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Tips for Choosing a
Catering Service
Of course the most important item in a catered event is the
food. No matter how good it and everything else may look, if the food is not
excellent, everything else will suffer. Everything else at a catered event will
simply enhance (hopefully) the food, much like any food service in a restaurant.
Theme decorations, the plates and utensils and yes even the food servers will
add or detract from your event so proceed very carefully. The best food served
by someone in blue jeans with food smudged on them is a lot different than food
being served by a professional, well groomed and dressed for the occasion
professional.
The most important and yes obvious thing to do then is to get and check out
references. When contacting references, make sure you ask if the person knows
the person that is being referenced. This may throw some of the referenced
people, because they are a friend of the owner and are simply trying to help
them out. This could cost you in what is likely an event you want to remember
for a long time.
In order to help get a firm quote you need to help out the caterer by very
carefully laying out all that you want the caterer to provide and as well as a
time schedule. If you haven’t planned for where the event is going to be, ask
the caterers. If they have experience, you may find that some locations may
actually cost less as they are better prepared for catered events. A kitchen on
site for instance makes a big difference.
Discuss your budget up front. We would all like a lot for very little cost, but
you need to be realistic in order to give the catering business an idea what and
even if they can work with the budget. You can not get a silver service sit down
dinner with a budget suitable for hot dogs and hamburgers.
A wait staff of 1 for every 10 people is a good rule of thumb, but make sure to
ask. You don’t want servers trying to make up for this shortcoming in track
shoes running through the event, do you?
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