When it comes to company functions, many of us want to source for a good and reliable caterer. I know searching for caterers can be a headache, especially if you are just put in charged of this and do not know where to source for a good, honest and that cook food delicious enough to make your staff happy. Having had the experience of working with a few caterers for my department function, here are some lessons that I’ve learned and followed by a caterer that I want to recommend:
Food portion must be sufficient
Some caterers would quote a price and when you bargain with them to reduce, they would agree to reduce it- and they would just reduce the portion of the most expensive dish. We have ordered from a few caterers who agreed to price reduction but when the dishes arrive, the main dishes would normally be so little that ended up not enough (because they expect one person to take just two minute piece of chicken – they’ve cut the chicken to very small pieces and for over hundred pax, they just came in one tray….so not enough).
It’s embarassing for the organisers if the main dish portion is not enough. And it’s not professional for us to station people there to limit staff to take just small portion, rite?
Food must be delicious
That should be a no brainer. But some would rather take from the cheapest than the most delicious. That’s why it is important to take from someone who have previously tried the food and now recommending to you. It’s hard to find a caterer who can provide good food at cheap price. The established and popular ones can give delicious food but often the price quoted is high as well.
We used to work with one caterer who used to have delicious food- but somewhere along the line, the food had gone so lousy that the staff all complained. If the food is lousy, you would need to let the caterer go. We were lucky that we were finally able to source from a reasonable priced caterer with good food.
Forget about the fanciful type of food- it’s the taste that matters
When we are selecting the menu, we would want to give exclusive food type to our staff. But how many of us can afford having salmon, oyster and steak in our food menu?
There is no point of the name of the food quoted by the caterer sounds bombastic or sophisticated but the taste is horrible. You can order the regular rendang chicken or mutton- and if the food is delicious, your staff will remember and appreciate. If the food is lousy, no matter how great is the name, all you would get is people coming to you to complaint.
Caterer must be punctual
When we work with the caterer- we need to remind the caterer to be punctual, especially if the function would happen at specific time. I’ve dealt with caterers who were about 2 hours late. So ensure the caterer is aware.
Ensure no hidden charges
Sometimes the caterer did not quote the exact price and later add on prices as add-ons for ‘unexpected expenses’. When I work the caterers, I would inform them very clearly that the payment would require an approval sign-off and the cheque amount cannot be altered later. Therefore, any additional charges such as transportation, waiter and disposible packets (for staff to pack back extra food) must be factored into the invoice. When I communicate clearly, the caterer also ensure that all additional costs are factored in or else we would not pay for the extras.
Please view our Deepavali order from the same caterer in Various delicious mouthwatering Indian dishes
Recommended caterer- if you are sourcing for one especially in Petaling Jaya area
Having work with a few caterers, I’ve recently discovered this honest and halal company that provides the food taste and service to our satisfaction. Our budget is not much as we are a cost center of the organisation so given the limited budget, this caterer had been able to provide us with delicious and huge portion food.
The caterer I would like to recommend, who were able to fulfill all our requirements, is Kasturi Caters, based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor:
Kasturi Caters (001927395-D)
No.116, 1st Floor, Plaza Seri Setia,
No. 1, Jalan SS 9/2,
Seri Setia Sg. Way,
47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
012-630-1407 / 016-665-1803
Website: www.kasturicaters.com
Email: order @ kasturicaters dot com.
With previous caterer, my staff only get to eat once. But when we ordered for about 180 pax during Deepavali, the caterer brought one huge pot for the refill of chicken rendang and mutton curry. So much of food portion that many people went for second and third round- because also the food was delicious. Herein is the food during our Christmas menu:
Mash potato with sauce and coleslaw
Spaghetti with ole ole and plain spaghetti with carbonara sauce
Above: The carbonara sauce is for the plain spaghetti. And also chicken chop- see it is large portion of chicken breast with black pepper sauce.
After the chicken chop with the black pepper sauce, there is the mushroom soup, jelly, shepherd pie, garlic bread, nescafe and teh tarik.
The food portion is enough and my staff were all happy. Because they are happy, it also makes me very happy.
Just for your information, I am not getting paid a single cent for writing about this caterer. If you have read my blogs long enough, you would know that I’ve never done a single paid review. This caterer is not commercialised as they do not have web presence –update-glad to know they have set up their own website – it is a small family business. But they are sincere and they were able to accomodate to our special requests. Their food is also halal because they cater regularly to Bar Council, MCIS and FOMCA.
When they did function for our department, they come in the night before to set up the place so that they only bring the food the next day instead of rushing to set up and to load the food. They would get up early to cook the food so that it taste fresh. But as it is a small family business, they can cater only to probably from small functions to up to 400 to 500 people update: I understand they have expanded and now can cater to close to a thousand pax.
You may want to consider giving this caterer a try, if your geograhical location permits. This caterer can cook Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western food. They also can cater for fully vegetarian.
i would like to try this caterer, thanks a million for the information
You are most welcomed 🙂
Thank you so much. I will try this caterer.
You are most welcomed.