Caterer fees

Yes it's normal to have some sort of extra fee. Ours added an 18% service fee (not gratuity) + taxes. It ended up being a lot more. You'll find some sort of extra fee with almost all caterers.

Ours is $7,000 for 90 people. But it includes tip.

AND we did have a service fee but we are having a buffet and not a plated dinner.

I've never heard of a chef fee either. Are you having plated meals? That could be what that $7 is for.

Yeah, there are usually extra fees :-\ Usually there is a delivery fee and a service fee, and often those are NOT the same as the gratuity, which is sometimes not included in the catering estimate.

There are usually extra fees. Is the chef plating something or carving something? Administration fee, while not fun, can go to the paperwork and office staff who are helping to order food, take client phone calls and run the business side of the catering business. The $24/person really just takes care of the actual food. Still, not a bad deal.

I'd ask more about the chef fee per plate - I'm not sure what that means and it's a really high fee!

I had the base price per person for food & booze, plus a 20% service fee (which was not the gratuity). Taxes and delivery fee make total sense to me, but if there is some type of administrative fee I'd expect it to be closer to 20%, instead of 30%+

I was a caterer for 30 years; I think this is bizarre.

You should have a per person food cost, a service fee for the staffing (typically 18-20% that covers their salary, and taxes. Administration fees are BS; that's like me charging a couple to write up their contract. You build the cost of 'administration' into the cost of the product, just like everyone else.

Just ask what everything is for; transparency is key.

And I can tell you that if you're paying 7.00 a plate for your chef? That chef is not seeing it.

So your grand total ends up being $38.40 per guest? That's about unheard of around here, except for small children.

I just received an estimate, for two small luncheons I am putting on. 30 people (total) over two days...15 people per event.

$89 per person.