How to price food per head for events and catering

The per-head formula

Step by step

1. Agree the guest count and the menu: which dishes, and how much of each per guest.
2. Work out how many batches of each dish you need, and round up. You cannot cook half a cake.
3. Cost each batch from current prices and multiply by the number of batches. How to calculate food cost shows how to cost a batch.
4. Add a waste allowance. Allow more for buffets and self-service, where portions are harder to control.
5. Add the costs that come with the job: staff for the day (including you), transport, fuel or gas, hired equipment, disposable plates and packs.
6. Divide the total by the number of guests for the cost per head.
7. Add your profit, as a markup on cost or a margin on price.
8. Round up, set a minimum number of guests, and put the price, what it includes and the date for final numbers in writing.

Worked example: 50 guests

The menu is one portion of a rice dish and one slice of cake per guest. A pot of the rice dish serves 10 and costs 9,000 in ingredients; a cake gives 12 slices and costs 6,000. The numbers are round so the steps are easy to follow, and they work in any currency.

Five cakes give 60 slices for 50 guests, so 10 slices are spare. You pay for them either way, which is why the food comes to 75,000 ÷ 50 = 1,500 a head, more than one portion of each dish added together (900 + 500 = 1,400).

With a 100% markup, the cost per head of 2,400 becomes 2,400 × 2 = 4,800. Rounded up to the next 500, the quote is 5,000 a head, or 250,000 for the event. That leaves 250,000 − 120,000 = 130,000 once everything is paid, a margin of 52%. This example leaves out waste to keep the sums short; for a buffet, add an allowance before you divide.

Plated, buffet or packed meals

How the food is served changes the costing as much as what is on the menu.

• Plated service gives you the most control: each guest gets one measured portion, so food per head stays close to the recipe cost and waste stays low.
• A buffet lets guests serve themselves, so plan more food per head than a single portion and a bigger waste allowance. Agree in advance what happens to leftovers.
• Packed meals, in boxes or takeaway packs, keep portions exact but add a pack, a lid, cutlery and a napkin for every guest. Cost those per head like any ingredient.
• Family-style platters sit in between: count servings per table rather than per guest, and round up to whole platters.

What to include in a catering price

• Staff for the whole job, including set-up, service and clearing away, and your own time.
• Transport there and back, and fuel or gas for cooking on site.
• Hired equipment such as chafing dishes, tables or a generator.
• Disposable plates, cutlery, packs, napkins and foil.
• Drinks and ice, if you supply them.
• Any taxes or service charges that apply where you work.

Set a minimum and a deadline

A per-head price assumes the costs are shared by the agreed number of guests, but many of them do not shrink when fewer people come. In the example, staff and transport cost 35,000 whatever the headcount: 700 a head at 50 guests, but 875 at 40. Set a minimum number of guests, ask for final numbers by a set date, and charge for the number confirmed.

Ask for a deposit

For a large job you buy most of the food days before you are paid. A deposit when the booking is confirmed, sized to cover the shopping, protects you if the event is cancelled or the numbers drop, and makes the minimum guest number real. Put the deposit, the balance and when each is due in the same written quote as the price per head.

Offer clear options

Two or three menus at different per-head prices make it easier for a client to choose and easier for you to cost, because each menu is priced once. Price extra dishes, drinks or a dessert table as add-ons per head, worked out the same way. How to price a menu item covers rounding and checking a price against your market, and markup vs margin explains the two ways to add profit.