Catering is very popular among restaurant owners. There are two types of catering: on-premise and off-premise. And they have become increasingly common for many restaurants. Those restaurants with private dining rooms and banquet facilities increase their sales by catering private parties and large functions such as weddings, holiday parties and business conferences. But off-premise catering is another area of the restaurant industry that continues to grow.
It is offered by many restaurants to cater their food to the customers. On-premise catering allows customers coming to the restaurant for a special party or meal. And off-premise catering is the opposition to the previous one. It means that restaurant brings the food to the customer, either in their home or at another location that doesn't serve food.
 Restaurant catering includes:
- Weddings
- Birthday Parties
- Anniversary Parties
- Business Meetings
- Conferences
- Luncheons
- Holiday Gatherings
Restaurant Catering Menu
A for a restaurant catering menu, you can make it simple or elaborate. Typical catered functions feature plated meals, buffets, or food stations. If you want to cater off-premise, then it won't be difficult to prepare and transport platters, such as fruit and cheese, shrimp cocktail and antipasto.
Such menu should be more flexible that your regular dining room menu. It's not possible to offer everything on your dining room menu as part of your catering menu. This is because a lot of dishes won't hold up for the long period time that catered food sometimes requires. Pricing your catering menu is important as you have to find out what other local caterers and restaurants, who cater, are charging for catered events. Don't also forget to check out your local grocery store and get to know how much they are charging for party platters and meals.
Restaurant Catering Fees
It is important to think over the costs as you will need to cover the cost of catering, including transportation expenses, so you may decide to tack on a fee or two. If adding too many fees, potential customers may feel like you are trying to nickel and dime them, that’s why it is better to avoid it. Know what your competition charges for the use of their room.
You see that restaurant catering, especially for larger parties, takes a lot more time than a typical meal in the restaurant dining room. And fees may include:
- Room Fee
- Cake cutting fee
- Clean up fee
- Dance floor fee
- Bartender fee
- Delivery fee
With restaurant catering you can increase both your sales and your customer base. Your customers know that your food is great, just broad the opportunities for them to enjoy their favourite food.
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