Guides
Hiring a caterer, explained
What catering costs, how much food to order, what to ask a caterer, and how to check a food hygiene rating before you book.
Catering Cost Per Head: £8 to £100+ by Style of Service
UK catering runs from about £8 a head for a drop-off finger buffet to £100 or more for a plated three-course meal with staff. What moves the price, and why.
Wedding Catering Cost: £40 to £100+ a Head, Plus Extras
A plated wedding breakfast runs £40 to £100 or more a head for food, with staff, hire and evening food on top. What a UK wedding caterer's quote should include.
How Much Food Per Guest? 450 to 550g at a Buffet
Plan about 450 to 550g of buffet food per adult for a meal and four to six canapés a head for a reception. Rules of thumb for food and drink per guest.
Choosing a Caterer: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Book
Twelve questions to ask a caterer before paying a deposit: hygiene rating, allergens, insurance, staff, what the price includes and cancellation terms.
Food Hygiene Ratings 0 to 5: What Each Number Means
A food hygiene rating is a council's 0 to 5 score for how safely a business handles food. What each number means, how to check it and what it leaves out.
14 Allergens and Natasha's Law: What to Ask Your Caterer
UK caterers must tell you which of the 14 major allergens are in each dish. What Natasha's Law covers at an event, and what to ask the caterer.
Dry Hire or Full Service Catering: What Each Covers
Full service means the caterer brings food, staff and kit and clears away. With dry hire or drop-off you do some of it. What each covers and when it suits.
Funeral Buffet: £8 to £15 a Head and How to Plan It
A funeral buffet usually costs £8 to £15 a head for sandwiches and finger food. How to estimate numbers at short notice, what to order and where to hold it.
Street Food at a Wedding: Costs, Vans and What to Check
Street food vans at weddings usually charge £10 to £20 a head or a minimum spend. What to ask about service speed, pitch, power, gas and venue rules.
External Caterers at a Venue: 7 Things Venues Ask For
Venues that allow outside caterers usually ask for £5m public liability cover, a hygiene rating, risk assessments and gas certificates. Seven asks, explained.
Hog Roast Cost: £8 to £20 a Head for Full Service
A catered hog roast usually costs £8 to £20 a head, with minimum charges of about £500 to £900 for smaller parties. What the price covers and what is extra.
Hog Roast Machine Hire vs Full Service: Costs and Work
Machine hire with a pig usually costs a few hundred pounds; a catered hog roast starts around £500 to £900. What you take on when you cook it yourself.
Hog Roast for a Wedding: Timings, Menus and Costs
A hog roast can be the wedding breakfast or the evening food. Costs, timings, menus that work for mixed diets, and what the venue and the caterer need to agree.
Hog Roast or BBQ: Which Suits Your Event and Guests
A hog roast feeds a crowd quickly from one meat; a BBQ offers more choice and suits mixed diets. Cost, service speed, weather and guest numbers compared.
What a Hog Roast Package Includes: 9 Things to Check
A hog roast package usually includes the pig, machine, chef, rolls, stuffing, apple sauce and crackling. Nine checks so two quotes compare like for like.
Is That Hog Roast Firm Local? 5 Ways to Check
Many hog roast websites carry a county name without being run from that county. Five checks to see where a business is based, and why it matters.
Guides for caterers
Hygiene certificates, registration, event notices, licences and insurance.
Suppliers and wholesalers
Who caterers buy from, and how ordering works at each.