I have been lurking on this site FOREVER!! I have really enjoyed it and gotten lots of ideas. I have a couple interested in me catering their wedding reception and doing the cake. I thought some of you mentioned catering so I'm hoping you can offer me some guidance. We will probably set up a meeting soon and I want to be prepared. I spoke to the groom (DH former coworker) and he said they want finger foods, simple, small. They invited 250 people and the date is next July. I told him to talk to the bride and get an idea of the budget and we can meet. I was thinking of getting some menu suggestions and cake ideas together for the meeting.
I also want some ideas of how to set up guidelines for payment, develop a contract, etc. Should I have food prepared for the meeting or cake samples, like a tasting? Is it appropriate to suggest decorations or centerpieces I could do? Are those things typically the responsibility of the caterer? Are there other things I haven't thought of? Should I suggest favors I can do? I don't want them to think I'm trying to "pad" the bill but these are all things I am interested in doing and I truly want to be helpful. Any ideas, suggestions, or comments are appreciated. Sorry this is so long. I am really excited about this opportunity. Thanks a bunch!

PS-I already got the public health issue covered.

I can't help personally with your problem but I have a site that has chefs on it that can probable answer you questions.
http://forums.chef2chef.net/

Sandra

ok - this is gonna be really long, but I've done a wedding before, and have lots to offer....just bear with me & I hope I help answer some of your questions!!

I wanted to go into catering a few years back, and around the same time one of my husband's friends was getting married and they were having trouble finding a caterer that didn't charge a fortune. So DH told them about my endeavor & they asked if I would cater the reception...I jumped at the chance. The best piece of advice I have is to make sure that they're not expecting to get everything dirt cheap just because you're not an "official" caterer or don't have a true catering business. I did what I did really because I wanted the experience, but I would've liked to have made more than $150 for what I did. lol They had 150 invited, maybe 110 showed up....but they only could afford $1,000.00. That barely covered the cost of the food. I did mostly appetizers with one really huge baked ham served with split rolls and 3 different types of mustards...meatballs, sundried tomato spirals, artichoke spread, spinach dip in a bread bowl, parmesan crisps, veggie trays, of course, cream cheese-cucumber tea sandwhiches, chicken salad on croissant with romaine lettuce, greek pasta salad, bruchetta (sp?) - the french bread slices that are brushed with olive oil, rubbed with garlic & then pieces of mozzarella, plum tomato & basil on top, lightly toasted...also chocolate dipped strawberries. I really learned how to make the money/food stretch!!! Oh yeah - I did the punch too and provided soda pop for the kids and others who didn't drink alcohol. Couple provided/served their own alcohol.

Brides (more so than grooms) don't think the food should really cost that much, but they're only comparing it to what they think everything costs at the grocery store...not thinking of what it is that they're wanting served and what all goes into the purchasing, storing, preparing, cooking and serving of it all. So just make sure they're being realistic about that part.

If you have the time to prepare some things for tasting...I say GO FOR IT!!! If it's good, it pretty much will gurantee you the job. Just make sure you account for the time/expense you will have to go to and balance that with how much you think you'll be charging them for the catering to see if it's worth your while to do a tasting. What I would do: maybe have some tastings prepared of your cakes...but for the rest of the food - just get a general idea of what they want, then set up another meeting with them to do a tasting, that way you don't waste your time making things that they don't like already & they don't arrive on a full tummy with no appetite or room in their stomachs!! lol Tastings work wonders for sealing the deal if you know what their likes/dislikes are ahead of time.

Also - help them understand that sometimes at weddings people come hungry! And unless they don't care if people leave the reception early, it's always better to prepare a little more food than not have enough and run out. The more food, the longer they'll stay and the more the couple will be getting their money's worth.

My bride/groom wanted everyone to stay as long as possible and party...sooooo that meant lots of food. She had said she didn't want the food cleared until everyone was gone...but at midnight (& I was 4 mos. pregnant) I saw that even the people still there were done eating and started clearing the food...no one needed to be eating it anyway after it sitting out so long. But some brides and grooms think if they're paying you that you do what they say, regardless. So I would make clear up front that your time frame starts at one point and ends at another...otherwise you'll profit less by working 'till the wee hours doing clean-up at the location.

