"Hi, do you do catering? How much would it be for about 30 people?" It arrives in the general inbox between a supplier invoice and a reservation change, and the honest answer is: it depends on five things you have not been told.
So you ask the date. They reply with the date and a different headcount. You ask about budget. Silence, then a question about gluten. By the time you can put a number in an email, a week has passed and the host has a quote from somebody else.
The five things you need before you can quote
- Date and serving time. Not just the day. A drop-off at 11 for a lunch served at 1 is a food-safety problem: the FDA's safe food handling guidance says perishables go back in refrigeration within 2 hours, or 1 hour if it is above 90°F outside. Timing decides whether you are delivering, holding or serving.
- Headcount. A range is fine. 25 to 30 lets you quote per head with a minimum; "about 30" means 18 on the day and an argument.
- Budget. The question people hate asking and the one that saves the most time. A per-head range tells you whether to build a buffet, a plated three-course, or to decline politely.
- Dietary needs. The FDA recognizes nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame, the last added from January 1, 2023. Ask for a count of each, not "any dietary requirements?", which gets "no" and then two vegans at the door.
- The occasion, and where. A rehearsal dinner, a retirement and a team offsite want different rooms and pacing. Your private room, their office or a backyard changes staffing, equipment and price before a dish is chosen.
Stop taking it through the contact form
The general contact form asks for a name, an email and a message, which is why every catering inquiry arrives as one sentence. The fix is a separate, structured request form on the catering page that asks for the details as fields:
- Job type: drop-off catering, staffed buffet, plated dinner in the private room, full buyout.
- Location: your room or an address.
- Preferred timing: date and serving time.
- Budget: optional, a rough figure, so the host who has one can say so and the one who does not is not put off.
- Message, with the page copy right above the form saying what to put in it: headcount, the occasion, and a count of allergies or dietary needs.
The catering menu beside it should be text on the page, priced per head or by platter, not a PDF; the argument is the one in put your menu online, plus a host forwarding your page to a committee needs it to open on every phone.
Reply time, and what the first reply contains
Reply the same day, even if the full quote is not ready. The first reply has three jobs: confirm you can do the date or say you cannot, give a per-head range so the host knows whether you are in budget, and ask only what the form did not already answer. The quote follows by email once the menu is agreed.
The quote is not the booking
A quote is an offer. A booking is a quote plus a deposit, and the sentence for every quote is: "The date is held once the deposit is received." Size it to the food you are committing to buy and the staff you are turning other work away from. The logic is the same as for a large table, covered in restaurant no-shows and deposits, with a larger number.
Record the quoted amount and the date you sent it against the inquiry, so the follow-up a week later is a glance, not an inbox search.
One pipeline, not one inbox
Catering falls through the cracks because it lives among everything else: three inquiries open at once, one quoted, one waiting on a headcount, one forgotten, all in a mail client sorted by arrival.
Put them in a pipeline instead: new, contacted, quoted, won, lost. On Monday morning you can see which quotes have been out more than three days and which have no reply at all. Every host becomes a contact, so when holiday party season approaches you can email last year's hosts first.
That is how the quote request form works on a Webkio restaurant site: it asks job type, location, timing, budget and message, every submission emails you with a "Quote request:" subject you can filter on, creates a contact, and sits in a quotes pipeline where you record the amount and date you quoted. The setup is in take quote requests.
FAQ
What should a catering inquiry form ask?
Date and serving time, headcount as a range, a budget range, the location, the type of service (drop-off, buffet, plated, buyout), the occasion, and a count of allergies and dietary needs. Each one changes the price.
How fast should a restaurant reply to a private dining inquiry?
Same day, with a yes or no on the date and a per-head range. The detailed quote can follow once the menu is agreed. Hosts send the same inquiry to several places, and the first clear reply tends to win.
Should I take a deposit for catering or a private dining booking?
Yes, and the quote should say the date is only held once it arrives. Size it to the food you must buy and the staff you are committing, and state what happens to it if the event is canceled. A quote without a deposit is a conversation, not a booking.