes me wonder about low quality. The "Made in China" syndrome.

We raise Certified Naturally Grown pastured pork. Top quality meat and we charge more for that. Customers come back week after week because it is top quality. We have orders for more than we can produce.

Never compete on price - there's always someone else who's willing to under cut you and lose their shirt too.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa

tinknal · #10 03/11/10, 06:01 PM

[QUOTE=highlands;4325031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

Never compete on price - there's always someone else who's willing to under cut you and lose their shirt too.

]

Not losing my shirt at all. In fact I'll be making a tidy sum for a days work (if my calculations are correct). My competition is paying a monthly mortgage on a million dollar building. I'm ...... not.

stef · #11 03/11/10, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by watcher

I can't give you any numbers but I will give you some advice. You should always have "too much". Nothing will ruin your repuation, which what a business like this lives or dies on, than not having enough food. The problem is not having too much too much

First of all, congratulations on making it this far...you're obviously doing something right!

And second congratulations on the catering job.
I totally agree with watcher...I would always rather have too much when I prep group meals, than not enough.

Please let us know how it turns out.

stef

tinknal · #12 03/11/10, 06:18 PM

That's odd, I somehow turned Walters quote into my own............

dk_40207 · #13 03/11/10, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinknal

Exactly. That is what I'm shooting for. I think one of my best selling points is that leftovers get sent home with the customer.

Just be careful with leftovers i have heard horror stories about people taking leftovers. The biggest thing is if they don't properly handle/store the food and then get sick you get blamed. I know a lot of caters here will not give leftovers maybe except to the bride and groom.

Derek

Ken Scharabok · #14 03/12/10, 02:19 AM

It the reception is going to be 'wet', may be a nice deal for the hall itself from bar sales.

Ken Scharabok · #15 03/12/10, 02:40 AM

Added: I assume your biggest challenge is going to be on how to serve a room full of people within a short period of time.

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/foo.../catering5.htm

http://www.cateringmagazine.com/home/

I would take the approach all you are responsible for is the preparation of the food, serving and table clean-up. The event corrdinator (e.g., mother of the bridge) has to make arrangements for tables, flowers, hall decorations, band and such. The bar should be responsible for all liquor aspects.

Mrs.Swirtz · #16 03/12/10, 03:17 AM

Have done a bunch of catering. Always better to have too much , We always take the leftovers back. As there is no way to charge extra a plate for food that people take home . Also work in a lodge so whatever food is leftover we bring back and serve as a special or in case of fruit as garnish. Leftovers will also endear you to neighbors and employees. Better to take it and give it to friends than to give it to customers for free.

Ken Scharabok · #17 03/12/10, 03:24 AM

If there is a homeless shelter in the community with a kitchen you can donate excess food there. I believe, but am not sure, you can count it as a charitable deduction against income.

If your local Senior Citizen's center has a Meals on Wheels program they may also be interested in some of it.

Jolly · #18 03/12/10, 10:44 AM

My daughter was married a little over a year ago. I used the best caterer I could lay my hands on, in a state where we are known for our food. The guy charged me $3500, and he was worth every penny. That did not include the cake, the groom's pies (which we used instead of cake), the chocolate founatin or the candy table we had set up. He gave us all leftovers - I paid for them, they're mine. the food was served buffet style.

Some of the things I remember being on the menu:

Fresh split yeast rolls
Smoked brisket
Smoked ham
Mini muffeletas
Bacon-wrapped scallops
Crawfish bread (french bread with a base sauce, crawfish and cheese - toasted)
Shrimp etoufee
Chicken & sausage gumbo
Rice
Mini Nachitoches-style meat pies
Green beans with slivered almonds
Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
Corn maque choux

Might have been one or two other things, but I can't remember. I received complements on the food up to six months after the event. People don't remember the wedding, they remember the food...