As far as payment - I would charge separately for the reception catering and the cake, and get separate deposits for each. Generally, it's a 50/50 rule....50% deposit (refundable if date is cancelled within a time frame of your choosing) and 50% remainder 2 weeks prior to wedding date. If you want to work with them, maybe do 1/3 deposit now to hold the date, 1/3 60 days prior to the date, 1/3 2 weeks prior to date....that way it breaks it up into more affordable chunks for them. But the 50/50 way is best....that way you're not having to come up with a lot of "out-of-pocket" money up front to cover the food until they pay you their remainder. A lot of things can be purchased ahead of time and frozen, and other non-perishable ingredients that you will be using.

Decorations - You would need to check with the location where the reception will be held. The one I catered - the location already had floral decorations for the tables that happened to coordinate with the bride's colors, so we used them. But the only tablecloths were white, so I bought some fabric to coordinate with the colors and made some wide runners to go down the center of the tables. Generally, table decorations are not the responsibility of the caterer, unless it's paid for by the couple...it's usually a separate service provided by either the wedding planner, location and/or sometimes the caterer. But if you really want your work to shine, I would suggest it to the couple for a nominal fee or if you know that you would prefer to do it, just figure it in to your overall costs & present it to them as part of the package...No one can make your work stand out like you want it to, except for you!

I would also suggest using as much silver and glass as possible...it just looks so stunning!! Dig through your china cabinet, closets and all the drawers in your house...go to yard sales...borrow from family, friends and neighbors. Even if the couple is really laid back...it's still their wedding!! (And hopefully their only one!) Make your part of it as beautiful as you possibly can...no plastic bowls or ceramic platters. In the end, I only had to rent 3 serving utensils because I couldn't find what I needed (borrowed or otherwise) without buying something new. It only cost me $18.00 in all and was worth it.

Location - have the bride put you in touch with their contact person at the location and go there and take a look at the facilities you will have access to. It's paramount that you do this so that you're prepared for what your workspace will be and any and all cooking equipment they may have there that you can use. Also ask them what their guidelines are as far as what you are responsible for as the caterer - what's allowed/not allowed, clean-up, etc. that you will have to do - and if you don't adhere to their rules the couple will usually get a fee charged to them for clean-up or whatever afterwards. And ask what time is the earliest that you can arrive there to start the prep-work...you'll also know better then what items you can wait to prepare/cook until you get to the location.

My absolute most important priceless bit of advice: A bride is still a BRIDE!!! lol No matter how nice a person they are or laid back or easy going in normal, day-to-day life....this is their wedding & they can tend to be very testy and extremely picky. We've all heard the stories, the "bridezillas"!!! lol It's true - the nicest ones can be the craziest ones during their wedding!! lol Just prepare yourself for it mentally, just in case! Brides expect it all to be picture perfect, so just be ready to go that extra mile for her/them and you're sure to please!!

So sorry for the length of this...can you tell I did a lot of research/prep for the wedding I catered??!! lol I definitely learned a lot and hopefully one day when all my kids are of schoolage I'll get back into it. It is a ton of work, no matter the size of the wedding, but it's definitely worth it and very satisfying when you peek out from the kitchen and see everyone filling their plates full and oohhing and aahhing over your food...even better is when they start to seek you out & come into the kitchen to ask how you made this or that and complement you personally!! Good luck to you!!!!

Jennifer

P.S. I would also suggest having yourself (and whoever you have to help you set up/serve) in black & white attire....I had myself, my DH and 2 other people...we wore black pants and white shirts, nothing fancy...but it really looked professional!!

Wow! Thank you both so much! I do a post con chef2chef so thank you for that suggestion. That was truly a wealth of knowledge you shared Jennifer, I appreciate it. There's so much to do and I really needed the insight. Thanks again!