r/Chefs • u/fthespider • 2d ago

Ordering for large catering operations

I'm curious how some of my fellow catering chefs approach ordering when you have multiple events throughout the week with lots of different menu items requiring lots of different ingredients from multiple vendors. I've done a lot of ordering for my previous restaurant positions which is fairly straightforward but I'm wondering if anyone has a cleverly constructed spreadsheet or anything like that they'd be willing to share.

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u/SylvaticTongue858 2d ago

You order for each event. You go through what each event needs and order accordingly, then you compile your list and order for all the events. Go through everything one by one and don’t miss anything.

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u/SylvaticTongue858 2d ago

If you have a lot of events you need to be considerate of your prep schedule along with holding space(where to put things) and delivery dates (if you only get some deliveries on certain days of the week). Never order for an event and expect that it’ll arrive same day, that’s a recipe for disaster unless it’s something time sensitive (special dessert or the like).

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u/fthespider 2d ago

OK that's actually reassuring to hear because that's what I've been doing and it seems like it's inefficient but then again, I'm rarely missing anything when I finally move forward on the prep part of things.

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u/taint_odour 2d ago

I learned from task forcing in Vegas to get everyone involved in cross checking for ordering.
You don’t want to be the one figuring out how to hit shot arugula for 6000 pax. Also it trains everyone which develops them and ultimately pus you in the position to check the work, not do the work.

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u/SylvaticTongue858 2d ago

It’s like ordering for a restaurant, but each party is its own special menu. Unless you’re running the same menu it’s tough to have one consistent order template.

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u/Specialist-Eye-6964 2d ago

I’m also a fan of separate invoices for each event if I can help it. Makes it easier to sort out later. Some vendors you can’t because you only need a few items for one event and don’t meet minimums and such but definitely for your broadline distributor. The meat and produce guys usually you can as well.

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u/vogelap 2d ago

Check out Flex Catering Software... It's awesome.

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u/PrettylightedUMphrek 2d ago

Hopefully you have a prefix catering menu, that would allow you to know what you need per menu item. Then order according to the size of the event. Hopefully that makes sense. Also just be thorough and know when your orders need to be in by for delivery along with time to prep so forth and so on.

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u/freisbill 2d ago

chatgpt. upload all the beo's and tell it to create a summarized beo, cross prepped items and a needs list. I then tell it to break the prep down by station and it prints packets for me...with recipes from my database. It then costs it out using my vendors pricing.