Vegetarian Catering – Important details to know about your Veg caterer
Choosing a pure vegetarian caterer can be a challenge. After all, food is the only way your guests can remember the occasion? You have to be extra confident about the caterer and see that they will make sure the food is pure vegetarian, hygienic, delicious , the quantity is just right and lastly your guests come to you with rave reviews about those delicious delicacies they have tasted. With so many vegetarian catering services available, it is not only difficult to zero in on the right caterer but also to make sure that the veg caterer you have zeroed on is the best bet. Here are some of those important pointers/questions to check with your Vegetarian catering service to make sure they are the perfect fit for your requirement.
Eligibility & Basic Criteria
- It is not enough if the food tastes delicious. We feel it is equally important to make sure the veg caterer has got the required licenses to operate. The most important of such licenses is the Certificate issued by FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
- Some of the quality driven veg caterers hold an ISO Certification (ISO 9001:2015). This certificate is awarded in recognition of maintaining international standards with respect to quality of the organisation.
- Utsav vegetarian hold both the certificates and makes sure they maintain the standards consistently.
When it comes to a veg caterer, experience is as important as taste of food. Experience makes sure that a caterer is under control of various factors can go wrong without a warning like the quantity to be cooked, taste to be maintained irrespective of the quantity etc or catering to the tastes of different audiences. With over two decades of experience and having catered to huge gatherings like IPL, ODIs, Marriages and other large gatherings, Utsav is one of the most experienced players in the industry.
In the past all those awards & recognitions were genuine to a great extent. It is not the same now. You shell out couple of thousands and bingo you get an award. We would recommend people not to get carried away by all those awards and press coverage. Its important to make sure that your occasion is in safe hands of a capable vegetarian catering company and awards are just a bonus. By the way, Utsav has been awarded by the big names in the industry like The Times of India, AP Tourism, Diners Club International and Association of Catering Professionals to name a few.
Testimonials are important when you are on the verge of zeroing in on the veg caterer. Look out for genuine testimonials and ask for 5 – 10 references(customers from the past) from the catering company, make sure to call them up and make the choice. Over the past 20 years, We have got thousands of guests who vouch for us and their testimonials can be viewed here.
History of a catering firm is equally important when it comes to decision making. Any good vegetarian catering firm with a decent history will not afford to mess up with your party as they are extremely conscious about their image and can go to any extent to maintain it. In this business, credibility matters a lot and as they say, rest is history. From running an iconic vegetarian restaurant to catering to the biggest names, Utsav has a rich history of its own.
Venue & Availability
Availability of a caterer on a particular date is important to know. For an average veg caterer, managing more than one catering order in a day is not easy. In a country like India, the event dates are based on muhurthams. So there will be lot of parties on a single date and there is a high probability that a good veg caterer will have more than one party to take care of. Though this depends on the man power of the vegetarian catering company, it is your responsibility to make sure that the caterer has the wherewithal to take up your party. Utsav, with its 100+ qualified workforce has the capability to take up multiple parties simultaneously without any difficulties.
Depending on the type of the party, its best choose the either of two. Each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. For a vegetarian catering where space is a constraint, its better to go for food cooked at the caterers kitchen. The finishing (Heating & final touches) is usually done at the guests’ place. Disadvantage of getting the food from the caterer’s kitchen is, breads & crispy food items such as starters can become soggy, Quantity may not be enough & Most of the times the caterer may forget to bring some items. So It is extremely important choose the menu accordingly. When a veg caterer cooks at the venue, all the above aspects are taken care of. But this usually comes at a cost as there is lot of planning required in terms of logistics. At Utsav, we usually take this call based on the requirements of the guests.
Catering at a venue needs that extra effort in coordinating with the Venue management team. The reasons are many. Space, Entry & Exit times, Logistics, exhaust, law of the land, table arrangement, Air circulation, security, internal movement are some of the reasons to get in touch with the venue team for better coordination. With years of experience in dealing every kind of situation, we at Utsav come prepared with all the necessary things for a smooth vegetarian catering experience.
Most of the veg caterers, cater to all kinds of events like Wedding, Engagement, Housewarming / Griha Pravesh, Birthday party and for corporate, college events.
