There is no unique answer to what the price per person should be. It all depends on the type of food you’re serving, the number of dishes and if it’s a buffet or not. Here are some ideas (not including drinks and cake): If you’re looking for something cheap, you can pick Chinese or Mexican food and end up paying less than $10 per person. While you can get correct food for that price, despite the fact it’s pretty inexpensive, just make sure you select a catering service which food actually tastes good – trust me there are plenty of bad Mexican and Chinese restaurants so do your homework and find a place that has good reviews. You can get something decent for around $25 per person, more particularly Italian and Indian food. This is the kind of food everybody likes and if you are worried about etiquette, this won’t make you look cheap. Any meal including a nice piece of meat or fish will go for at least $40, with at least an appetizer. Of course, it all depends on the meat cuts, which can bring the check even higher. Any meal heavy on seafood should easily pass the $50 mark. This can actually go way higher if it includes lobster or scallops. Now if you get a several-course meal from a fancy restaurant, don’t be surprised to pay $100+ per person. In that case, you will be treating your guest to some classy dinner, which is sure to create a memorable...
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Of course when looking into estimating the cost of wedding catering, several elements will affect your budget, from the type of food you want to the number of courses, the venue, if you have waiters or a buffet and the number of guests. As a result, the numbers listed below are just an estimate to kind of give you an idea of what to expect. You should however do your homework diligently by first figuring out what you want and then shopping around. All the prices below are based on the food itself, not including the wedding cake, alcohol, gratuity or the waiters: The cheapest option is going for Chinese food or BBQ, with prices starting in the $10 – $20 range per person. This will also allow you to save on service as you can serve these foods buffet-style. Average prices are in the $30 to $70 range, which can be just hors d’oeuvres (appetizers), Italian food, Indian food or Mexican food. Once again, a buffet might be enough and will allow you to cut costs. Higher prices start around $80 and go as high as $300 per person. This pricing is not only based on the type of food you select – usually gourmet food such as French cuisine or seafood (lobster anybody?) – , but also on the location – a fancy restaurant or hotel – or the catering company you choose – for example when hiring a celebrity...
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A lot of people are wondering what’s an affordable price for wedding catering food, so we wanted to clarify this. Of course, the concept of affordability depends on your income – what’s affordable for a billionaire is probably not the same as what’s affordable for you – but we can give you an average. Based on the pricing information we got from various weddings and catering services, the $50 – $80 per person range seems to fair and affordable. If you go lower, you will get the cheaper priced menu options and if you go above, you fall into the most expensive range – it goes up to $300 a pop. What kind of food and service can you get for that budget? Well you can get some nice Italian, Mexican or Indian meal as well as some French food. Keep in mind you will need to calculate precisely how many courses you are planning to serve as you certainly wouldn’t get a 5-course French diner for that price. However, you might be able to do something fancy with Italian, Mexican and Indian food. As for the service, a buffet might be your best option, except for French food. This should give you an idea of how much budget you need, based on head...
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Looking for cheap wedding catering? Well it all comes down to the type of food you will pick. If you are on budget and looking for an inexpensive solution, the cheaper option is probably Chinese food, which usually costs less than $10 per person and, in some cases, even less than $5 per guest. Yes this is pretty cheap but it doesn’t mean it’s bad. Chinese food is actually pretty popular – I’m sure you noticed those Chinese fast-foods and restaurants at every corner – and it comes in a wide variety of dishes featuring meat, vegetables, noodles, rice, soups and even ice cream! BBQ is an option not a lot of people think about, but it’s a great choice: not only everybody likes a good BBQ but starting prices are around $15 for grilled chicken or hamburgers (I wouldn’t recommend the latter though as it’s way too casual for a wedding). Another choice is Mexican food, which can match small budgets if you go smart about it. Sure you can have a sit-down meal and offers dishes made with meat, rice and beans but you can even go cheaper and actually make your guests happier by just hiring a taco man, which will make tacos for your guests right in front of them – it’s not only appetizing but it will also add entertainment and socializing aspects to your event. When it comes to service, go with a buffet, which will accommodate the three types of food listed above and help you save some big...
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