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Whether it's a wedding reception, a fundraising event, or a small networking function, ordering food for your catered function is not always an easy and straightforward task. Let's face it, most of us planning those events are not exactly specialists in Food and Beverage. It can get tricky navigating through the lists of hoers d'oeuvres and appetizer platters, trying to figure out what kind of food to order and how much.

That's where a knowledgeable and trustworthy catering company can come in very handy. You caterer should be able to advise you on the menu choices and suggest the amount of food required. How often have you heard stories about receptions gone wrong? All food is finished in the first half an hour, guests are hungry, and hosts are embarrassed. It can happen to the best of us. To avoid it, answer a few simple questions about your reception before you start planning it.

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1. What is the purpose of the reception?
2. What is the time of the reception?
3. How long is the reception?
4. What are the guests' expectations for food?
5. What is the budget?

If you organize a networking event at your local Chamber of Commerce, the food you might decide to provide is just a snack, something to munch on while people are mingling. Even if the event takes place after hours, no one will be expecting it to substitute their dinner. In this case 4-6 pieces of appetizers per person will be sufficient.

The time of the reception plays a significant role in calculating the amount of food for your function. If you're planning your wedding reception for 7 pm, your guests will be expecting a dinner-like meal. Even if you don't offer a plated or buffet dinner, the amount of food should be planned accordingly. Allow 15-20 pieces of hoers d'oeuvres per person.

There are also budget considerations. To plan a reception in lieu of dinner will probably cost you almost as much as a sit-down dinner. Sophisticated, creative hoers d'oeuvres come with a price. They're time and labor intense to prepare, use high quality ingredients, and require a lot of wait staff to serve them. If you don't have budget for a dinner-like reception, try to avoid hosting it during dinner hours. If that is not an option, make it very clear in your invitations what type of meal will be served (i.e. cocktail reception, wine and cheese reception, light fare reception). It's your wedding reception after all. You can have it any way you want but manage your guests' expectations to avoid misunderstanding and to guarantee that everybody is having a good time.

The length of the reception needs to be taken into account as well. If you're organizing an afternoon reception for 1-2 hours, you would base your food order on 8-10 appetizers per person. If the reception is longer (2-4 hours), you would need to increase the numbers to 10-14 pieces per person.

And lastly, how much coffee to order? This is always confusing. Usually coffee is sold by gallons. One gallon is about 20 cups - not your Starbucks "grande" size, but smaller cups that are normally offered in restaurants. For a 100 people reception, you would order 5-7 gallons of coffee depending on how caffeine-addicted your guests are. It's also recommended to offer some decaffeinated coffee and tea.

Whatever your reception is, food is an important part of your catered event and can make a huge difference. Take into consideration the time and the length of the reception, always stick to your budget. Know your guests and manage their expectations accordingly. And most importantly, find an experienced catering company that will give you solid advice and recommendations.

You set the date for your wedding, determined the approximate number of guests, reserved a banquet hall, and started shopping for a catering company. As exciting as it might seem, it can also get quite overwhelming and stressful. It is not easy to navigate through numerous menu options, compare prices and levels of service. Different caterers use different price structures. Some companies prefer packaged prices, others operate on a la carte basis. While looking for a caterer for your wedding reception and reviewing different options, it is important to compare apples to apples. You need to be aware of what is included in the price and what is not. Keep in mind that food cost is just a portion of your bill. Service charges, rental fees, taxes - all these extra charges can significantly increase your bottom line. Do not just look at the listed dinner price in the catering menu, call the catering company, inquire about extra fees, ask for a full quote. Be aware of the following items:

China and cutlery - are they included in the price of the dinner? Glassware (water and wine glasses) - it's not unusual that plates, cutlery, and serving dishes come with the dinner (as they're required to serve the food), but glasses are not included in the price. Table clothes and napkins - unless you are looking at the packaged price, linens and napkins will be extra. Keep in mind that tables come in different sizes - traditional rounds of 8 and Jumbo rounds that accommodate 10 people. Table clothes also come in various sizes - standard and floor length. The bigger the table cloth, the more expensive it is. Ask if your catering company can provide linens and how much it will cost. It might be cheaper to do it yourself, but sometimes it's not worth the hassle as you'll have to deal with a rental company directly. Labor charges (servers, bartenders) can be a big expense. For a buffet dinner you will need approximately 1 server per 25-30 guests.Sit down dinners require more staff and therefore are usually more expensive. Catering company will calculate the total time (including travel, set-up, serving, clean-up, etc). Corkage fee - if you bring your own alcohol, ask you catering company if there's a corkage fee. Set-up and clean-up fees - most likely, if you're getting charged hourly for wait staff, it will include set-up and clean-up. But double check it anyways to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Gratuity can be anywhere from 10% to 20% of your invoice. Most caterers will charge gratuity on food subtotal only. Taxes - there's no way around it, and it can be a big chunk of money. Keep in mind that you pay taxes on total amount (including gratuity)

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Let's look at the example. You're planning a wedding reception for 150 people. You've chosen dinner buffet ( per person) which includes food, plates and cutlery. You're planning a standard 4 hour reception. Banquet hall is providing tables and chairs. 150 dinner buffet will require about 5-6 servers for a minimum of 6 hours. You also need table clothes. Let's assume that you'll use standard (90") round table clothes ( each) and matching napkins ( each). You probably want to serve wine at the dinner table, so you would have to rent glasses (150 wine glasses and 150 water glasses). Is that it? Not quite - you need to add gratuity (15%) and sales tax (10%) Let's add it all up: Food: per person X 150 people = ,500.00 Servers: per hour X 36 hours =0.00 Table clothes: per item X 19 items = 0.00 Napkins: per item X 150 items = 0.00 Glasses: .5 per item X 300 items = 0.00 Gratuity: 15% X ,500.00 (food subtotal) = 5.00 Subtotal 1 = ,565.00 Tax: 10% X Subtotal 1 = 6.50 Total: Subtotal 1 + Tax = ,221.15