Service
In Catering, Service is the most important aspect after Food. Better service results in better experience. It is important to make sure that the service team is professional, qualified, knows their stuff, always smiling and can go to any extent to keep the guest happy. At Utsav, we have been making sure to maintain all the above mentioned qualities for a long time now. And this is why our guests vouch for us!
It is better to get some clarity on the type of service you are looking at. Some traditional occasions such as a house warming ceremony or some religious affair may demand a table service where the food is directly served on the table. On the other hand casual occasions like a birthday or an engagement can be managed with a Buffet service. Each has its own style. At Utsav, we have loads of experience doing all kinds of catering.
Usually people prefer guest service for feeding the guests with welcome drinks & starters. One has to make sure that the caterer has dedicated staff to take care of this aspect.
Based on the area allocated for catering, no. of items on the menu & the number of guests expected, it is recommended to coordinate with the catering team and let them know the number of counters needed. Usually for most of the social occasions, One counter manned by 7-8 service personnel for around 150 guests is recommended. We at Utsav, make sure that the ratio is just right in managing your guests in the smoothest possible way.
Food & Cooking
When you have zeroed in on the vegetarian catering provider, Going ahead and signing them up merely on the basis of their words can be disastrous. It is always recommended to attend one of the events managed by the caterer to get a glimpse of his capability. Asking him for a food tasting session is the most sensible thing to do. This can rule out lot of doubts and can help you in taking right decisions. We at Utsav provide the food tasting session as a free-of-cost service the moment you fix up an appointment with our manager.
Menu plays the most important role when it comes to catering. The veg caterer should have decent idea about the type of cuisines and must have an even better knowledge when it comes to mixing and matching them according to the taste of the guests. At Utsav, every item on our menu has been created and perfected with the help of our in-house chefs. You can choose from a range of cuisines right from Indian, Mughlai, Continental and other cuisines. Our Indian Menu which consists of South Indian, North Indian, Gujrati, Punjabi and Marwari khana is a delight for everyone. You can choose the items based on your preferences.
At the time of finalising the caterer, its always better to keep him informed about the exact headcount of your guests so that he can prepare the food accordingly. Insider information is every veg caterer usually prepares 10% – 15% more food than the committed head count in order to rule out any last minute surprises. If you are expecting around 100 guests, a decent caterer will prepare food for around 115 guests. We at Utsav make sure that the food is available to the last man in the event. Thats usually you 🙂
Every caterer has a set of popular / recommended dishes or they are known for certain type of cuisine. It is always recommended to ask the veg caterer for any such dishes/cuisines as it adds lot of value to the event. At Utsav, we are known for lip smacking north & south Indian dishes.
If you have any vegan guests on your list, ask your caterer if he can provide vegan food (zero dairy content) options for the. In Hyderabad, not many veg caterers are capable of cooking vegan food. At Utsav, we are capable of dishing out delicious vegan options according to your taste. Contact our manager for more details.
All those occasions/ events that coincide during the navaratri season in India demands Jain/ vrat food. Jain meals don’t contain any onion, garlic or other root vegetables. Any average caterer should be able to provide you with jain options. Make sure if he has got idea about the jain food before signing him. We at Utsav, have created lots of Jain specific menus in the past with dishes that are as lip smacking as the regular dishes.
Ask the veg caterer if he can provide live food counters as for any party/occasion, live counters add a lot of value & zing to the occasion. Live food counters of Pani Puri, Dosa, Pasta, Pizza, Kulfis, Paan, Fruits & Desserts are always a hit among the guests. Any decent vendor should be able provide you the live counters. These are usually outsourced by the caterer & they come at an extra cost. At Utsav, we provide varied range of live counters according to the taste of the guests.
What is an occasion without kids? A separate menu for the kids can go a long way in delighting your guests as people are emotional about their children and anything that would pamper the kids will make the parents happy. We at Utsav give the guests the choice of having a separate food station for the kids containing pastries, pasta, mini pizzas, chat and other dishes which the kids love the most.
Any decent veg caterer will give the host an option to consume the food in whatever way possible. This means the any leftover food will be handed over to the guest. At Utsav, we make sure to give the guest the choice of handling the left over food.
Ideally any caterer will provide you an option to finalise the menu three days prior to the event to avoid any surprise pertaining to the availability of raw-materials required for catering. At Utsav, we insist on finalising the menus couple of days prior to the event.
