Catering Menu
How to make a catering menu
A catering menu sells your food for events and groups, priced by the tray, the package, or the head rather than the plate. A strong one makes ordering for a crowd simple — clear packages, obvious serving sizes, and lead-time and minimum notes up front. MenuCrafters structures the packages, sets pricing, and publishes the menu to a hosted page.
Catering is a different sale from the dining room: the buyer is planning for a group, often days ahead, and needs to estimate quantities and cost fast. The menu's job is to remove guesswork — package meals into bundles, state how many each tray serves, and put ordering rules where nobody can miss them.
How to build a catering menu
Lead with packages priced per person — a few tiers that scale with budget — then offer à la carte trays for buyers who want to customize. State serving sizes in heads, not weights, and put minimums, lead times, and delivery terms at the top. Make the large-group decision easy.
- Per-person packages in two or three tiers
- À la carte trays with clear serving counts
- Minimums, lead time, and delivery terms stated up front
- Dietary and allergen options flagged on every item
Pricing catering by the head
Price packages per person at a margin that accounts for prep, packaging, transport, and setup — costs the dining room does not carry. Tray pricing should reflect realistic serving counts so buyers under-order rather than over. Build in a buffer for waste and labor on large orders.
Setting expectations
Catering goes wrong on logistics more than food. State your order minimum, how much notice you need, what delivery and setup cost, and your cancellation window. Clear terms protect the kitchen and read as professional to the buyer planning the event.
Step by step
- 1
Build your packages
Set two or three per-person tiers, then add à la carte trays.
- 2
State serving sizes
Note how many each package and tray serves in heads, not weights.
- 3
Price for the work
Cost prep, packaging, transport, and setup into per-person pricing.
- 4
Publish with terms
Publish a hosted page with minimums, lead time, and delivery terms at the top.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a catering menu include?
- Lead with per-person packages in a few tiers, add à la carte trays with clear serving counts, and state minimums, lead time, and delivery terms at the top. Flag dietary options on every item.
- How do I price a catering menu?
- Price per person at a margin that covers prep, packaging, transport, and setup — costs the dining room never carries. Build in a buffer for waste and labor on large orders.
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