Catered to your needs

Hooking up with the right caterer requires more commitment than a wink on a dating site.

“It’s a relationship similar to a marriage,” according to Mitchell Ray, director of catering at Boulder-based Savory Cuisines.

His approach and advice is to find out how you and a caterer mesh rather than just sending an email to a company asking for prices. “Our goal is to create a customized menu within a person’s budget and although we have packets to send out with that information, I’d rather work on a relationship first.”

First comes the venue

Before calling a caterer it’s important to decide on and secure a venue, according to Ray. Some locations only allow their own catering team to work with the food and others have limitations that can determine what’s possible and what’s not possible to prepare and serve.

Connie Dubois, owner of the Loveland-based A Catered Affair with Connie, starts the process by asking clients to consider what kind of event – what flavor – they want. Is it an upscale formal event with a cocktail hour, appetizers, dinner and a dessert bar or casual like a barbecue?

Both Ray and Dubois agree that the second question a caterer will ask focuses on the budget. “The event could be a fundraiser and necessary to make money,” Dubois said.

Figuring out the amount they want to make helps determine the per-person amount to spend for food.

A lot goes into meeting a budget – much more than just choosing vegetables that are in season. For example, there’s the level of service to consider.

“Sometimes we just drop the food off, walk away and pick everything up later,” Ray said.

Is the plan for a sit-down meal? A buffet? Will there be a wine service? A presentation? An awards ceremony that would require servers to stop serving?

For a drop-off meal, event planners need to make sure they have someone assigned to replenish food if necessary.

“They need a team on their end,” Ray said. “I walk that team through the event if that’s the direction they choose.”

For a buffet, Ray suggests one staff person for every 25 to 30 guests.

“Remember that some items won’t work if there’s no staff,” Dubois said. “You’ll need to choose food that the cooking staff doesn’t have to prepare on site.”

Then comes the menu

Which brings the event planning process down to picking the menu.

“When someone calls for help deciding [on the menu] I ask them where their favorite place to eat is,” Ray said. “Do you like a cocktail? An appetizer? A dinner? I guarantee them that whatever that bill is it will be more than we charge.”

A combined average from different local caterers is that a three-course meal – hors d’oeuvres, salad and entree – ranges from $15 to $35 per person to start.

Dubois reminds people to ask the caterer what the staffing fee is, the tax and the tip when getting a per-plate estimate.

Once the venue, the date, the menu, the staffing and the head count are decided, a caterer can provide a workable proposal. Keep in mind that caterers tend to either offer the service of planning your event or connecting you with an event planner they work with. How involved you want to be in the details is your option.

“After you’ve painted this picture for the caterer about what you expect for the event and how you see it unfolding, allow the caterer to put it together,” Ray said. “We create a proposal and then let clients taste that proposal.”

Dubois said that she used to book events without tastings but since more people watch cooking shows that feature chefs like David Cottrell, they want to taste what’s going to be served.

Two kinds of party

Catered events fall into two categories: social – like weddings, holiday parties and graduations – and corporate – like conferences, awards ceremonies and fundraisers.

“We put some corporate clients on a payment plan and provide a monthly menu they can choose from,” Ray said. “Prices will be consistent, and if they need a meal in a short amount of time they can use the menu.”

The dollar amount necessary to secure a caterer varies but averages a percentage like 25 or $100 deposit. To get ingredients lined up, bought and delivered to the caterer requires them to place orders weeks in advance, and the deposit tends to cover that upfront expense.

Most caterers require the final head count at least two weeks before the event for that reason. Some ask for 50 percent of the fee at that time as well. The remaining balance tends to be due one to two weeks prior to the event.

One of the most common surprises Dubois said her customers experience in the event planning process is the number of people who say they’re coming.

“It seems like RSVPs are becoming a lost art,” she said. “I send leftovers home with [the client] but they feel bad and I feel bad for them when it happens.”

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