The price per person is the most common way of presenting catering: a figure for each guest, multiplied by the number invited. It usually describes the menu. Staff beyond the set hours, hire, open bar, cake, transport and VAT may be left out.
Industry guides give rough ranges by type of event, from coffee break to wedding, but they are national averages and only useful as an order of magnitude: for the same format the price changes with ingredients, courses, staff and drinks. With few guests it may rise, because fixed costs are split across fewer people.
What to ask
Ask exactly what the price per person includes and what is left out. To estimate the budget, multiply by the guests and add the separate items. Rough ranges are in how much catering costs and in menu cost by type of event; the extras in the guide to extra costs.
