Large Event

bigbeef24

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I have an event coming up where the client wants to pay for the meat and have me cook it. The event will have over 2000 people. He would like for me to cook 100lbs pig and butts (200-300 lbs) Im not sure how to price this job because I am renting 2 smokers, using my own rubs, foil, charcoal, wood, slathers, injections, helping hands and all the stuff I am forgetting. Can anyone give me some guidance or a starting point for negotiating a price?
 
Before you even get to pricing, the quantity of meat appears to be grossly inadequate for the number of people.

WAAYYY SHORRT! You should be looking for 1100 pounds or more. Make sure your not in over your head?

Figure your sale price in whatever equation is normal for you. Back out the cost you put in for pork but leave the profit. Your going to have to look at GM or profit dollars per hour to bid this correctly.

Good Luck!
 
You should sub contract it out to someone who doesnt have to rent smokers and can handle it all and just take a piece of the action. It sounds like you are getting yourself a headache your dont need. If you need someone to do this with the capabilities send me a message I got your back.
 
Got word today that they are looking to do 100 lbs pig and 50 lbs pulled pork. They are going to serve other items, which is good for me.
 
follow jacked up's lead...100 plus 50 will only give enough meat for approx 150 people...listen to Matt...
 
really, if they are just looking for someone to cook what they give them... then who cares if they are idiots.. I would advise them of how much meat they will have all said and done post cook. 100# hog and 50# butts will give you at best 60 pounds. what I charge WITH MEAT for that would be $700. 6 butts plus the pig - would also come with sauce. if they are providing the meat... I've do that too.. my time worth $3 a pound raw weight cook. which is about the difference between the meat cost and my time/effort to get the product.

hope that helps...
 
Are you saying you are going to do one 100 pound pig? And then fill in the balance with 50 pounds of pulled pork? Raw weights, I assume? You will end up with around 70 pounds of finished product, even at 1/4 pound per serving, that is 210 servings.

I would guess that 2000 people, even at 50% buying, you are going to me about 800 servings short. I have to agree with Tim and Jacked Up, you are in over your head. You need the capability to fire up over 500 pounds raw weight of pork butts, that means commercial sized smoker, and at least two assistants, four if you are using volunteers.

On Edit:
really, if they are just looking for someone to cook what they give them... then who cares if they are idiots.. I would advise them of how much meat they will have all said and done post cook. 100# hog and 50# butts will give you at best 60 pounds. what I charge WITH MEAT for that would be $700. 6 butts plus the pig - would also come with sauce. if they are providing the meat... I've do that too.. my time worth $3 a pound raw weight cook. which is about the difference between the meat cost and my time/effort to get the product.

hope that helps...
If it was me, and I owned a business or wanted to, I would care. People would neither know, or care, why I didn't have enough meat, they would only know that I didn't serve them. And it has been my experience that when the kinds of people that cheap out and tell you they will buy the meat, and grossly under-estimate, are the same people that will burn you when what they tell you to do goes wonky.
 
So if I have this right, someone else wants you to cook their met on the cheap so they can vend it at a high price to the masses? Walk away. If they have a bad day of sales they might end up blaming you claiming it wasnt a quality product, not done the way they wanted etc.

My #1 rule is I dont cook meat someone else provides. too much liability as I dont know they observed food safe practices. They might of let it set at 50 degrees for a few hours. Part of our profit comes from mark-up of the meat and supplies. Them paying for the meat at cost takes away our profit, so I will make it up in the labor.
 
They are telling me what they want and I am giving it to them. Im cooking for a restaurant that I work at and they are paying for everything and compensating me for my time, not a bad deal. I think the lbs is low but their paying and Im not complaining.
 
dont put your name on it!

I absolutely agree with BigBellyBBQ. I would not put my name on this event since you are not being allowed adequate quality control of the product.

I am confused by two of your statements. Initially you stated, "Im not sure how to price this job because I am renting 2 smokers, using my own rubs, foil, charcoal, wood, slathers, injections, helping hands and all the stuff I am forgetting."

Then you state that, under the arrangement you describe. you are being asked to be the "hired cook", for this event, by the restaurant you are working for. "They are telling me what they want and I am giving it to them. I'm cooking for a restaurant that I work at and they are paying for everything and compensating me for my time, not a bad deal. I think the lbs is low but their paying and Im not complaining."

I am assuming that you mean your employer (restaurant) is agreeing to reimburse you for ALL of your expenses as well as paying you for your time. It sounds to me like they are proposing that you act as a "subcontractor" for them on this event. I hope that you will be covered by the restaurants liability insurance and you will be operating out of their licensed commercial kitchen. If not then you have legal exposure to be concerned with as well.

Working on this assumption I would advise that you total up ALL of your estimated costs (cooker rentals, misc equipment, consumables, staff, etc) and add a 10% contingency to this total. Then estimate the time you will expend for this event and multiply those hours by the rate you desire (ex: $20/hr times 20 hours = $400 for your labor).

The total of these will be the amount you quote them for the event.

If you go forward with this venture please let us know how it turns out. Other members and Newbies are always looking for more data to give them insight on future events. :grin:
 
What is the restaurant you work for making off this? IF feeding 2000 people, then I would assume around $16,000-$20,000??
 
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