How our buffet catering works

1. Prepare the essentials

Start with the date, venue or postcode, approximate guest numbers and when you want people to eat. Tell us whether this is a light lunch, the main meal or later evening food. It is useful to say which details are settled and which you want help choosing.

2. Discuss the food and service

Start with The Working Lunch, British Celebration, Asian Sharing Table or Middle Eastern Graze, then discuss the food you enjoy. Decide whether you need delivery, setup, staff or equipment. Venue access and facilities are part of this conversation, because a menu needs a workable service plan behind it.

3. Review the quotation

Your proposal should identify the menu, food allowance, date, venue, serving arrangements, equipment and total. Ask about anything unclear before accepting. Website photographs and menu descriptions provide ideas; they do not define the inclusions in your booking.

4. Agree the booking terms

Availability and a quotation do not themselves reserve the date. The agreement and payment instructions are supplied separately. Check the payment schedule, changes and cancellation terms that apply to your own booking rather than assuming a general rule from another event.

5. Confirm final details

Agree the final numbers, menu choices, expressly accepted intolerance portions, event contact and access instructions by the deadlines in your booking. For an existing conversation, reply in the original email thread so changes can be reviewed against the current plan.

6. Receive your food or service

The team follows the delivery and service arrangements in the agreement. For delivery, a named contact should receive the food and the supplied instructions. For staffed catering, the booked food quantity and serving period determine the service; an unlimited or open-ended buffet should never be assumed.

7. Complete the agreed handover

Clarify equipment collection, remaining food, guest waste and cleaning responsibilities in advance. Check who will still be at the venue when equipment is collected. Those arrangements can be as important as delivery for an event with a fixed venue hire window.