Adding Catering to a Restaurant

In short: catering lets you sell your kitchen's skills in a different way, but only if you build a menu that travels, price per head with minimums and lead times, register and follow food safety rules for off site service and write clear terms. Start with small orders you can deliver perfectly.

About 9 minutes to read. General information, not legal advice. Registration and food safety rules differ by country: check your local authority.

A hundred lunch boxes ordered by an office is a very different job from a hundred covers in your dining room. The food leaves your control. Timing becomes a promise. A missing serving spoon or an unlabelled allergen is your fault in front of a client. Done well, catering is a steady, planned income that can fill your kitchen's quiet hours. Done badly, it is a stressful way to lose money.

Is catering right for you?

Ask honestly:

• Do you have spare kitchen capacity at the times catering needs, such as mornings and early afternoons?
• Can your menu travel? If your best dishes are crisp, delicate or served on a hot plate within a minute, they may not.
• Do you have transport, packaging, equipment and someone to deliver?
• Do you have people who can plan, cook, pack and deliver without hurting the restaurant's service?
• Is there demand nearby: offices, schools, community groups, events, venues?

Test with a small pilot: one menu, three or four regular clients, a lead time of 48 hours.

What kinds of catering

Choose one or two to start. Staffed events and on site cooking are the most demanding.

Build a catering menu

A catering menu is not your restaurant menu in a box.

• Choose dishes that hold. Braises, curries, roasts, baked pasta, grain salads, wraps, sandwiches, platters, desserts that set.
• Avoid dishes that need last second finishing, such as fried food that must be crisp, delicate fish and anything that goes soft in a box.
• Offer clear packages: a lunch box, a sharing platter, a hot buffet, a breakfast spread.
• Offer dietary alternatives: vegetarian, vegan and allergy friendly options you can really produce safely. See vegan and vegetarian menus, halal and kosher menus and allergen training.
• Keep it short: eight to twelve items.
• Test every dish for travel: pack it, wait an hour, open it and taste. Adjust.

Cost and price it per head

Catering margins are eaten by hidden costs. List them.

1. Food and drink per head from your recipes, including garnish and sauces. See recipe costing.
2. Packaging: boxes, trays, lids, labels, napkins, cutlery. See takeaway packaging.
3. Labour: prep, cooking, packing, loading, driving, setting up, serving, clearing and cleaning.
4. Transport: vehicle costs, fuel, parking and the driver's time.
5. Equipment: insulated carriers, chafing dishes, fuel, serving tools. Replace losses.
6. Waste: a margin for overage, since you will always prepare a little extra.
7. Admin: quoting, invoicing and chasing.
8. Fees and tax. See VAT and sales tax.
9. Margin to meet your targets. See gross profit and prime cost.

Set a minimum order and a lead time, such as 24 or 48 hours, with a higher price for short notice.

Register and follow the rules

GOV.UK says that anyone who sells, cooks, stores, handles, prepares or distributes food must register with their local authority, including businesses that sell online only, businesses trading from home and mobile units or temporary premises such as a stall or van. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you must register at least 28 days before trading. Each location must be registered with its local authority, and Scotland has different arrangements. If your restaurant is already registered, ask your local authority whether your catering activity, new premises or vehicle needs updating.

Also check:

• Your food safety plan covers catering: cooling, hot holding, transport and reheating. See HACCP plans, cooling and reheating and temperature logs.
• Allergen information with every order, in writing. The UK Food Standards Agency says businesses must tell customers if any food they provide contains any of the listed allergens as an ingredient, and that the information must be accurate and easily accessible. Label every platter.
• Alcohol and entertainment licences if you provide them at an event. See events and private dining for the UK Temporary Event Notice example.
• Insurance that covers off site work and your vehicle. See insurance.
• Local rules on parking, vehicles and use of venue kitchens.

Pack, transport and serve safely

• Plan the route and the timing so food spends the least time on the road.
• Use insulated carriers and check them. Pre heat or pre chill them where your plan says so.
• Probe temperatures at loading and on arrival and write them down.
• Separate raw and ready to eat food, and keep allergens separate and labelled.
• Bring serving tools, gloves, sanitiser, wipes, a thermometer, spare labels, bin bags and a first aid kit.
• Set up neatly, cold food at the cold end, hot food held at the temperature your plan states, and labels clear.
• Do not leave food out longer than your plan allows. The UK FSA notes that cold food on display can be out of the fridge for up to four hours, after which it should be thrown away or returned to the fridge. Hot food should be kept hot, with the FSA describing 8 to 63 degrees Celsius as the danger zone. Check your plan and your local rules.
• Take back equipment, and either dispose of leftovers or follow your plan. Do not reuse food that has been on display.

Terms and communication

A simple agreement avoids disputes:

• menu, numbers and price per head, with the date when final numbers are fixed;
• delivery time window and address, with access, parking and a contact on site;
• set up and collection, and what is included;
• payment terms and, if you need one, a deposit. DineHarbor does not collect deposits, so any deposit is taken outside the product;
• cancellation and changes;
• allergen and dietary information process;
• equipment hire and loss;
• who is responsible for what on site.

Confirm the details by message two days before and again the morning of the event. Send an invoice promptly and ask for feedback. See feedback surveys.

Keep the restaurant strong

Catering must not damage your core business.

• Schedule it in the quiet hours, and cap the numbers on busy days.
• Do not borrow from the dining room at the last minute. Add a prep cook rather than pulling the chef from the line.
• Separate the stock and the costs so you see the margin of catering as its own line. See stock control.
• Check what it does to the labour and the kitchen, weekly, with the numbers. See KPIs.

Find clients

• Offices, co-working spaces and schools within a short drive.
• Wedding planners, venues without kitchens and event organisers.
• Community groups, sports clubs and religious organisations.
• Your own guests: a note on the menu and on your website.
• Local business groups and networks.
• A clear catering page with the menu, minimums, lead times, photos and an enquiry form. See restaurant website with online ordering.

Reply to enquiries within a day with one clear email: menu, price, availability.

Common mistakes

• Selling menu items that do not travel.
• Underpricing: forgetting labour, transport and packaging.
• No minimum order or lead time.
• Not registering or not informing the local authority.
• Unlabelled platters.
• Using the same kitchen resource as the busiest service.
• Taking a large order before a small success.

A checklist

1. Start with one or two types and a pilot.
2. Build a short, travel tested menu.
3. Cost per head, with a minimum order and lead time.
4. Register or update with your local authority.
5. Extend your food safety plan to transport and service.
6. Label every dish for allergens.
7. Write simple terms and confirm twice.
8. Review the margin and the effect on the restaurant after each month.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Register your food business, read in October 2026.
• UK Food Standards Agency, allergen guidance for food businesses, and its chilling guidance, as of October 2026.
• Your local environmental health or public health authority for registration, vehicles and temperatures where you operate.

Want to see how your numbers change when you add a new channel? Start the 30 day free trial with no card needed.