Catering Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions are effective as of Summer 2019 and cover Catered service and DIY services below.
Deposit - Catering, equipment hire, marquee hire, and staff supply are booked on the strict understanding that a deposit is required in advance to allocate and book your order. Remaining balances are due two weeks prior to the event. Any outstanding balances after the event will attract a late payment surcharge of 2.95% per month or part thereof.
Catered - Quality - We use only purpose made fully automatic CE approved catering equipment, which are specifically manufactured to the highest quality to give faultless results time after time. Our chef controls the progress of the cooking or roasting which gives you a succulent meat or fish cooked to perfection.
Catered – Lamb, Pork, Fish, Paella, Turkey, Beef, and chicken are all chosen from local suppliers for their freshness and reduced carbon footprint.
Catered - Serving & Serving Stations – Below 80 guest quotes will include an experienced chef only who will deliver and serve quality catering at a serving station from heated chafing. Above 80 guests will include a chef and assistant. Large events may have one or more serving stations, and extra chefs when required. Advice can be given regarding serving durations and menus which depend on the type of event.
Catered - Hygiene and Cleanliness - Each member of our staff wears hygienic protective clothing and sterile protective gloves during the carving and handling of your food.
Catered - Refrigeration – Meat, Fish and vegetables are kept within the correct temperatures at all times. A spit roast that is booked on a Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday would have been stored in our own purpose built commercial refrigerators until required on the day of the event.
Safety - Equipment is regularly checked for safety. Electrical equipment is PAT tested. No equipment in our current fleet of hog roast ovens or barbeques are more than 3 years old. A strict regime of modernisation is adhered to, not only to ensure reliability, but safety too.
Catered Ovens – Hog and Lamb roast ovens get very hot by definition, therefore Health & Safety regulations apply. Please specify in advance if you wish your guests to experience the theatre and aroma of the whole hog roasting event by having the hog or lamb in view. Extra cooking time would have to be calculated due to the spit roasting machines being opened for frequent viewing.
Booking - Your catering is very easy, just inform us of the date of your event (the sooner the better). Please ensure that the questions answered on the booking form are accurate. Any significant changes or incorrect information may result in a post event supplementary invoice. If you are just hiring the machine on a Do It Yourself (DIY) basis a deposit will be payable on booking. If you are hiring us to cater for you, including a chef and assistant, you will need to send a cheque deposit on receipt of your proforma invoice. All outstanding balances have to be paid prior to the event day.
Plates, China & Cutlery - For outside catered events we supply disposables commensurate with the food you order. Disposable plates, knives, forks, spoons, napkins and wax paper wraps are available. Upgrading to quality chinaware, cutlery, tablecloths, and napkin hire is available through us or go direct to www.outside-catering-hire.co.uk, our local supplier. Extra staff will be required to carry out front of house clearing.
Catering Area - A summer ball, school reunion, weddings and any other event held in a marquee will normally require preparation in the days leading up to the event. Whilst we can boast purpose built kitchens to cater for these events it is normal for your marquee hire company to ask you what your caterers require in the form of a covered catering area. It is almost impossible to provide a professional catering service in space that amateurs or "warm up" caterers would work in.
Safe Access to Catering Area - The client is responsible for providing clear access with a well lit clear path to and from the catering or marquee areas. The catering or marquee areas must be secured to the ground and fit for the purposes of catering, and or housing staff. The company cannot be held responsible for any damage whatsoever or subsequent delayed serving times as a result of failed "party tents". Other such recreational structures that are absent of ground wall support rails which may subsequently allow walls, doors, or roofs to break loose, and or flap in breezy or windy conditions will cause unavoidable delays in service. If extra lighting is required, the client authorises the company to erect supplementary lighting and charge in accordance with their normal hire charges for those items.
Square Footage - We successfully provide Zero Risk Catering with great food to a variety of clients working with Celebrity TV chefs on special events. The formula for the space required to cater professionally is as follows: the first menu course requires approximately 1.5 sq ft per guest (hot vegetable buffet counts as a course) and subsequent courses require ¾ sq ft per course. Formula = 100 guests x canapés + main course + dessert = 300 sq ft catering area. If you require clearing to the catering tent, then add one square foot per guest to cover extra space required.
Allergies - Any special allergies must be made known to us by a separate letter addressed to "The Manager" prior to your event. This will ensure that special dietary requirements are adhered to in respect to food preparation. On the day of your event, any guests with special pre-arranged dietary requirements should make themselves known to the chef or supervisor in charge of your event.
Catered & DIY - Inclement Weather - If you provide a shelter, please make sure the shelter has all 4 sides with a zip or lace up entrance. Gazebos do not normally have sides and extend cooking times when raining and windy. Severe weather and sub zero temperatures may increase cooking times at any event that has not supplied an adequate shelter.
DIY & Catered Power Supply – Multiple course catered events should have a minimum of 2 x 3 kilowatt 3 pin points to run fridges, tea and coffee making devices, plus smaller commercial cooking paraphernalia. Smaller catering events may manage with brought in "super silent" generating power available for hire from www.outside-catering-hire.co.uk.
