Wedding Catering Advice
Hey There… me again…
I got an interesting (I thought) question today. Figured I’d share it with you in case you need or know of someone that can use the info. The question:
“I am doing my nieces wedding. She requested stuffed shells as they are italian lovers. I have no way to cook at the facility so must do it at home and deliver 30 minutes away. I have to time it perfectly . I have no problem cooking ONE 20″ x 14″ loaded pan of pasta however I have 3 ovens in my neighborhood which will have two pans (one on top of the other)loaded. How long should I cook them and at what temp.
I have a horrible fear of 170 people cutting into runny or uncooked pasta
HELP!”
Here’s my answer…
Tricky situation you have there. Whenever I do remote functions I try to rent a kitchen near the site to alleviate long travel times. Then I have a hotbox (potable warming closet) to hold whatever I need to at 150 degrees… a must. I would try to rent/source either one, but especially a hotbox, since you seem to have adequate oven space, although scattered around a bit. Don’t worry… I’ve done that too 
If you can’t find a kitchen nearby, I would…
1. par-cook the pasta to VERY al dente and stuff them.
2. make your sauce and “cool it” so it doesn’t continue to cook the pasta until you’re ready to
3. pan the shells, sauce them, cover with foil and refrigerate
3. when ready, heat the pans at around 350 degrees until serving temperature, 140 or so (probably around an hour-ish) leave a cushion of 15 minutes
4. transport and store warm “somewhere”
Leave this to the last possible minute, and if necessary, make them wait for you, not the other way around. Weddings “always” run late… that’s pretty much a given. With all the receiving lines, speeches and stuff it takes longer than “you” will want. Explain to your niece the advantages of last minute service and them waiting 5-10 minutes, over the disadvantages of mushy pasta. It’s still a tricky venture, but that’s probably your best chance.
That’s my two cents… U.S. or Canadian
Relax! Make a good, solid, nearly foolproof plan, and just “let it happen”… nothing else you can do…
Feel free to add your two cents…
Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin
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Kevin,
Great advice once again……would never thought of renting a kitchen nearby, very cool!!!
Sooooo glad you’re back to writing….keep up the great work!!! See you soon……
ann
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love how your instructions (stuffed pasta shells/wedding) are graphic, yetconcise.
Thanks for the informative post. I really like your site and I’m sure to return!
I am having a medium sized , casual outdoor wedding on a creek and I need some ideas of things to ask the caterer to serve. I would appreciate any advice. I am serving barbecue at the reception and would love some cute ideas.
Hi There,
Thanks for dropping in…
Kind of hard to say from here, not seeing the location or any gliches that may arise from my suggestions.
The first thing I do as a caterer is to survey the location and determine what I would have to bring in to make any menu work, regardless of what that is. I have a good raport with my clients, and am not afraid to tell them what I think will and won’t work. I think it’s best for you to have your caterer do the same, and give them the chance to offer a menu that will not only provide variety, but also the best chance of success where you are holding it. While it sounds simple at the start, there are many things to consider that I would have to see to comment properly on. Your caterer, if qualified, should be able to see at a glance any problems that need to be addressed and come up with the right plan.
Hope that helps…
Yours in Food & Friendship,
Chef Kevin
As a caterer, I can tell you that most of my brides love destination weddings. I have been in business 20 years and each and every bride starts with a venue, than catering, photography, video, dj( in that particular order most of the times). Great article, I enjoyed it very much
That is a very good idea! After my own crazy experience of trying to plan my wedding which will be October 13th… I figured there are probably others out there that like me, want to cater their own wedding. Well, my future husband has been a chef for 11 years and we decided that other people may have use for a book (we are in the process of writing it) that includes easy to follow, but elegant recipes with menu suggestions so that people can cater their own weddings without having to put out all the crazy expense of having a company do it. Included would be set up ideas for displaying the food, as well as garnishing ideas. Each with step by step details to make it easy for the less experienced! Would you have a use for this book? Would it make planning for your big day easier? What would you expect to pay for this type book?
Hi There…
I think it would be a valuable book for those wanting to avoid the cost of a professional caterer, as long as they have the mentality and focus of one. I’ve seen many people that thought it an easy job to do, but found out the stress of all the planning & execution of it more than they could balance with everything else needed to do.
Aside from that, I do think you have a good idea, and that there is a market for such a book. How much would I pay personally, nadda, since I am in the business and could write one myself from all my experiences
Best of luck on the creation and promotion on your project!
Yours inFood & Friendship,
Chef Kevin
Planning a wedding these days is no small task but well worth it in the end!
Generally I would tip the same to a caterer as I would to restaurant wait staff…15% and little higher if the service was good or the waiter/waitress handled a diificult situation (food not cooked to order or table not very good etc.)
Well done Bravo You had a fantastic life experience.
Beautifully written! One of the best articles so farThis reminds me of the importance of not rushing through things in the belief that you
I am doing a wedding project in my sociology class and we need to research the high and low end of wedding catering costs.
There are many factors which affect catering costs, such as… food costs for the menu, location on the event, style of service (buffet, sit down meal, etc), number of guests, staffing requirements, additional charges (rental of equipment, etc)… and other things such as the caterers profit margins, gratuities, etc.
Locality of the caterer also makes a big difference. Caterers in high-end areas always charge more than those that work in less prosperous locations, so that will also have an impact.
What I would do is call some and interview them to get an idea of their individual prices, and maybe their method of determining those prices.
CK
Great article here, Away from Stereotypic issues and well written away from Hi-Voca Lawyer language.
A pleasure to come to your site. Thanks very much! Goodluck.
Thanks for this post! Never had an experience dealing with this particular cooking dilemma, but I’d gladly remember all the tips you’ve mentioned.
Always nice to impart some tidbits of my experience. Glad you got some value from it.
CK
The post of wedding catering advise is containing very informative & valuable points in it.As for my part I am lady of 48 having two children so it will more “practicable” for me to apply these tips on there wedding ceremonies.