Home catering (in Italian, catering a domicilio) brings the food to where the party is: home, garden, shared roof terrace. There are three formats. With delivery only, platters arrive ready or to reheat and you handle the rest. With a buffet with staff, someone sets up, serves and tidies. With a cook and service at home, the dishes are prepared on the spot, with a result closer to a restaurant.
The limit of a home is space and equipment: oven, fridge, sockets, work surfaces. The caterer will ask about them before the quote. In a block of flats, building rules and noise also matter; in the centre, the exact address, because the ZTL (limited traffic zones) change delivery times and costs.
What to ask
Ask what each format includes, who brings tableware and table linen, who takes away rubbish and empties. The differences are in the guide to home catering and the costs of a party in how much a birthday buffet costs.