DIY - Spit Roast Hog – For Events with smaller groups, up to 70 guests will be supplied a whole side of mature pork which historically has enough ’cover’ to potentially produce outstanding crackling. Small ’weaners’ don’t normally have enough cover to produce good crackling. A solution is to upgrade to a whole pig which has enough ’cover’ for a small extra meat cost. Cooking times vary from three and a half hours upwards.
DIY - Spit Roast Lamb – Lambs vary in cost and size depending on the time of year and age of the lamb. We can provide specially designed spit roast machines that can cook a whole lamb and best lamb joints providing enough meat for 100 or more guests if required.
DIY – Collection & Delivery – If you checked the delivery and collection button on the online quote form, your quote includes a fixed rate cost to deliver and collect within a 20 mile zone from Guildford, Surrey (GU1) - Petersfield, Hants (GU31), Winchester (SO23), Essex (CO9), Poole (BH18) and Chippenham (SN15) outside those zones attracts a per mile rate as calculated by the Automobile Association. It should be noted that the mileage rates relate to the cost of running a vehicle per mile and does not include our complementary driver’s wages.
DIY Hog Roast Machine - Hire and Outside Catering Equipment Hire is offered on the Express Condition that equipment is available for collection after 10.00am the day following the event date. If access to collecting the machine is denied a wasted collection journey will be automatically charged. Alternative collection arrangements must be made in writing and confirmed by our office.
Catered - Waiting Staff - For events held in a marquee or other venues we assume that you will have booked waiting staff to clear tables and serve drinks. The ratio of staff to guest varies according to carry distances and serving preferences. Waiting staff have to be supervised and are hired for a minimum of 6 hours, plus traveling time. Waiting staff will break for 15 minutes after 3 hours, 30 minutes after 6 hours, 15 minutes after 9 hours, 30 minutes after 12 hours. Waiting staff are supplied on a "job and go" basis and may be released at any time by their supervisor after their work is complete. Feel free to supply your own staff for your event, deal direct by searching for "Staff" on www.outside-catering-hire.co.uk, or we can supply a quote based on your completed Booking Form and Flow Chart.
Catered - Portion Control - It is vital that you give us an accurate account of the portions/covers to be catered. We always cater for healthy appetites, which have recently included 3,000 family members of the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment. We cooked and served hungry commuters at Waterloo station working with TV chef Brian Turner serving 840 breakfast rolls in just 2 hours. Accurate guest numbers allow us to prepare and provide for all.
Catered - Staff Over Run - It is vital that the information given to us via your self-quote and subsequent self-booking form is accurate. No serving times or serving duration alterations can be accepted within 48hrs of your event. Over running or moving the serving time effectively extends the working day of our staff. Those extra staff and subsequent ’travel home’ costs Post Event are charged on a per hour basis at 7% of your quote "per hour or part thereof".
Catered - Breads - We use quality local products and specialty breads for catered weddings. Meat in a bun bookings are supplied with 4" - 5" (100mm - 125mm) floured baps which are sourced from a variety of local sources.
Catered - Travelling - Catering prices quoted include travel within our catchment area inside Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Kent, Wiltshire, London, Essex, Dorset, Gloucester, Berkshire, Devon, Somerset, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Herefordshire. Other areas may be catered and include free mileage depending on the size of the event.
Catered - Site Visits & Meetings - Can be arranged for multiple course menus once your event is booked, deposited and confirmed in our calendar.
Catered - Menu Tasting - Clients that wish to sample some or part of our menus at our registered kitchen premises during office hours will be charged out at cost price for labour and materials used, outside these hours labour is time + one half from the start of preparation to completion.
Force Majeure - We cannot accept liability or pay compensation where the "performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by circumstances amounting to ’force majeure’. Such events may include but are not limited to war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial action, natural or nuclear activity, road traffic accidents, wet or windy weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control".
Catered - Quotes - We reserve the right to withdraw any catering discounts or quotes rendering them "null and void" unless bookings are confirmed and deposits lodged by return. Availability is advised at the point of enquiry and is available on a first come first served basis.
Catered - Guest Numbers - Reductions in guest numbers or service pre booked or ordered may not reduce more than 5% of the total cost up to 2 weeks before the event. No reduction in service or guest numbers can be accepted within the two week period prior to the event date.
Catered - Contract Price - When a "Contract Price" has been offered and accepted, any subsequent variation in guest numbers may render that contract price Null and Void. An updated quantity or menu will automatically default to the online quoting system at the time of change.
Catered & DIY - Payment Terms - Deposits are received to book catering staff and allocate equipment to your event. Booking your event closes our availability to other clients and therefore a deposit is not refundable. Clients may wish to investigate obtaining cover from an event insurance company if cancellation might be a concern.
Catering Hire - Payment Terms - All non-account customers are required to pay a deposit to secure any order. The deposit incorporates a bond to cover any possible breakages which will be returned after checks have taken place. Full payment of the order must be received in advance of delivery.
