Tastings: Is a tasting of your catering really essential before booking?

Much talk of tastings has been circulating over the last couple of years.  Magazines, internet articles, wedding checklists have all written about tastings, with some insisting on a tasting before you book.  Tastings can be a great way to have a pre celebration before your function.  Certainly look into this, but don’t feel pressured if your caterer doesn’t offer this service.  If your price per person is very reasonable, there may not be the budget to include a tasting for the price offered.

Some restaurants and catering businesses recommend a pre tasting to select your options of Finger Foods, Plated Dinners, Desserts and wines.  When a restaurant or venue has an in-house catering service, this is a great option as they will generally have staff and food ingredients required to provide small portions for tastings.  Do ask the cost of this service, it may be part of your package, however generally will not be included to keep the costs down for your function.

Mobile caterers may not have the flexibility to offer tastings, as they don’t have a restaurant or staff on call to suit your time schedule.  Don’t be concerned about this, as mobile caterers run very differently to a set venue or restaurant.  As mobile caterer’s source food fresh for each function, buying smaller quantities for tastings may prove to be an expensive and time consuming task.

The internet and catering websites now have the technology to provide access to plenty of information and photos showcasing their previous and current catering work.  This is a great way to view menus, the style, quality and quantities of their service.  Look for testimonials as this will really reflect if previous customers have been happy and would book again.

Tastings are a great option, but not essential to catering.  A great caterer will be able to explain if they don’t offer tastings and why.  They should be able to direct you to view an abundance of photos and possibly videos to give you a feeling of their work.

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Booking your Wedding Caterer over the Internet

If you are booking a caterer for an upcoming function, you have probably spent some time looking at catering websites.  Websites are great at providing information for the user, including menus and photos showing the style and quality of their work.

Once you have found a caterer and website that looks good, make sure you contact them to confirm if your particular date is available.  If so and you are happy, it is a great idea to go back to the website and read their information again.  This will save you asking basic questions when the answers have already been provided. 

While this may be your first time booking with a caterer, and may be a little unsure of the process don’t worry.  It can be easy to forget that caterers are professionals, and you really should not have to worry about the little details.

Make sure to ask questions that will ultimately decide if you would like to book a particular catering business.  Don’t get too caught up in the little questions, especially during your initial searches.  It is amazing how many people send bulk enquiries, and then forget who they actually contacted.  Nothing is more frustrating than trying to respond to an enquiry, to be asked ‘What do you offer again?’

If you are booking a caterer specifically to work to set plans, it is important to view menus and pricing to ensure they offer packages to suit.  While some catering companies provide full wedding setup and catering packages, most will specialise in catering only. 

Once you have found a caterer that you feel comfortable working with, do ask them for referrals on glass hire etc, as they may be able to reduce the amount of research required to find specific items.

Work with your caterer, and they will go out of their way to ensure you are great service throughout your planning stages right through to your wedding.

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