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Catering Quote Template

Per-head menu, guaranteed count, staffing hours and rentals excluded. Free PDF, no sign-up.

Catering prices per head against a menu, which is a fixed price with one moving part: how many heads. The industry's answer is the guarantee — a count confirmed some days before the event that can go up and not down — and it is the single most important sentence on the document. Around it sit the things clients assume are included and are not: staff hours, rentals, and the bar.

Issued by

Saffron Table Catering

44 South Second Street

19106 Philadelphia, PA

United States

events@saffrontable.example

Bill to

Delacroix & Wren Law Firm

1600 Market Street

19103 Philadelphia, PA

United States

events@delacroixwren.example

Quoted price

$14,348.00

Valid for 30 more days · Sep 5, 2026

Fixed price, valid until September 5, 2026.

The guarantee

The guaranteed count of 120 is due ten days before the event. It may rise by up to 10% after that and cannot fall; the invoice is based on the guarantee or the number served, whichever is higher.

Description	Qty	Rate	Tax	Amount
Plated three-course dinner Per head at the guaranteed count of 120; menu attached	120	$78.00	—	$9,360.00
Passed canapés — reception hour Five varieties, six pieces per guest, at the guaranteed count of 120	120	$18.00	—	$2,160.00
Service staff Two chefs and eight servers for seven hours including set and strike; 70 staff hours	70	$38.00	—	$2,660.00
Vegan and gluten-free covers Fourteen covers produced separately, plated to the same course timing	14	$12.00	—	$168.00

Subtotal	$14,348.00
Total	$14,348.00

Terms

Valid 30 days. 30% deposit books the date, balance due three days before. Rentals and beverage are contracted by you directly with your venue.

Quote #QUO-4826 · Saffron Table Catering · Page 1 of 1

What this quote commits you to

How long it stands: 30 days, and the per-head price is held against the guaranteed count you confirm ten days before the event.
What it does not cover: Rentals of tables, linen, china and glassware, alcohol and its licence, venue fees, and staff hours beyond the service window listed.
What would change the price: A final count above the guarantee, a menu changed after the tasting, and dietary covers that need a separate production run.
How the client accepts it: Sign the event order and pay the deposit; the guaranteed count is due ten days out and cannot be reduced after it.

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What to put on a catering quote

The menu, course by course, with the per-head price against it
The guaranteed guest count and the date it is due
Service staff by role and hours — chefs, servers, a captain
Rentals: tables, linen, china, glassware — supplied by you or hired by the client
Dietary requirements, counted and priced if they need separate production
Kitchen access, power and water the venue must provide
Cake cutting, corkage or plating fees the venue itself will charge

Questions

What does a guaranteed guest count actually mean?

That the client is billed for that number even if fewer arrive, and can add above it up to a stated margin. Food is bought and staff are booked against it — which is why the guarantee can rise late but never fall.

Why are rentals excluded from most catering quotes?

Because they are a separate supplier's inventory with its own damage terms and delivery windows. Include them if you are handling it, but price them visibly — a client who thinks china came free is a client with a surprise invoice.

How should staffing be quoted?

By role and by hour, with the service window stated. A four-hour dinner needs staff for seven, and an event that runs long turns into overtime nobody agreed to unless the rate is on the document.

Does this work for a food truck booking or a private chef?

Both, once you swap the guarantee for the right equivalent. A truck sells a service window against a minimum spend rather than a per-head count: if the guests spend less than the minimum, the host pays the difference, and that one sentence is the whole commercial deal. It also brings three lines a kitchen quote never has — power, and whether the generator is yours or the venue's; the pitch, its size and any permit the site requires; and travel to site, which is a real cost when the truck is the kitchen. A private chef is closer to this page as it stands: per head, a menu attached, a guaranteed count, plus access to the host's own kitchen and what is expected to be in it.

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