One gig led to another, advice please.

[jacob]

This dinner is in July but customer needs a price quote now. The gig is mine and it's a rehearsal dinner for a wedding. 50 people is what I have to prepare for, below is what they have requested. What I need is how to figure the cost and amount's of each dish to provide. The lodge they rented comes with a commercial kitchen in place that I will get to use.

BBQ Chicken

BBQ Ribs

Keri's Hog Apple Beans

Texas Potatoes

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Cole Slaw

BBQ Bread

I need to figure cost but first need to figure the quantity I will need for this amount of folks.

Thanks, jacob

[Bill-Chicago]

This will start you out

There are plenty of "sides" threads in the Catering section to help too.

Corrected link in post #4
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60674

[chad]

Your guestimate costs will be about $4.50 per plate. If I was doing this, I'd ask at least $15 per plate. Are you providing plates, cups, napkins, untensils? If using plastic and paper I'd add about $1 per plate.

Watch out that they don't rope you into doing the table decorations. Add at least $25 per table for that. I got burned real bad on a wedding gig on time.

[StrikeEagle]

This dinner is in July but customer needs a price quote now. The gig is mine and it's a rehearsal dinner for a wedding. 50 people is what I have to prepare for, below is what they have requested. What I need is how to figure the cost and amount's of each dish to provide. The lodge they rented comes with a commercial kitchen in place that I will get to use.

BBQ Chicken

BBQ Ribs

Keri's Hog Apple Beans

Texas Potatoes

Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Cole Slaw

BBQ Bread

I need to figure cost but first need to figure the quantity I will need for this amount of folks.

Thanks, jacob

Go to the link noted above and plug in your menu items and local prices to get your estimates. I would suggest using at least two of the calculator tools to estimate your menu, as it appears that this is a new thing for you to do. The calculators will give you numbers that are very close, but not exactly the same, and all are very good!

Be conservative and have a small amount of food over the estimate, rather than coming up short. IMHO this is especially important when you are starting out. The bride and grooms parents can enjoy any left-overs.

If you are supplying the table scape be SURE you cover yourself on that. I agree with Chad on this one. Table cloths, plates, serving equipment, silverware, and the like all add up. Renting is your best bet for most of it, at least in the beginning. Try to find a local rental group with whom you can work and build a relationship. Trust me, that relationship can be golden in the future. Given that this is a wedding rehearsal, I'm betting that paper plates and plastic ware are not going to be part of the deal. (but, I could be wrong on that.)

Personally, I NEVER do center pieces for my events. I have a friend who worked as a florist for several years and I refer ALL of that sort of stuff to her. IMHO there is no good reason to get too far outside the box. I know what I do well and what I do not do well. As such, I stick to what I do well. Which is create great food with quality service. I've made it a point to find other people to provide 'accessory services' that complement my offerings. Florists, DJ services, bands, event planners and the like all are part of the equation at times, but NONE of these services are things I am especially good at doing. By referring clients to other professionals, I get a 'two-fer'. The client ends up being happier with the resulting event, and I get referrals from the 'partner' services with whom I work.

Best of Luck with the event! Take Pics and post!

[jacob]

The caculator will not work for me. I think it's because I never upgraded to the full version of office I have here. Any othe suggestions.

[StrikeEagle]

You should only need Excel for the calculators to work.

As an option download OpenOffice. http://www.openoffice.org/ It's free, and compatible with the file type.

[hossrocks]

We would be nearly $20 a plate. Minus linens for the tables. The amount of sides is tough because there are 4 of them. I'd roll with a minimum 13-15 racks of ribs, 70 pieces of chicken, 5lbs of beans, 6-7lbs of taters, 2 or 3 1/2 pans of casserole, 5lbs of slaw and 55-60 potato rolls. I'm assuming that you are using dinner rolls for your bread.
You will I'm sure have extra. However, I would rather have to much than to little. Just my .02
Good luck, remember to post some pics..