Questions for the Caterer

Questions for the Caterer

May 5th, 2011 @ 9:15 am by Mrs. Pony
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I have always found posts with questions to ask potential vendors to be supremely helpful (and sometimes eye-opening), so I thought I would share the questions we asked our caterer last week. Some may not apply to your catering situation because we had some specific requests, but hopefully the queries are general enough to be helpful.

Have you catered at our reception facility before?
What is the service fee, if any?
What is the applicable tax?
How many events can you cater in one day?
What do you need from us to secure the date?
When are the deposits due?

If someone else is interested in our date do we have the right of first refusal, or is it first come, first served for the date?
How many servers will you have at the event?
Is there an extra charge for servers?
What all do the servers do? How long do they stay at the event?
What time do you need to be in the building to set up for the event?
Do you prepare the food at your facility or at the reception facility?
Is the price based on one entree per person?
If we add another entree, how many servings per person would we have?
How many tables do you typically need for a buffet?
Do you provide linens for the buffet tables? If so, what do they look like?
What sort of chafing dishes do you use?
Can we provide our own china?
Will you bus our tables if we provide our own china?
How do you serve (non-alcoholic) beverages?
Is there a discount for children?
Can we substitute certain food items (e.g., biscuits for rolls)?
Is there an extra charge for food substitutions? If so, how much?
Do you cut cake even if it is made by someone else?
How much do you charge for cutting the cake?

The length of this list makes me feel bad for our vendors, but I don’t like to be surprised about a vendor’s policies or costs when I go to sign a contract, so I try to get all my business out there in the beginning.

I hope this helps those of you searching for the perfect caterer!

What did you ask your potential vendors?

Tags: bloomington, food |

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8 Responses to “Questions for the Caterer”

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Rgeddy (message) 2,186 posts, Buzzing bee

these are all good! Also (if it helps) more: should/can we tip the servers? Do you have corking fees? Will you get back unopened bottles after? Is (tap) water included? Will it be preset on the tables in pitchers or will servers be refilling glasses as needed through the night? How many days before do you need the final head count? Do you need to provide the seating chart (& meal preferences)? What happens if you get day of/day before cancellations/changes? Do you prefer round or long tables? How will you serve dessert - plated, buffet or passed on trays - what about different flavors? Will they provide they’re own trash cans - what about disposal/recycling fees? Any preferences about attire of servers? Do they serve the bride/groom first? What is the order of service? okay… I’m going to stop now. Most of those things will probably already be explained but for me - I didn’t know and had to ask them all. Better safe than sorry right?! Good luck.

5/5/11 @ 9:31 am (reply)

Member

EAQ219 (message) 1,448 posts, Bumble bee

I’m an event coordinator for a large catering company in the DC area. These are all really great questions!! I love when brides come in with prepared questions because it means they’re serious and they really care. Makes my job a lot more fun.

I know of some companies who omit things on purpose and then once the contract is signed spring them up on their clients. If you feel like something is “missing”, ask! Another thing to be VERY mindful of is change in price. If there is a clause in the contract that says something like “Company X has the right to increase the price without notice” and you have to pay the increased price, RUN FAR AWAY. That’s not fair. The price on the contract should be the price you pay, NOT the estimated price.

One thing I will say, let the rep from the catering company go through their “script” before asking a million questions. Chances are they will (or should) answer nearly all of your questions without you having to ask. If they don’t, well you should probably not hire them.

5/5/11 @ 10:46 am (reply)

Bee

Ms. Ferris Wheel (message) 345 posts, Helper bee

SUCH a helpful list. Thanks for breaking it down for us!

5/5/11 @ 12:26 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Hyena (message) 1,882 posts, Buzzing bee

Great list! We’re about to have our final meeting with our caterer before the wedding! So I’ve got a whole other list of questions for end-of-engagement, if you want it!

5/5/11 @ 4:48 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Pony (message) 4,175 posts, Honey bee

@Rgeddy: These are great questions!
@EAQ219: That is a very good point. I would hate to have that sprung on me at the end of the planning process.
@Ms. Ferris Wheel: No prob FW!
@Miss Hyena: Uhhh…I will probably take you up on that.

5/5/11 @ 9:28 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Tartlet (message) 3,207 posts, Sugar bee

I always like the “things to ask” posts, too! Great list of questions, Pony!

5/6/11 @ 1:06 am (reply)

Bee

Mrs. Ostrich (message) 1,948 posts, Buzzing bee

great, great list Miss P. we asked all of these questions to our caterer….as well as if they’d be open to custom catering requests (like, serving korean bbq, which they’d never done before and bringing in side dishes from a korean restaurant). it’s good to ask the hard questions early and see how your vendors respond. Good for you!

5/7/11 @ 5:38 pm (reply)

Member

BayStateBride (message) 3,732 posts, Sugar bee

@Miss Pony: and @Rgeddy: Thank you for posting this list of questions. We have our first meeting with the caterer this weekend. I like being prepared.