Guide
How to make a catering menu
6 min read
To make a catering menu, package dishes by group size and price per person rather than per plate, then choose items that scale up and hold at temperature through transport and service. Present clear tiers, state minimums and lead times, and publish a clean PDF clients can forward. A catering menu sells differently from a dine-in menu — it sells a plan for feeding a crowd.
Sell packages, not individual plates
Catering clients are buying a solution for a group, so structure the menu around that. Offer a few clear packages — by headcount and by style, such as buffet, family-style, or boxed — instead of a long a-la-carte list. Tiered packages make the decision simple, set expectations on portions, and steer clients toward combinations your kitchen can produce efficiently at volume.
Price per person, with the math done for them
Catering prices read best per head, because that is how clients budget. Show a per-person price for each package and state clearly what it includes, so a planner can multiply by guest count and know the number. Account for the costs dine-in does not carry — bulk packaging, transport, setup, and staffing — inside the per-person figure rather than as surprises later.
- Quote per person for each package tier.
- List exactly what each tier includes and any add-ons.
- Build packaging, transport, and labor into the price.
Choose dishes that scale and hold
A dish that shines a la minute can fail in a chafing dish two hours later. Favor items that batch well, travel safely, and hold temperature: braises, roasts, grain and vegetable sides, composed salads dressed on arrival. Test how each dish behaves after transport and an hour on a buffet, and keep only those that arrive looking and tasting as intended.
State the operational terms up front
Catering runs on logistics, so put the rules where clients see them before they ask. Minimum headcounts, deposit and lead-time requirements, delivery radius, and dietary accommodations belong on the menu itself. Clear terms filter inquiries to the ones you can serve well, prevent last-minute scrambles, and protect the kitchen from orders it cannot fulfill at the promised quality.
Publish a shareable PDF and hosted page
A catering menu gets forwarded — to a planner, a committee, an office manager. Give them a clean, print-ready PDF that survives email and a hosted page they can open on any device. Keep both generated from one source so a price or package change updates everywhere at once, and the version a client shares is never the outdated one.
Quick steps
- 1
Build packages by group
Group dishes into clear tiers by headcount and service style instead of a la carte.
- 2
Price per person
Quote per head and fold packaging, transport, and labor into the figure.
- 3
Pick dishes that hold
Choose items that batch, travel, and keep temperature through service.
- 4
State terms and publish
List minimums and lead times, then share a clean PDF and hosted page from one source.
Frequently asked questions
- How should I price a catering menu?
- Price per person for each package, and build in the costs dine-in does not carry — bulk packaging, transport, setup, and staffing. Clients budget by headcount, so a clear per-person figure helps them decide.
- What dishes work best for catering?
- Items that scale and hold: braises, roasts, grain and vegetable sides, and salads dressed on arrival. Avoid dishes that depend on a-la-minute plating, since they rarely survive transport and a buffet line.
- What terms should the catering menu include?
- State minimum headcounts, deposit and lead-time requirements, delivery radius, and dietary accommodations on the menu itself. Clear terms filter inquiries to the orders you can fulfill well.