Hire a Local Catering Professional That Will Please
We’ve had such a great response with the tips for the perfect outer banks wedding and to a great obx catering party that we’ve decided to share some more tips.
This time, we’ll offer you a valuable guide when hiring any catering professional, whether in the Outer Banks or not. Following these tips, you’ll be 80% more confident in your catering, we guarantee.
Tips
1. Friends’ referrals are your best bet in the initial stages.
2. If you’re at a catered party and you like what you see, get that caterer’s name and number.
3. Before you interview anybody, make sure they have the date of your event available. In the summer, outer banks caterers require a minimum 3 months to properly prepare for your party.
4. Ask each prospective caterer if there’s an upcoming event you can visit to see the kind of work they do.
5. Ask for a list of references. Go online and check their reviews on Yelp!, CitySearch, and see if they’re on Facebook.
7. Call references to gauge satisfaction with caterer’s work.
8. Only talk budget with those professionals that really triggered your interest. But try at least two.
9. Give each caterer your estimated head count and budget. Have them provide a sample menu for your budget. (Chef Wes is currently offering free catering menu tastings here)
10. Ask each potential caterer their policies regarding guaranteed minimums, services they will provide for you, specific hours for the event and any extra costs besides food and beverages (such as table linens). Be specific, ask if they will clean up after or not.
11. Once you’ve selected a caterer, plan a meeting to work out all the details of your event that they will handle including menu and beverages, and possibly facility, centerpieces, decorations and favors. That means coming down to the beach – dont try working out the details over the phone, it rarely works out.
12. Confirm the details regarding number of wait staff, their dress code, taxes, gratuities and payment schedule.
13. Have all agreed upon details put into a contract.
14. Follow-up with caterer the week before your event.
15. Contact the caterer the day before your event.
It’s a Party, But You Still Need To Be Tough
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You have every right to know exactly what will be provided for your money.
Trust your instincts. If you don’t feel comfortable with that caterer, you won’t have a good working relationship with him or her, no matter how good his references were.
At the Red Sky, we encourage you to ask those questions, because we work really hard to maintain above-average quality levels in all aspects of our services.
Give us a call to get a list of our references or click on the yellow square to the right to schedule your tasting.
See you soon!
