How to Make a Catering Budget

Overview
Catering is part cooking, part sales and part service. In order to get to the service, you must become proficient at sales. Demonstrating your talent to a client is an important part of sales, but drafting a proper catering budget can make or break your business. Making a budget requires you to know exactly what goes into each dish you intend to serve, as well as current prices for every ingredient.

Step 1
Review your client’s RSVPs to determine the number of people you will be feeding. Add 10 percent to the final tally to account for unexpected guests.

Step 2
Discuss the meal with your client. Learn what her expectations are in regards to the food and service. Take detailed notes during the meeting so nothing is forgotten throughout the process.

Step 3
Meet with your suppliers. Get a current list of fresh ingredients, along with prices for each.

Step 4
Plan the menu according to your client’s wishes. Provide eight to 10 choices to the client. Cook each of the choices along with their respective side dishes. Let the client sample each dish.

Step 5
Discuss each choice with your client. Assist her in narrowing down the choices to two or three to offer her guests at the event.

Step 6
Review your recipes. Refer to the price lists from your suppliers to determine the cost of each dish. Remember to adjust the prices to reflect sales tax.

Step 7
Multiply the price of each dish by the number of that dish the client has ordered. Repeat this process for each dish that will be served.

Step 8
Add the total cost of all of the dishes. Multiply the total food cost by 250 percent to account for labor and your profit margin. Submit this price to your client as the catering cost for her event.

Reference
Elements Fine Catering; The Dreaded Budget; January 2011


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