Catering Proposal Checklist: How to Compare Vendors

Three caterers, three quotes, three completely different formats. One is priced per person, one per platter, one bundles staffing into a line called “service”. A catering proposal checklist exists to solve exactly this: it forces every vendor to answer the same questions in the same order, so you are comparing the offers rather than the documents.

Send the checklist below with your enquiry, score the replies, and the decision usually makes itself.

Send the same brief to everyone

Before the checklist works, every vendor needs identical information. A quote written from a vague enquiry gets revised upward later, and that revision is where budgets break.

Include: the date and times, the venue address, kitchen access and what is in it, delivery entrance and loading restrictions, power availability, the guest count range, the format, your budget range, and the setup and breakdown windows. Yes, share the budget. Vendors who know it design to it; vendors who do not, guess, and you end up comparing a $60 proposal against a $120 one.

1. The eight cost lines

The service charge line deserves a direct question: is this a gratuity to the staff or an administrative fee, and are we expected to tip on top? The answer varies between vendors and the difference on a fifty person event is substantial.

2. Menu and portioning

• How many pieces per guest for a passed reception, and over what period?
• How many courses, and what is the portion size for a seated dinner?
• Which items hold well and which do not, given the venue and the timings?
• What is the vegetarian and vegan main, specifically, not “we can accommodate”?
• What can be substituted after signing, and by what date?
• Is there a separate charge for late menu changes?

A vendor who steers you away from a dish because it will not hold well at your venue is showing you experience, not reluctance. Treat that as a positive signal in your scoring.

3. The allergy process

Every caterer says they can accommodate allergies. The checklist question is how, and the answer should describe a system rather than an intention.

Ask: how is cross contact prevented in the kitchen and on the service line, how does the correct plate reach the correct guest, who on your team is responsible for that on the night, and what format do you want the dietary list in and by when. A vendor with a real process answers in specifics, including separate preparation and labelled plates. A vendor without one reassures you and moves on.

4. Staffing detail

Understaffing is the most common way a good menu becomes a bad event, and it is the easiest line for a vendor to trim in order to win on price. Ask for the number of staff, their roles, their arrival and departure times, and who is in charge on site.

Then sanity check it against the format. A plated dinner needs meaningfully more service staff than a station or buffet format, because every course goes out and comes back. A passed reception needs enough people for trays to circulate continuously. A bar needs enough bartenders that queues do not form at the start, when everyone arrives at once.

If one quote is notably cheaper, compare the staffing lines before the food. That is almost always where the difference is hiding.

5. Rentals and equipment

Rentals are where quotes diverge invisibly, because one vendor includes them and another assumes the venue provides them. Get a written answer on each item: glassware, crockery, cutlery, linen, tables, chairs, serving equipment and any hot holding gear.

For each, establish who supplies it, who delivers it, who collects it and when, and what the charge is for breakages. Then confirm it against what the venue actually has, in writing from the venue rather than from the caterer. Two parties each assuming the other is bringing glassware is a real and common failure.

6. Logistics and timings

• What time does the team arrive, and how long do they need to set up?
• Where do they load in, and does that match the venue’s loading rules and hours?
• Who removes the waste, and by when?
• What is the plan if a delivery is delayed?
• Is a logistics or travel charge included, and is it fixed or estimated?
• Who is the on site contact, and what is their mobile number?

In Manhattan, ask them to walk you through the delivery plan for your specific address. A quote with no logistics line for a building with a difficult route is a quote that will be revised.

7. Tastings and references

Ask whether a tasting is included or charged, how many people can attend, and whether the charge is credited against the booking. All of those answers are reasonable; being told after you have committed is not.

Ask for two references from events of a similar size and format, and call them. The useful question is not whether the food was good. It is what went wrong and how the caterer handled it, because something always does, and how a vendor behaves in that moment is the only thing you are really buying.

8. Contract terms

Read the cancellation section before the menu. It is the part nobody reads and the only one that matters if something changes.

Scoring the replies

Score each vendor out of five on four axes and the picture resolves quickly.

Two red flags outweigh a good price. Reluctance to itemise, and slow replies during the sales stage. Neither improves after the deposit is paid. Our wider guide to choosing catering services in New York City covers permits, food safety and venue fit in more detail.

Catering proposal checklist: FAQ

Or compare against a venue

Run your catering proposal checklist, then put one more column next to it: a restaurant. For groups under about forty, hosting on site removes the rentals, logistics and staffing questions entirely. Private events at AYZA start at $69 per person for up to 20 seated or 40 standing, with a guided wine tasting available from $59 per person.

Ask any caterer about their permit status. The city health department sets out what food operators must hold on nyc.gov.

Venue prices and capacities were checked against ayzanyc.com on September 9, 2026. Service charge and tax practices vary between vendors; confirm both in writing.