Catering for 350

Obviously it depends on food prices. A good rule of thumb is food costs should be no more than 1/3 of your total price. So add up the cost of raw meat, rubs / seasonings, wood/charcoal, buns, forks, plates, fuel to and from event, drinks, aluminum pans for cooking, etc... Once you have that cost then triple it and that's the cost you tell the customer. This will put you in a spot where you can make some money.

350 people is a massive undertaking even for BBQ. What kind of tow behind trailer do you have?

Good advice and you have ur hands full,,,,
Break it down to what you know you can cook,,,

Fordguy1987 said:

I have a 250 gallon reverse flow smoker with a warming box as well.

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I noticed in your other thread about cooking on your Pitboss you were considering a bigger smoker. Do you have some experience running a stick burner? Even if you do, I’d recommend getting to know THIS one a little bit before you do a cook of that magnitude on it. If you’re planning on a 50/50 amount of pulled chicken and pulled pork, you’re probably still looking at something like 15-20 butts.

I cooked for 300. Pulled pork, sliced brisket, beans, Mac n cheese and Cole slaw. I charged 13 a person. This was recent and prices were still up a bit.

I recently did a pulled pork BBQ for 220 people, to honor our first responders. While I did not do it for profit, my raw cost for all charcoal, paper products, rubs, sauces, meat, sides, bread, dessert and drinks came close to $10 per person. Labor was free as we used volunteers, however we probably had 80 volunteer hours. I could not see doing such an event for profit in my locale and charging less than $15 to $20 per person. The details of what you are responsible for at the venue must be considered, thus the range.