Questions to Ask Your Caterer BEFORE You Book!

For many nearlyweds, planning and paying for the wedding itself (along with any other associated get-togethers – i.e. bridal showers, receptions, or bachelor/ette parties) often represents one of the largest financial investments that they’ll take on in their lifetime. Like with other major milestones – such as buying a house, starting a family, or pursuing higher education – it’s important to do your research! To ensure satisfaction with the vendors you’ve booked for the big day, you must get familiar with their companies and services. And while we at Fork and Flair can’t speak for all areas of the wedding industry, we like to think we know a thing or two about wedding catering! 

As experts in the field, we know how confusing it can seem if you’re not familiar with the logistical planning required to feed 200 or so guests. Compiled below is a list of questions that we recommend asking your catering vendors before you book (along with our own Fork and Flair answers!). This list is meant to provide an overview of catering-specific questions, comments, and concerns that we know from firsthand experience are important details to think about ahead of time. For ease, they’re separated into three categories: Menu & Dinner Service, Venue-Related, and Miscellaneous.

Menu & Dinner Service

Are you a full service caterer? Or do you primarily offer drop-off options?

What’s the difference between full service and drop-off catering? Check out our September 2025 blog post, Demystifying Catering and Event Terminology, and learn more!

What dinner service styles do you offer (i.e. plated, buffet, family style)? 

Fork and Flair offers the following service styles: plated, buffet, family style, food stations, and heavy hors d’oeuvres.

What style of service do you recommend in our space? 

This will depend on your space and the guest count – our Fork and Flair sales coordinators would love to chat through that with you at a tasting!

How much flexibility does your menu have? 

Fork and Flair is happy to customize your menu based on specific dietary needs and preferences. Requests must be feasible for our kitchen to execute and receive final approval from our chef.

Do you foresee any concerns with our menu and/or style of service? 

The Fork and Flair menu is designed for off-site catering, so any menu item will give you great results! We’ll chat through your style of service ahead of time to make sure it's the right choice for you and your guests.

Do you offer tastings? What are they like?

Check out our June 2025 blog post, What Happens at a Tasting?, to learn more about what happens around the Fork and Flair tasting table!

How do you typically handle the following: kids’ meals, vendor meals, dietary restrictions? 

Kids' Meals: Fork and Flair staff will serve any kiddos at the start of dinner service so they can dig in right away. Parents usually appreciate this option since it helps keep them in their seats while the adult guests are still being served.

Vendor Meals: Depending on your style of service, vendors can either go through the buffet line or we’ll bring their plated meal out. In many scenarios, vendors may want to eat as soon as the VIP tables get their food; in that case, we have the vendors pop back to the kitchen to get their meal so that our dining room can continue moving forward!

Dietary Needs: Sometimes your menu will cover all pertinent dietary needs! In the case that it does not, we’ll have a plan in place ahead of time and bring those out by request.

How do your dining teams coordinate a plated dinner service? How does it differ for other service styles? 

A plated dinner requires escort cards with a clear meal indicator. When Fork and Flair executes a plated dinner, our dining room and kitchen leads are connected via ear pieces and are able to have a clear line of communication throughout the entirety of the dinner service. For guest counts over 200, we require enough staff to accommodate two dining teams serving simultaneously.

Do I need escort cards? What should those look like? 

Escort cards are only required for plated dinner services. The most common meal indicators are small clip-art images of the relevant protein (i.e. a cow, a chicken, or a fish).

Fork and Flair now offers escort card printing services! All clients are able to order escort cards through Fork and Flair. Please reach out to our Head of Day of Coordination, Jenny Roloff, for more information!

Venue-Related

Are you on our venue’s Approved/Preferred Vendor list? 

Your Fork and Flair sales coordinator will always do their due diligence before sending you an initial quote!

What’s your familiarity with our venue? Do you often cater events there? 

We cater all over the Twin Cities metro area and up to 2 hours outside of it! Visit our “Venues We Love” page to see a current list of our venue partners. 

Does catering require anything specific from the venue? (i.e. staging space, early kitchen access, cooler space, etc) 

Fork and Flair prides ourselves on our self-sufficiency! Running water and electricity are great if available, but we’ve made more work with less. 

If you are planning to host at a private residence or in an outdoor tent, we can set up a staging space where it is convenient and accessible (i.e. outside of the tent or in the garage). Fork and Flair staff arrive 2+ hours prior to guest arrival time to begin load-in.

Is there a venue fee? What percentage is it?

A venue fee is often required as a part of the caterer’s contract with the venue. The venue sets the fee percentage which then goes towards upkeep and maintenance of the kitchen and other catering prep spaces. Typically, most venue fees are between 10-12% of the catering total (not the full bill).

What is your trash policy? And/Or, are you familiar with our venue’s trash policies?

Some venues require caterers to take trash offsite to be disposed of, whereas others have lock combinations or keys that catering needs to know about. We always recommend asking your venue directly what their expectations are regarding trash disposal.

Miscellaneous

What fees are included in the quote (i.e. gratuity, venue fee, travel fee, etc)? Are there any fees that could pop up later on? 

Fork and Flair does not include gratuity – we leave this up to the client’s discretion! Additionally, any payment made with a credit or debit card incurs a 3% processing fee. All other associated fees will be line-itemized on your quote.

Will our quoted pricing change? How are pricing updates or changes handled?

Fork and Flair pricing only changes if the item is specifically marked as “Market Price;” otherwise, we honor the initial quoted price. If you’d like to update items on your quote, send your sales coordinator an email with the details and they’ll get your invoice updated!

What is your leftover food policy? 

In accordance with our catering licenses for the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin, food can not be taken offsite as leftovers.

Do you offer any other services that could be beneficial to our event? 

Fork and Flair offers many popular add-on services, including but not limited to: Day-of Coordination, Paper Goods (Escort Cards & Menus), Late Night Snack, and a Mobile Charcuterie Cart. Reach out to hear about the most up-to-date available options!