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Catering guides
How full-service, drop-off and dessert-only catering work, what to ask, what it costs in effort, and how to serve it well yourself.
Whether you are hiring help for a wedding at home or planning to cook everything yourself, it helps to know how caterers divide the work. These guides explain the main styles of catering for hosts: what each includes, what you still have to do, and how to choose.
This journal does not cater events. The guides are written so you can compare quotes with confidence, or borrow the professionals' methods for a party you cook yourself.
- Full service: menu, staff, rentals, setup and cleanup in one contract.
- Food only: the food arrives ready, and you serve it.
- Just desserts: a dessert table or a cake and sweets for an event.
- Cakes: styles, servings per size, flavors and getting the cake there in one piece.
Before any of them, settle the numbers with how much food per guest and look through the sample menus.
- Food-Only Catering: How to Serve Drop-Off Food YourselfDrop-off catering without staff: when it suits a party, how to set up and serve it, safe holding temperatures, chafing dishes, refills and the budget math.
- Full-Service Catering: What It Covers and How to Compare QuotesA host's guide to full-service catering: what the price usually includes, staffing ratios, how to compare quotes, questions to ask and a day-of timeline.
- Celebration Cakes: Choosing Styles, Flavors and ServingsHow to choose a wedding, birthday or anniversary cake: layer, tiered, sheet and naked styles, flavor pairings, servings per size, transport and display.
- Dessert Tables and Dessert-Only Menus: Planning for a CrowdPlan a dessert-only menu or dessert table: how many sweets per guest, what to make ahead, display and allergy labels, with a sample dessert table for 60.