The questions to ask a caterer before you book
Most catering disappointments trace back to a question nobody asked. These are the ones worth asking, in the order they matter.
Published 14 September 2026
You are not testing the food at this stage. You are testing whether the person in front of you will write down what they have said. Every question below has a right answer and a vague one, and the vague one is the finding.
About the price
- What exactly does the per-plate figure cover, and what is charged separately?
- Are service staff and setup inside that figure or outside it?
- How is transport charged, and on what basis?
- Are we billed on the guaranteed guest count, on plates served, or on whichever is higher?
- What could appear on the final bill that is not on the proposal today?
A caterer who cannot answer the last one is telling you something. Surprise charges are one of the most common complaints against caterers, and they are almost always things that were never written down.
About quantities
- What guest count is this proposal based on, and when must it be final?
- What happens if more people turn up than we confirmed?
- Which dishes are cooked to order during service and which are made in batch?
About the venue and the day
- What time will your team arrive, and what time does service have to finish?
- What do you need from the venue: space, power, water, a preparation area, vehicle access?
- Who from your team is on site on the day, and who do we call?
- What do you clear away afterwards, and what is left for the venue?
About the menu
- Are the dishes in this proposal the dishes you will cook on the day?
- Which of these are made in front of guests?
- How do you handle the dietary needs in our guest list, dish by dish?
- What would you change about this menu if it were your event?
About tastings
Ask whether a tasting is offered for an event of your size, what it costs, and whether the dishes tasted are the dishes cooked. A common complaint is that the food on the day does not match the tasting, and the only protection is a written menu that names the dishes and the counters. Ask for that whether or not there is a tasting.
The last question
Ask them to send all of it in writing. What you want is a proposal that names the stations, the menu, the service format, the timings, the per-plate figure and every separate line beside it. If the written version is thinner than the conversation, believe the written version.