If there is an increase or decrease in the number of guests, its is ideal to get in touch with the caterer as soon as possible. This would help in avoiding any surprises pertaining to the quantity and billing. Ideally 3 days prior to the event is recommended. Last minute changes are usually rejected as it would lead to a lot of confusion.
If it is a Birthday, an engagement or a reception, any decent veg caterer can afford to provide you a decent cake free of cost. We at Utsav make sure that a hand made cake baked by a an upmarket home baker is handed over to the guest as gesture of thanks & good wishes.
Most of the times, it is difficult to predict the head count of the support staff (drivers, assistants etc). There can be a problem if they can eat into the food allocated for the guests. It is sensible to have separate meal-boxes for the support staff in order to rule out any surprises. We at Utsav, provide separate meal-boxes for the support staff in beautiful packaging.
We cook the food using separate utensils earmarked only for vegetarian catering. The utensils are thoroughly cleaning before the cooking process. Our kitchens are thoroughly cleaned and are subjected to pest control treatments from time to time. These measures ensure the hygiene is in place.
Redefining the Art of Catering
Guests always look for culinary creativity along with engaging service, they find in their favorite restaurant, but they want to recreate that environment in the setting of their choice.
Your event doesn’t have to be just the formula based “starters, main course, or desserts”. We feel that the food and landscape should be as dynamic as the conversations your guests have at your event & that’s where we come in.
Logistics & Decor
Usually vegetarian catering services may not require any kind of permits either form the police or from the municipality. The permits are applicable to those parties with liquor on the menu. Occasionally police permissions may be required for those events that are in the late nights. It is best to disclose all the details about the occasion with the caterer before hand to avoid any confusion.
It is ideal to have a single point of contact from the caterer’s side at the event to coordinate the catering arrangements. This ensures that the arrangements are smooth. Ask the caterer for one such point of contact well in advance. We usually deploy a GM level manager to make sure everything goes on in a smooth manner.
If the cooking is being arranged at the venue, movement of staff & material is one of many important things that needs focus. Any decent veg caterer will come with his own utensils and man-power. Occasionally they may ask for additional utensils and man-power. This can happen if the catering arrangements are being made at a different town or city. This issue of extra man-power, utensils & material can be sorted out by approaching a local tent house guy. He will be able to supply the required support staff and utensils. We at Utsav come prepared with everything that your party needs and make sure the vegetarian catering experience is hassle-free.
It is not enough if the food tastes delicious. The look and feel of the food is as important as the taste. Because presentation of food is what makes the people to throng the food counters. A capable caterer will make sure that the presentation of the dining section is beautiful and complements the theme of event decor. At Utsav, The presentation of the dining section is planned in such a way that the event decor looks inadequate.
Payment Related
A decent vegetarian caterer usually charges anywhere between Rs. 400 – Rs. 500 per plate. The typical menu consists of two types of salads, two types of starters, a premium curry (usually paneer), two types of classic curries, two types of dal, two types of flavoured rice(Biryani), two types of bread, two types of desserts, White rice, sambar, rasam, papad, pickle, curds or raita & paan. The price may go up by Rs. 100 per guest per live counter (If the host needs it). We at Utsav make sure that the prices are economical to the extent possible and based on the number of PAX, we will be able to provide at a lesser cost.
The PAX cost includes everything from food, utensils, chafing dishes, service associates, logistics, fuel & other misc. resources.
The cost excludes tent house charges for chairs, extra man-power as required and every other cost mentioned by the caterer as separate.
Most the caterers absorb the taxes in the PAX cost. Usually there is a 5% GST applicable.
Any decent caterer should be able to entertain all the payment modes like cash, credit/debit cards, cheques(subject to realisation), payment wallets etc.
The caterers usually demand the payment 24 hrs before the party. But based on the relationship with the guest, the payment terms can be negotiated. At Utsav, we make sure that the payment terms are reasonably fair.
In the event of cancellation from the host side, most of the caterers charge a cancellation fee of upto 50% of the contract amount. This is usually taken up on a case to case basis and also depends on when the cancellation takes place. If the cancellation takes place 1 or 2 days prior to the event, the charges can be more. At Utsav, we make sure that the cancellation charges are lowest to the extent possible.