catering quote

[Neil]

V.P. from one of the local banks asked me the other day if I would be interested in cooking up a spread for the 50th birthday party he is throwing for his wife. He's had my pulled pork and would like to have that along with Italian Beef, hot wings, cole slaw, hog apple beans, and the obligatory veggie tray. He's planning on 120 guest and I am to supply the paper and plastic. I was figuring on 20#'s of pulled pork, 15#'s Italian Beef, 10#'s hot wings, plus one large aluminum pan each for the beans and slaw, and 160 dinner croisants all for $930.
A bit more than the $6-$6.50 per person he was hoping for but I'm not going to bust my a** unless I can make it worth my time and efforts.

[Lakeside Smoker]

I DO NOT cater so I could be way off here...
Is 20# of pulled pork enough? Thats only 4 butts. I cook 2 butts for a comp and its all gone by Sunday night!

[ThomEmery]

$6.00 a person LOL
Send him to Mc Donalds for Mc Ribs

[Markbb]

I guess either people are cheap or they don't buy there own grocerys, 6.50 a head?????

[jgh1204]

I DO NOT cater so I could be way off here...
Is 20# of pulled pork enough? Thats only 4 butts. I cook 2 butts for a comp and its all gone by Sunday night!

Luckily for Neil, there will not be any brethren there, so his 4 to 6 oz of protein per person should be enough. Now if it were brethren, he would have to triple the meat.:biggrin:

[smokestack]

6.50 a head??- Tell him you have to add all the fees that a bank would charge and that would put you up where the price should be- Or if he whines enough maybe you could donate your time and food to "Bail him out" because he didn't meet his profit margin for the quarter

[timzcardz]

It sounds light in food to me, but you didn't say if this was to be a dinner or a cocktail party, which would affect the amount needed.


And $6-6.50 a head, form a bank V.P.? WOW, he must really love his wife! :icon_smil

[G$]

V.P. from one of the local banks asked me the other day if I would be interested in cooking up a spread for the 50th birthday party he is throwing for his wife. He's had my pulled pork and would like to have that along with Italian Beef, hot wings, cole slaw, hog apple beans, and the obligatory veggie tray. He's planning on 120 guest and I am to supply the paper and plastic. I was figuring on 20#'s of pulled pork, 15#'s Italian Beef, 10#'s hot wings, plus one large aluminum pan each for the beans and slaw, and 160 dinner croisants all for $930.
A bit more than the $6-$6.50 per person he was hoping for but I'm not going to bust my a** unless I can make it worth my time and efforts.
Neil,

If you are considering charging $930 for 120 people (meat included), he is getting an incredible deal, and I assume you are doing this because of an existing relationship. Although there are variances depending on the part of the country you are in, my recent quick poll of local Q caterers returned an average price of $17 per head for "3 meats/2sides/no drinks". One thing I noticed, was several local places had a mandatory gratuity(!) of 18% on top of the published prices.

[bbqbull]

Neil, I believe if I were you I would contact a Catering Company. Tell them you need a quote the sceniaro you described here. You will be shocked at what they quote you.

Also I think your gonna be light on the pulled pork if you do end up doing this job.

[Jeremiah]

I would increase the amount of food by 50% and raise the price to 15-20 per head range

[burnin butts]

We serve 1/2 pound of meat per person with our catering. We also charge $8.00 per person, and we're cheaper than others in our area. If it were me, I'd refigure it at a higher amount for it to be worth the time and effort.

[Brandonnash]

I agree with burnin butts. you'll need more than 4-5 oz per person b/c there's always someone there that's gonna eat a pound of it. If it's really good people in general will eat more.

You should also charge more. The type of items you're talking about here in nashville catering prices hit around $10-12 a person. sometimes more. I'm doing a frat party for around 100 people and we're charging $1000 and that's with just a few items and 2 meats (pulled pork and brats)

[Trout_man22]

I think you need to add a bit to the price per head also.

The spreadsheet I use has the price per head head at 9.75 for that many people. If you provide 1/3 lbs per person (min) then you will need about 25 pounds of pork (raw weight) and 23 pounds of beef (raw weight). Sorry Chicken wings I serve as a side not as a meat, there is a long story behind this.
You'll need 12qt's of beans and 23lbs of Coleslaw.

If you serve 1/2 pound per person the amount of meat you'll need changes to 32 and 31 pounds and the cost per person stays the same.

Around here it would 1/2 pound per person@ $9.75 for a total of $1170. I would also give him a 10% discount off a company party if he has it within a year. Doing something for a big bank would be great to get your name out into the community.

[jminion]

Neil
That is a $16.95 per catering, you can't pay for your time at your price.

Did a catering last night Am Kobe brisket, ribs, chicken, beans and slaw with fruit and veg trays for 21.95 per plus another $500 for the two cases of wine we served.

Would get $5 for just a pork sandwich nothing else on the menu.

[SoEzzy]

Two or three questions.

1) Who is going to be serving and plating the food, you or them?
2) Do you have individually sized serving utensils?
3) What is your plan for those that want pork and beef but no chicken, etc?

Personally I would explain that $6.00 - $6.50 a head won’t cover a 3 meat 2 side selection, and that to provide enough food per person for 120 is going to cost at least $xx.xx (your own price here, IMO $10 - $12 at the very minimum), then you can allot your portion size and cover yourself incase the first 80 want pork and beef, if you look at a plate with 4.66 Oz of meat on it, 90% of the population will feel cheated if that and 2 scoops of sides is what they are eating for dinner.

Don’t get yourself a bad reputation with 120 people where you live for the sake of a gig, it will take you way longer to recoup your reputation from being the “stingy caterer”, than to get away from the “caterer who won’t compromise on quality”.

[Bossmanbbq]

Thats one of the reasons I decided not to do catering as a side business, everyone expects Q to be cheap, or they want alot for a little price.
It got frustrating, now I just sell at contests and private parties for people who know that good Q isnt cheap and they are willing to pay to have it done!

[lazyjacres]

I just walked in the door from catering 120 people (including kids). I served 25# of pulled pork, 25# of brisket with beans and slaw for sides, and the was almost nothing left.
I don't figure things like wings into the serving weight. A lot of people won't go for them, and I charge extra.
The cardinal law in catering: DON'T RUN OUT OF FOOD! Charge enough to cover your self to have that extra. 2 meats 2 sides, at least $7.50 a pop, and $1.50 a head for each added meat.
You should at a minimum keystone your cost.

[bbqjoe]

Wouldn't touch it for less than $15 per head.

[SoEzzy]

I just walked in the door from catering 120 people (including kids). I served 25# of pulled pork, 25# of brisket with beans and slaw for sides, and the was almost nothing left...

You should at a minimum keystone your cost.

What portions of sides were you using?

[Neil]

I love you guys. Thanks for all the feedback. I did forget to mention that I am not serving a dinner. This is going to be selfserve "heavy h'ordourves" (sp.?) I also forgot to mention that he would like my wife to "sit in" for a few songs with the professional muscian he's hired to play the party. She used to sing in a band and occasionally when we are out on the town she'll get invited to come up and belt out a tune, usually Bobby McGee. So not only does he want some inexpensive vittles but he only wants to pay one musician.

[lazyjacres]

What portions of sides were you using?

I usually figure 6 people / lb. when you have women and kids envolved, but, I am usually always heavy on everything.

[Paulie G.]

I prefer between 2-4 per pound just to be on the safe side.

[TOPS BBQ]

TOO CHEAP! Both the price and your boss. I would do that for $12/person minimum.