Planning a BBQ Catering Budget
Use published starting rates as a comparison point, then identify the event details that need a written price.
Agree the brief · Peterborough
Read the whole arrangement, line by line.
Use this checklist to turn a food shortlist into an agreed event brief and a clear written quote.
Match the quote to your brief.
Start with the event date, location and guest number. Check the chosen menu and exact dish names against your saved selection. For the three main menus, the published structure is three grilled items per person, four salads, bread, butter and relishes; confirm the agreed vegetarian and vegan portions separately.
If you requested changes, find the specific answer. A question in an enquiry is not an inclusion, and a menu photograph is not evidence of a booked dish, quantity or presentation. Ask for clarification where the description could be read in more than one way.
Review food and practical scope together.
- Menu, chosen dishes, salads and agreed alternative portions.
- Any separately requested sides or desserts.
- Service style, start/end times and staffing arrangements.
- Venue address, access, travel and parking arrangements.
- Equipment, tables, utensils and any venue-provided facilities.
- Weather responsibilities, clearing and waste arrangements.
- All quoted charges and anything left for the organiser to supply.
Check how the booking becomes confirmed.
Ask for payment dates, cancellation terms, the process for changes and the deadline for final numbers. Confirm any deposit, minimum attendance, cancellation charges and payment dates in your own booking documents. Ask for clarification before accepting the proposal if a term is unclear.
The business is not VAT registered, so no VAT is added to its quoted prices. That does not make a per-person starting food rate an all-inclusive event total. Check every inclusion and responsibility before accepting.
Food allergies cannot be catered for. Food intolerance requests need discussion and express agreement, without a suitability guarantee. Keep that answer with the final brief, and avoid collecting guests’ medical histories in the local planner. Browsing, downloading a local plan or submitting an enquiry reserves neither a date nor a price; a booking needs an agreed written proposal.