Hotel in-house catering, or an outside caterer?
The choice is usually made by the venue contract before anyone tastes anything. Read that clause first.
Published 14 September 2026
Most hotels and many banquet halls either require you to use their kitchen or charge a fee if you do not. That clause decides more weddings than the food does, so find it before you fall in love with a caterer or a venue.
What an in-house kitchen does well
- It knows the building: the service lifts, the power, the route from kitchen to hall, the timings the venue enforces.
- It is one contract and one point of blame, which matters when something goes wrong at eight in the evening.
- Setup and clearing are usually part of the venue’s own operation rather than a separate negotiation.
What an outside caterer does well
- The menu is written for your event rather than drawn from a banquet list.
- Regional and family dishes are usually done better by a kitchen that cooks them every week.
- Live counters are a specialism. A caterer who builds events around them brings the equipment and the cooks for them.
- You can choose a vegetarian-only kitchen if that matters to your family.
What to check in the venue contract
- Are outside caterers allowed at all?
- Is there a royalty or kitchen-hire charge, and is it per plate or a flat fee?
- What access does an outside team get, and from what time?
- Is open flame allowed, and where?
- Does the venue supply crockery, tables and linen, or does the caterer?
- Who clears the waste, and by when?
Get these in writing from the venue before you sign with anyone. A per-plate saving disappears quickly against a kitchen-hire charge nobody mentioned.
The hybrid that often works
Some venues allow an outside caterer for one function and use their own kitchen for another. If your morning function needs food your family will recognise and your evening needs counters and range, that split is worth asking about rather than assuming it is not allowed.
How to compare the two quotes
Put both on the same guest count, the same number of functions and the same service format. Then list what each includes: food, service staff, setup, crockery, transport, taxes, and any venue charge that applies only to one of them. Compare the totals, not the plate figures. They are almost never measuring the same thing.