Most catering prices are set by feel, and feel is expensive. This guide is the math instead: start from one plate, build up to the quote, and know at every step what the number has to cover. The worked figures are examples from stated inputs; put your own in and the method holds. If you want the step-by-step for a single job, the companion page is how to price a catering job; this one is the whole pricing system.
1. Start with what one plate costs you in food
Take one menu you already make. Weigh or count what goes on one plate and price it at what you paid: protein, sides, bread, sauce, garnish. Add the share of anything made in bulk. A chicken-and-two-sides plate that lands at $6.50 in food is a normal number for a small caterer buying retail or from a restaurant supplier.
Do this for one plate before anything else. Every other number in the quote hangs off it.
2. Decide what share of the price food is allowed to be
Caterers who stay in business keep food between 28 and 35 percent of the price. Lower than that and clients feel it; higher and you are paying to work. Divide the plate's food cost by the share you choose:
| Food on the plate | At 28 % | At 32 % | At 35 % |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4.75 | $16.96 | $14.84 | $13.57 |
| $6.50 | $23.21 | $20.31 | $18.57 |
| $7.50 | $26.79 | $23.44 | $21.43 |
That is your per-person price before anything is added. If it looks high next to the taco truck down the road, remember the truck is not driving to the client, setting a table, serving for two hours and washing up.
3. Count the hours the price has to pay for
Food is the visible part. The quote also pays for shopping, prep, cooking, packing, driving, setting up, serving, breaking down and cleaning. For a 50-guest drop-off, that is commonly 12 to 16 hours of someone's time end to end. Multiply by what an hour is worth to you, and divide across the guests. At 14 hours and $30 an hour over 50 guests, labor adds $8.40 a head. If the per-person price from step 2 does not already carry that, raise it or shorten the hours.
4. Add the things that disappear on the day
Foil pans, chafing fuel, napkins, plates, cutlery, ice, bags, fuel for the van. They are small individually and large together, commonly $1.50 to $3.00 a head for drop-off and more for full service. Put them in the price as a line, not as a hope.
5. Set a minimum, then price the small jobs honestly
A 12-guest order takes almost as much driving and setup as a 40-guest one. Set a minimum order value you will take the job for, and say it on your site and in your quotes. Under the minimum, the client pays the minimum; that is not rude, it is how the day is paid for.
6. The deposit holds the date
No deposit, no date. Name the deposit in the quote, ask for it before you hold the day, and name the day the balance is due. Serious clients pay it without a second thought. The quote template below carries the lines.
7. Write the quote on one page
Menu in plain words. The guest count it was priced for. The per-person price. The total. The deposit and the balance date. The signature line. When a client has to ask what something means, the quote has already lost.
8. Check the whole thing with one worked example
Fifty guests, the $6.50 plate, 32 percent food share, 14 hours at $30, consumables at $2.25 a head:
| Line | Per person | Total for 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from food share | $20.31 | $1,015.50 |
| Labor | $8.40 | $420.00 |
| Consumables | $2.25 | $112.50 |
| Quote | $30.96 | $1,548.00 |
Food is $325 of that, which is 21 percent of the quote, because labor and consumables were added on top of the food-share price rather than hidden inside it. If you would rather the food share be the whole method, raise the share and skip the lines; either way, the number you quote must pay for the hours.
9. Do it once by hand, then stop doing it by hand
Run one real menu through these steps on paper so you understand where the number comes from. After that, the math should happen when the menu changes, not in your head the night before. The calculator gives you a per-person range for your service style and menu tier in seconds; CaterKit does all of it from a photo of the menu and writes the quote.
Run your own numbers: catering price per person calculator