How to Make a Catering Menu That Grows Business

In the restaurant business, it’s important to always look for new ways to delight your guests. One way to improve the customer experience for both new and existing customers is to offer a catering menu. With the catering averaging a profit margin between 7-8%, your restaurant can easily grow its overall profit margin. But how do you start? These small tips and tricks will help you decide how to make a catering menu, so you can bring in a new revenue stream and grow the business without drastically growing expenses.

1. Match the Catering Menu with Your Restaurant Menu

The catering side of your business should mirror the similar quality and pricing of your full-service menu. Choosing what goes on the menu and how you structure it is about making the best choices for your restaurant and guests. For the style of your menu, you can choose between buffet or plated as well as what type you want:

• Offshoot of your current menu – This can help guests, customers, and regulars love your restaurant even more since you’ll be offering guests’ favorite dishes at scale.


• Themed – If you offer multiple unique dishes or your restaurant has a specific cultural or signature theme, you can employ this in your catering menu. For example, Greek or BBQ.


• Seasonal, farm-to-table or rotational – If your restaurant sources farm-fresh ingredients or want to play up the seasons, allow this to be reflected in your catering menu.


• Guest requests – If a customer wants your restaurant’s take on a specific dish or cuisine, and you feel you can meet their requests, give it a shot.

2. Know Your Numbers

The following metrics are important to account for when building your catering menu. They’re crucial for your new revenue stream to be successful, making you aware of how you’ll turn a profit and what that profit will be.

• Cost per plate (total food cost divided by total guests served)


• Cost per person


• Number of guests


• Labor hours


• Profitability

To determine profitability, add the cost of food, labor and materials. Then, subtract that total from the gross revenue.

3. Pricing the Catering Menu

A chef or restaurant owner should have an idea of costs from the regular menu, which will help in pricing catering menu items appropriately. You’ll want it to be profitable but not so aggressive that it’s too high of a markup and customers will go running. Remember that customers are usually prepared to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on catering, so they’ll be eager to cut costs wherever they can.

4. Set Up Your Schedule

Offering catering year-round will ensure you get the best revenue from it. Wedding season is typically the busiest time for catering, but there are other events that happen outside of the May to September timeline that your restaurant could value by having a catering menu all year. Expanding from day-to-day restaurant functions with catering will help servers, your brand and the overall revenue for your restaurant, so you shouldn’t limit to just one season.

No matter what kind of catering menu you offer, make sure your regulars know that you offer catering. Post signage in your restaurant, advertise it on your website and social media, and include it in your full-service menu as an add-on or blurb.