How do you cost a catering job?
Cost one guest completely — food, disposables and any per-guest extras — then multiply by the guest count. Your quote needs to cover that total plus labour, transport and equipment, with profit before overhead left over.
Profit per guest = price per head − (food + disposables + per-guest extras)
Quote per head, check the whole event
Per-head pricing is how clients think, so calculate a single guest carefully and let the guest count do the multiplication. A 40-cent error per head is $48 on a 120-guest wedding.
Costs that do not scale with guests — van hire, staff, equipment rental — should be quoted as a separate line or built in deliberately, not buried in the per-head figure.
Build in the overcatering you know you will do
Almost every caterer cooks for more guests than attend. If you routinely prepare 10% extra, cost 110 portions for a 100-guest event. That is a real cost, not a rounding error.
Worked example
A plated main course quoted at $34 per head:
- Chicken supreme, 220 g
- $4.85
- Potato gratin
- $1.40
- Seasonal vegetables
- $1.25
- Sauce and garnish
- $0.80
- Disposables and service items
- $1.10
- Overcatering allowance (10%)
- $0.94
- Total cost per head
- $10.34
$34.00 − $10.34 = $23.66 profit per guest, before labour and transport.
Frequently asked questions
Should labour be included in the per-head cost?
Quote it separately when you can. Staff costs depend on the venue, the service style and the hours, so folding them into a per-head food figure makes both numbers harder to check.
How do I handle dietary-requirement meals?
Cost them as their own meal. A handful of gluten-free or vegan plates can cost noticeably more per head, and you should know by how much before you absorb it.