r/catering

Hi all! So, I have a quick question. I've been working with Compass Group for almost 10 years now. I'm currently in a catering director role but I am looking elsewhere. I've seen a GM position with Sodexo for more money than I am making now and it's in a school setting (10 month) which is really beneficial for this time in my life. I've heard horror stories about Sodexo and I am apprehensive to apply. Can anyone provide any insight or feedback?

Hey everyone, I recently came across a company selling dehydrated sauces/pastes specifically for restaurants. They claim the product is preservative-free and FSSAI-approved.

The concept is basically: add water, blend/grind it in a mixer, and you have the sauce/paste ready to use — so there’s no need to cut and process onions, tomatoes, garlic, etc. This could potentially save a lot of prep time, labour, and wastage.

I’m considering trying it for my restaurant, but I’d love to hear from people who have actually used similar products.

• How does the taste compare with freshly prepared sauces?
• Is the consistency good enough for regular restaurant use?
• Does it actually save money after rehydration?
• Any issues with shelf life or storage?
• And most importantly, are these products genuinely preservative-free as claimed?

Would love to hear your experiences or recommendations before I try it.

I run my family's catering business in Pune — we started in 2003, mostly weddings and large events, with a team of about 40 (chefs, waiters, managers). I've been working in kitchens in London and finishing a master's in culinary management; I'm back in Pune from September and going hard at the 2026–27 wedding season.

Straight offer: if you know someone planning a wedding, reception, engagement, housewarming, corporate event — anything that needs catering — introduce us. If it closes, you get 5% of the contract value on the first ₹2 lakh and 3% on anything above.

So a ₹3L event is ₹13,000 to you. A ₹8L wedding is ₹28,000.

How it works:

You just make the introduction. No selling, no quoting prices, nothing promised on our behalf.

You're paid as the client pays us — 50% of your share when the advance lands, the rest on final payment.

It has to be a new contact, not someone already in conversation with us. I'll confirm that the moment you send the name, so there's no argument later.

Everything agreed in writing before the event.

Happy to answer anything about menus, scale, or how we operate. Comment or DM.

I’m starting a small meal-prep service and I’d love to get some opinions on my pricing.

I have a potential order for 2 people for 6 days, with lunch and dinner every day, so 24 meals total.

The way I usually do it is that the client covers the groceries for the proteins, and I cover the rest of the groceries. I do all the shopping/prep, cooking, portioning.

For this order, the protein would cost approximately:

• Halal Chicken: $63
• Halal Ground beef: $33.96
• Salmon: $20
• Total protein: ~$117

The client wants high-protein meals with no carbs, and the menu includes things like chicken shawarma, beef kefta, chicken taco bowls, salmon with vegetables, chicken pesto, fajitas, Caesar salad, beef burger bowls, and stuffed peppers.

I was originally thinking of charging $15 per meal for labor, which would be $360 for 24 meals. But I feel like that might be a little expensive for the client, so I’m considering giving them a discounted package price of $275 for all the labor.

So the client would pay for the $117-ish protein groceries + $275 labor, while I cover the remaining groceries.

Do you think $275 for labor is reasonable for 24 meals, considering all the prep, cooking, portioning, etc..? Or would you charge more/less?

My catering business partner (who has much more experience than I do) wants to do a site visit prior to service at unknown private spaces.

This summer we catered a private backyard wedding where the layout, flow, and kitchen usage was drastically changed from when we signed the contract to when we provided service. It caused a decent amount of stress, but service was not delayed and the customer was pleased.

My partner wants to perform a site visit for every unknown venue we use prior to service, and potentially include specifics about the layout in the contract. Is this standard practice How is this scalable?

A friend of mine recently started using an AI catering sales agent for his restaurant.

Apparently it can find potential business contacts, reach out to them, have the conversation, send quotes and invoices, follow up, and actually close the catering order.

I'm genuinely curious how well AI handles the messy parts of catering sales though. Not just sending the first message, but the back-and-forth, custom requests, pricing conversations, and knowing when to follow up.

Feels either ridiculously useful or like something that will break the moment a real customer says something unexpected lol.

Hi! We’re looking for a caterer/provider who can supply packed meals for around 300 pax for an upcoming company event.
📅 Date: August 26, 2026
🕚 Time: Around 11:00 PM
👥 Headcount: Approximately 300 pax
📦 Requirement: Individually packed meals
📍 Location: UP Technohub
Important requirements:
● Must be able to issue an Official Receipt / valid receipt or invoice for company reimbursement purposes
● Must accept credit card payment
● Can accommodate an order of around 300 packed meals
● Ideally experienced with corporate events
Please comment with your menu options, price per meal, payment options, and contact details.
Thank you!

