Three quotes for the same event can differ by half, and it is almost never the food that explains it. It is what has been left out of the price. These are the questions that surface it — ask them of us too, and hold us to the answers.
1. What is in the per-head price, itemised?
Ask specifically about the chef's time, equipment, gas, refrigeration, gazebo, lighting, serving tables, service ware, travel and waste removal. The commonest unpleasant surprise in event catering is a staffing or delivery line appearing at the end. Get the total for your exact numbers, in writing, and the ranking of your three quotes will frequently change.
2. Who will actually be cooking?
Not the company — the people. Will it be whoever quoted it? Is the team the same every week, or is August covered by agency staff who met in your car park an hour earlier? There is no wrong answer here, but there is a lot of information in how readily it is given.
3. Where is the food actually cooked?
On site from scratch, or produced in a central kitchen and finished in a van? Both are legitimate. But cook-chill and reheating is most of what people mean when they say catering tastes "like catering", and you are entitled to know which you are buying.
4. How do you handle a severe allergy?
The answer you want involves separate preparation, separate utensils, and that guest's food being plated individually and handed to them rather than put out on a buffet table. Be wary of anyone who promises an allergen-free environment in a field — that is not a thing, and a caterer who claims it has not thought about it properly.
5. What paperwork can you send my venue?
Public liability insurance, food hygiene certification, local authority registration, risk assessment, method statement, HACCP plan. Ask them to send it directly to your venue rather than to you. If it takes more than a couple of days to appear, that is your answer.
6. What happens if my timings slip?
They will. Speeches overrun and photographers lose twenty minutes. Ask how much flexibility the menu has and who to speak to on the day. A hog holds for an hour without complaint; a plated three-course does not, and a caterer who pretends otherwise will serve on schedule into an empty room.
7. What do you need from the venue, exactly?
Space, access, power, water, arrival time. Get numbers, not reassurance. Then check them against what your venue will actually allow — the mismatch between "we just need a bit of space" and a hall that will not permit outdoor cooking is a conversation better had now.
8. Can I speak to two recent customers?
Not testimonials on a website — actual contact details for people who booked something similar. Any caterer worth hiring will have several who are happy to take a phone call. When you get them, do not ask whether the food was nice. Ask whether the caterer arrived when they said they would, whether the final price matched the quote, and what went wrong and what they did about it.
“Something always goes wrong at an event. The answer to what they did about it is worth more than every other answer put together.”
And one question to ask yourself
What is the food for? A hog roast that people gather round for two hours is doing a different job from a working buffet that lets a meeting keep going. Be honest about which you need and the choice between quotes usually makes itself.
Written by Adam Skinner, who has cooked professionally for 30 years and is the one who turns up. Questions about any of this? Ask him directly or ring 07946 773421.