A complete caterer booking checklist to help you plan your event smoothly, from setting a budget and finalizing the menu to choosing the right caterer.
What was the best and the worst food you had at an event?
You still remember it, don’t you? If you clicked on this link, the possibility is that you cherish your best food experience and dread the worst one for your own event. Until now, you were just a guest at someone’s event, but now you are the host.
Managing the catering is kind of a tricky job, and there is a possibility that you might screw up. Well, that’s why this caterer booking checklist exists.
For a better understanding, this checklist is divided into phases, with all the things you need to keep in mind. So, let’s look at what we have in our first phase.
Phase 1: Early Planning (2–4 Months Before)
This phase requires you to plan early for the upcoming event. Booking a catering service without giving it much thought can mess things up later. Start with:
What’s the Event for?
Before you book your caterer, be very specific about the type of event you are throwing. Is it a wedding party, a corporate milestone, or just a private birthday party celebrating your grandfather’s 100th birthday? A specific date and time will help the caterer prepare the right menu choices for your food catering checklist. Be specific about the venue, too. Is it a resort, a banquet hall, an outdoor lawn, or just the backyard of your home?
Be clear about this first step. Well-communicated planning can help the catering team organize the theme and the food on the table according to the event.
What Is It Going to Cost You?
Don’t get overwhelmed when the catering service shows you a menu full of your favourite sweet dishes. The first and foremost thing you need to check off your caterer booking checklist is the pricing they quote. Since you are planning 2–3 months ahead, the guest count and menu can remain tentative for now. But you need to have an idea. Find a vendor who can work within the budget you are willing to spend.
Well-Behaved Staff?
While booking your catering service, make sure you interact with the staff who will serve your guests on the day. Well-behaved and polite staff are what you need to look for. The people you are throwing the event for deserve to be treated with respect and hospitality. Moreover, the staff’s cleanliness and the uniforms they wear need to be well maintained. Be specific about these questions to ask when booking a caterer.
Are the Plates Clean?
A professional caterer will take good care of the hygiene of the serving stations, the food served, and even the plates on which it is served. Serving delicious food on dirty plates annoys the guests. That’s the last thing you want. Ask them to take special care of the service stations, utensils, buffet table maintenance, dishcloths, and towels.
Phase 2: Vendor Selection (6 Weeks Before)
Once you are done with planning your event, the next thing on your caterer booking checklist is to book the vendor.
This is the most important part. Choosing the right caterer will determine how your event turns out. That’s why let’s start with some red flags you need to watch out for.
Watch Out for These Red Flags!
The first thing to ask your caterer is how many events they handle per day because you don’t want to book an overbooked caterer.
Be straightforward about the pricing and what is included. Be cautious if they try to add any hidden charges in their food catering checklist.
If they refuse to sign an agreement covering the services or pricing, just skip that vendor.
Whenever you visit, ask for their documentation and insurance details. If they decline to provide them, something might be fishy.
Be Clear as Crystal!
Communication is the basis of every relationship. If you find it hard to communicate with them, don’t trust them blindly. These communication points should be crystal clear before you hand over the advance:
- Ask them to share contact information between all vendors.
- Distribute a detailed timeline to everyone involved.
- Confirm delivery and pickup schedules.
- Discuss setup and breakdown coordination.
This Is My Budget!
Not all, but most caterers may try to overcharge you for certain things. It is better to tell them your budget based on the number of guests you are going to invite. Don’t worry, here is an average budget allocation that you can use as part of your restaurant catering checklist:
- Food costs: Typically 60–70% of the total catering budget.
- Service costs: 15–25% (waitstaff, setup, and coordination).
- Bar service: 10–20% if you are including alcohol.
- Equipment rental: 5–10% if it is not included in the catering package.
Phase 3: Menu Planning (6 Weeks Before)
Okay, so now that you know what you need to consider before booking the caterers, it’s time to do some homework. As the second phase of your planning begins, the next thing on your restaurant catering checklist should be the guests and the menu. Here is how you should start the second phase:
Count Your Guests!
It’s time to start making a list of the guests invited to the event. Since we have to prepare the food catering checklist, don’t exclude yourself or your family members. The guest list should include everyone who will be present, even your close family. It’s not that hard to make one. Just divide the guests into categories such as family, friends, relatives, and colleagues.
Furthermore, another important thing to consider is the dietary restrictions of your guests.
Things like a vegetarian menu, a non-vegetarian menu, halal options, etc., come under dietary restrictions. You have to consider these from the beginning.
What’s on the Menu?
This one is interesting. You now have to sit back and judge the food. When you approach a caterer for booking, there will be a day when they invite you to taste the food. It is very important to say yes. As mentioned above, you now have to carefully pick the dishes for the menu while considering your guests’ dietary restrictions.
Choose something that your guests will prefer. If most of your guests are vegetarian, opt for vegetarian dishes. In case some of your friends, colleagues, or other guests prefer non-vegetarian dishes, you can opt for a separate counter and put a few non-vegetarian items on the menu, too. Planning a congenial menu is one of the trickiest things to check off your caterer booking checklist.
Just remember, you can’t make everyone happy, but you can always try.
Are We Drinking Today?
Be it a commemoration or a gala, it’s important to know what’s inside your guests’ glasses when they greet each other with mirth.
As you work through your food catering checklist, you should now decide whether you are going to serve any hard drinks. While visiting the caterer, you might also meet the staff responsible for the bar. Get a clear understanding of which drinks they need to serve at the event.
Even if you go with soft drinks and mocktails, there are more than a hundred drinks you can choose from. Do you want to serve both kinds of drinks but worry about any drama? Then you can put a limit on the drinks. Whatever your situation, get on a call with the head of catering and discuss everything clearly.
Find the Best Caterer for Your Event
Finding the best catering service for your event is going to cost you time and mental stress. Give Eventsmonial a chance to take away all your worries. Eventsmonial gives caterers a centralized, mobile-first platform where catering inquiries and bookings live in one place, not across five apps. You just need one wedding planner app that simplifies finding answers to all the questions to ask a caterer for a wedding.
There are hundreds of wedding caterers and event caterers listed on the platform. You can also use the built-in AI app to get answers to all your questions.
Not just caterers, but you can also get in touch with thousands of planners, makeup artists, and photographers. Eventsmonial provides a one-stop solution for all your big-day needs.
Conclusion
Finding the right vendor may seem difficult at first. But when you follow the above caterer booking checklist, you can finally relax. Designate a person or a friend to look after all the other coordination. Be flexible with minor adjustments, and don’t forget to enjoy yourself on the event day!