I've been looking at the difference between using EZCater and using an AI catering sales agent.

EZCater can bring you catering demand that's already looking for a restaurant, but you're giving up a percentage of the order for that marketplace.

The AI sales-agent approach is pretty different. It can find businesses around your restaurant, identify the right contact, reach out, have the conversation, send quotes, follow up, and help close the order.

So one is paying for access to existing demand, while the other is trying to build a direct pipeline of catering customers.

The interesting part to me is the long-term relationship. With direct accounts, the restaurant owns the customer relationship and can follow up for the next order instead of paying a marketplace for every transaction.

Hey everyone! I’m a freelance web developer currently looking to work with catering businesses, chefs, food trucks, and event caterers who need a modern website. I recently built this catering website as an example of what I can create: Toumi's Catering. I focus on clean, responsive websites that showcase your food and services and make it easy for potential customers to get in touch or request a quote. If you’re a catering business looking for a new website or an upgrade to your current one, feel free to DM me and I’d be happy to discuss it.

Any ideas on how to keep pizza warm? (18 pizzas at a backyard party)

Can’t find any commercial pizza warmers to rent, idk if there’s a way to have thermal bags + a tray with something warm?

Any thoughts?

Hi everyone,

I'm a professional chef based in Durbanville, and after around 20 years working in the hospitality industry, I'm building my own small food business here in the Northern Suburbs.

I'm exploring something a little different from traditional catering and wanted to see if there is actually a need for it locally.

The concept is simple:

Restaurant-quality food, prepared for your home, without you having to cook it yourself.

Option 1 — Weekly Meal Service

I would prepare fresh, chef-made meals for individuals, couples or families on a:

• Daily basis

• Weekly basis

• Bi-weekly basis

Menus would change regularly and could be tailored around what you actually enjoy eating.

Not your typical bland "meal prep" chicken, rice and broccoli.

Think proper chef cooking — curries, pasta, roasts, Asian dishes, South African favourites, comfort food, healthy options and whatever else makes sense for your household.

You choose how many meals you need, and I take care of the cooking.

Option 2 — Chef Comes To You

For those who would prefer something more personalised, I would also offer an in-home meal-prep service.

I come to your home in the Durbanville area, prepare multiple meals in your kitchen, portion everything up and clean up afterwards.

You open the fridge/freezer and your meals for the next few days are sorted.

This could be particularly useful for:

• Busy professionals

• Couples

• Families

• People working long hours

• Gym/fitness-focused people

• Elderly parents

• Anyone who simply doesn't enjoy cooking

I'm initially looking at Durbanville and surrounding Northern Suburbs — Durbanville, Aurora, Vierlanden, Eversdal, Sonstraal, Kenridge, Uitzicht, Pinehurst, Goedemoed, Welgemoed, Bellville, Brackenfell and Kraaifontein.

I'm not trying to turn this into a massive operation immediately. I'd rather start with a small number of local clients and build something where the quality of the food and service actually matters.

So I'm curious:

If a professional chef offered this service in Durbanville, would you use it?

And what would be most important to you?

Price | Portion size | Menu variety | Dietary requirements | Delivery | In-home cooking

I'm genuinely interested in hearing what people would want before I finalise the offering.

I’m trying to understand how small restaurants handle this in practice.

Do you update every recipe whenever an ingredient price changes, or do you mainly track total food cost at the end of the month?

I’m especially curious about:

- pack-size changes from suppliers
- sub-recipes and batch yields
- packaging costs
- portion-size changes
- dishes that use the same expensive ingredient

What system has worked best for you: spreadsheet, POS, software, or manual review?

Bit of an odd post, but as an Irish emigrant, I return a few times a year and stay with my siblings and their families for a few nights. The problem is, they are terrible hosts. There is never any food prepared by them, so when I arrive its always take aways, chicken rolls and sandwich take outs. This is honestly soul destroying after 12 plus hours of flying. I just wondered if anyone knows any companies that do lasagnes or decent meals pre cooked, perhaps Dunnes?
It seems in Ireland catering is something reserved for big occasions, so if people arent prepared to cook, its a case of take aways or rolls.

Planning a party for about 70 people. I need to accommodate different types of diets. The catering company will need to be based in New York. What are your top suggestions?

I need to know how much pasta to buy. I’m not a caterer, but I am a decent cook. My friend asked me to make pasta for 70 people and I said of course. I have NEVER made anything for that many people. Please help me!

How to become a catering manager? What's the step by step and also the requirements or do I really need an experience? How many years?