What is Your Staff Dress Code?
The attire that serving staff wear plays a critical role in the overall look and feel of the event.
The reason this question is important is that you do not want serving staff wearing attire that would otherwise collide with the religion and cultural affiliation of the guests. For example, you cannot have a female serving staff wearing short tight skirts where a majority of the guests is from the Muslim community. However, if they wear the normal bistro attire then that is okay.
What Will You Need at the Venue?
In most cases, the caterer will come up with everything that is needed at the venue. However, some will not provide some things such as chairs, linens, tablecloths, cutlery, and silverware. To avoid surprises at the last minute, it is important to ascertain what the caterer needs at the venue. Besides, you have to take care of essential things like water and electricity if the food is being prepared at the site.
Do You Have Insurance and a License?
One of the many ways through which to know if a caterer is serious is by verifying their license and insurance. An insured caterer helps by guaranteeing you peace of mind that in case of accidents, the liability will not fall on your shoulders. Verifying the license will give you confidence that you are about to work with a legit business, hence you are on the right side of the law.
How Do You Calculate Your Prices?
Most caterers have set prices for charging different types of events depending on the number of guests. However, it is always good to ask a caterer to take you through their calculations because such set prices are just but rough estimates. Asking this question will help you gauge if their prices are within the market price range or are too high. You will be surprised at how much you can save just by asking this question.
Where is Your Food Prepared?
If a caterer chooses to prepare the food away from the venue, the kitchen where they do it matters to the quality of the food. Great and serious caterers usually prepare the food at commercial kitchens, and this works by giving client confidence that the food meets the necessary quality. Asking this question, therefore, will help you determine if the caterer will produce quality food that meets your definition of great food.
What Special Diets Can You Handle?
A good caterer should be able to handle special diets like Kosher, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. It would be a big mistake if you failed to ask such questions whereas you have people with such dietary needs like allergies. Great caterers know how to cater to such demands but it is always wise to shoot the question so that this can act as an opportunity to let the caterer get prepared for such demands.
How much is Your Caution Fee?
Life is full of inconveniences and there comes a time when you have to cancel a planned event for various reasons. With this in mind, it is important to ask the caterer how much their caution fee is. This will help you be prepared with the right amount of cost to pay just in case you happen to cancel the event at a date so close to the event day.
Asking these questions can help you know what to expect from a caterer but cannot guarantee you a great caterer. Therefore, be sure to pay attention to other aspects like customer reviews and ratings. In addition, you can ask around and hear what kind of experience people had with the caterer. Sampling a few caterers can help you compare the services and prices and this can enable you to pick the best one amongst them.