What Do Wedding Caterers Do?

By definition, according to Oxford Dictionaries, a caterer is “a person or company providing food and drink at a social event or other gathering.”

A wedding caterer is, thus, “a person or company providing food and drink at a wedding,” amirite? In fact, Wikipedia agrees with Oxford Dictionaries, calling a wedding caterer someone who “provides food to the wedding party.”

Perhaps, we need new dictionaries and encyclopedias, or at least online dictionaries and encyclopedias, because anyone who has been involved in the wedding catering business for even one day or has consulted a wedding caterer about a wedding even once knows that wedding caterers do way……………...way more than what Oxford Dictionaries and Wikipedia say they do.

What do wedding caterers do? Well, the truth is that they could accurately be called Renaissance men and women.

”From the initial client-caterer meeting to the big day, catering involves a lot of planning, preparation, teamwork, creativity, and flexibility,” asserts the article “What Does A Catering Company Do?” “From concept, to the last uneaten bite of salad residing in the dumpster, a catering team works closely with their client to custom craft an appetizer menu, bar menu, sit down dinner menu and possibly dessert, coffee, and late night bites menus as well.”

Chef's Catering has been the wedding caterer of XXX OR ABOUT XXX weddings since chef Michael Zazzaro founded our Rochester, N.Y., business in 2011. During those eight years, what we have learned about what a wedding caterer does includes:

* “Providing food and drink” is an understatement regarding that aspect of what a wedding caterer does. Some wedding parties want elaborate buffets. Others want family-style dinners. We at Chef’s Catering also provide the newlyweds and their friends and families elegant wedding cakes, hors d’ oeuvres, sweets tables, party platters and much more.

* Wedding caterers have to be more than skilled in cooking and serving the food and alcohol. They must, in essence, also be skilled business executives because they also have to work with the wedding parties on figuring out the cost of innumerable aspects of the wedding reception. That means that they, among other things, formulate and present alternative budgets.

* Negotiating contracts is a key aspect of what wedding caterers do because every wedding is different. Contracts include the price of food and drinks, the price of menus, how servers will be paid and tipped, and the cost of “presentation” such as how servers will be dressed. Contracts also includes financial matters such as whether credit cards will be accepted, the amount of the deposit needed to reserve the date, and provisions for revisions. “Trust us when we say, catering contracts are far from simple,” reports the article “Questions to Ask a Wedding Caterer.”

* Wedding caterers’ non-food related responsibilities also include setting up the event. That means setting up the tables and chairs that the guests will sit in as well as the event’s lighting and music.

* Frequently, wedding caterers reserve rentals for an event. “This includes, but is not limited to: tablecloths, cocktail/gift/cake tables, chairs, dishware, bar glasses, space heaters, and so on,” is how “What Does A Catering Company Do?” summarizes this task.

* Helping wedding parties provide their guests the best wedding reception possible is definitely part of what wedding caterers do. Thus, they must have excellent communication skills. Do you know how many questions wedding parties ask -- and rightfully so. The “Questions to Ask” article lists 49. Wedding caterers can help pick the right date, help parties select companies that provide other services such as elaborate decor, recommend food wedding guests will like, make recommendations about how to entertain children, and more.

* CLEAN UP. Yes, the party is over, but the wedding caterer is still working. And, of course, staffers have to constantly clean during the event.

Want even more info? Contact us today and let’s chat about your next event!