If you are planning a party for a large number of people, unless you are a particularly gifted chef, it is likely that you will want to hire some catering services to provide food, drinks and snacks for your guests to enjoy during the occasion. The problem with choosing a caterer is much like the problems we all find when looking for a good restaurant; how do we know if the food is any good and are the prices equally as good? Below is a list of considerations when looking to hire a caterer.
The first thing you need to do is to obtain a list of possible candidates that are able to provide a catering service for your occasion. Catering services should be booked far in advance as they can be busy, so you need to find out which companies are available for the exact dates you require. Obtaining a list of potential suppliers means searching local business directories, the internet and also asking family and friends for recommendations. If you previously went to a party and enjoyed the food provided, you can possibly try to contact the party planner to obtain contact information for their caterer.
Now your task is to reduce that list down to 2 to 4 possible caterers. To do this you need to make a few decisions yourself as to your budget, the type of food you would like and the kind of service you require. Do you want a buffet style service or a set menu served to each guest? Will you need specially prepared dishes for certain guests such as vegetarians or nut allergy sufferers? What is your budget? Will you require only snacks or hors d’œuvres to provide your guests or a full 3 or more course meal? Find out which companies can provide the service you want and discard any that can not, or you feel would not be the right choice for your party.
Next you need to make a decision based on your shortlist and to do this you should ask the potential caterers some more probing questions. You should ask each one to provide details of how they will manage your specific event, including the number of staff that they will use to serve food and drinks. You could also ask for some references from previous customers to obtain some (hopefully) unbiased opinions of the service they received. Finally, it may be possible to visit their business premises and possibly try a sample of their food to gauge for yourself their catering abilities.
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