Are you paying too much for catering?

The per-person price is the start of the number, not the end of it. Service charge, staffing, rentals, china and the bar are where the plate price stops being the price -- and most caterers' sites say none of it.

Counted 2026-09-15; websites read through 2026-09-15. No vendor named. The full report.

The five questions we ask every caterer

What the website says instead of a number:

“plus service and rentals”

1. Are you available on the date?
2. What's your per-person price at your guest count, and what does it include?
3. Is there a minimum, and what's your service charge as a percentage?
4. Are staffing, rentals and china included or billed separately?
5. What does bar service cost, per person or on consumption?

Asked in one email, in plain words, with your date and your numbers in it. Then chased -- most of the real numbers come from the second or third try, not the first.

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