Catering Service Charge Costs

Celia will be with you shortly She had her own catering biz.

Forgot to include the $500 admin fee they charge in that $3100 total

Just to clarify, that amount includes the cost of the service staff?

Yes. The $3100 total includes the food, service charge (no tips), taxes, and admin fee.

Yes, I know paying the waitstaff is usual. I am only getting 2 servers.

Okay, so since it includes the staff, that is very reasonable. It's coming up way more for me and that's for 50 guests. So you are getting a great deal. Seriously. One bartender and three staff for us is quoted at 1500 almost. Food ( not alcohol) is over 2k. Granted, we are having drop off catering and then hiring through a separate company for staffing so actually we are saving because if we went through the caterer for staff it would be over 5k.

It's a good deal, and honestly I wouldn't be expecting anything less elsewhere.

It's buffet style, so granted, we don't need a whole hell of a lot, but is not weird that I'm getting 4 staff, plus the one kitchen chef, and it costs the same as the food? They are all getting paid $25 hourly on the proposal and 3 of the 4 came in at 10.5 hours of work each for a 7.5 hour event because we have to pay them to return to their headquarters and complete their closing duties - unloading the truck and cleaning the dishes. I've never before organized an event that included paying staff past event hours.

Spazzytazi for the win!

I think it it's a good deal.

Our service fee is a percentage of what we're spending AND includes the tips. It's more than what you're paying but it's minuscule compared to the catering bill as a whole. I've never heard of an admin fee either, but our venue requires us to use this one caterer so I never did research on catering....

No - I think paying them for their own clean up back at headquarters is a bit silly. I plan corporate events as part of my job, and I think just because it's a wedding people try to take advantage. I think it's one thing to pay for clean up at the event, but paying them to clean their own serving dishes after the event sounds silly. I was just asking if it was a usual practice that people experience this because as I said I plan corporate events and we are only ever charged for actual event hours.

And also, there will be no china or glasses used. Everything will served on disposable plates because that is what is included with their service.

Thank you for your opinions ladies! I am working on another proposal with another caterer to compare. We can only choose from an exclusive list of caterers, so that limits us. We are working with Rocky Mountain Catering and Occasions Catering. They are both wonderful - I am not trying to detract from the overall pleasant experience we've had. I just want to make sure I am making the wisest decision and not being taken advantage of

My caterer charges $20 a plate for two entrees buffet style (pork loin, meatballs and mash potatoes). This includes absolutely everything besides a tip. Eta. To clarify, everything means silverware, china, glasses, service, delivery, food, and clean up.

I'm used to seeing a 22-24% service charge where I live so it does seem high to me but again, different locations. In the quotes I get, the staff/chef/bartender fee is included in with the food costs. For 102 guests, our cost is right about $3000 but it doesn't include alcohol.

My food is way less than that for 130 ppl. If it's not in your budget shop around and get the best deal you can find. That way you can compare the prices.

Yes, that is normal. These people need to make a living.

And your catering quote is extraordinarily low ($1200 for 75 people = $16pp?!).

I think your overall quote is extremely low, especially if the food is good. Many people pay $100+ per person, plus an additional 20% service charge.

$16.00 pp is less than we would pay if we went out to Applebee's for dinner. I'm failing to see the problem here.

I feel you. I totally low-balled my catering budget, and when I got my first proposal, the sticker shock sent me into a tizzy. Once I calmed down and really looked it over, I realized I had never factored the cost in for staff or gratuity. I thought that those things were just covered in the price of food. Boy was I wrong. FH retooled our budget and increased it to cover those extra expenses.

I didn't totally read all the comments, but I can tell you that two servers for 75 guests isn't enough.

You probably need a BT, at least 4 servers and a maitre d'. If you have two hours of setup, 6 hours of wedding and an hour of cleanup, which is pretty standard, that's 9 hours x5 people (captains get more) at a national average of 20.00. The captain is probably about 300 ish. So you're right there. I have a bit of an issue with unloading; that should be on the caterer's dime, but that's the least of it.

16.00 for food is low, using plastic eliminates not only rentals but a person to rinse it. Way less than that? That would scare me.

I'd call a couple of other caterers, but I think you'll find this is standard.