Ways to Save Money on Kosher Catering

Not surprising to those with a kosher palette, a strictly kosher catered wedding can triple the price of food per person compared to a non-kosher wedding. But learning the nature of how pricing works for kosher caterers can save you significant amounts of money.  Don’t fall in love with a venue that falls out of your budget when adding the cost of kosher catering. Prepare yourself from the start by answering key questions that can make or break your bank:

• Is there a relationship between the Venue and the Caterer?
• If the answer is yes, then you have a much better chance of negotiating costs on both sides. One tip is to ask a Kosher Caterer to give you a list of Venues that they have catered and would recommend.  Not all venues have kosher-friendly kitchens, making it more laborious conditions for the caterer to work out kashrut logistics.
• Will the Venue provide tables, linens, chairs, stemware and dinnerware?
• If the answer is yes, then the Caterer will only charge for food (plus gratuity and tax).
• If the answer is no, then the price of having either the Caterer or a rental company bring such rental items will hike up the total cost of Venue / Catering considerably.
• Does the Kosher Caterer or Venue offer a significant reduction in price if you guarantee a certain number of guests?
• Asking this question to the Caterer or the Venue has proven to be a successful negotiation tactic in lowering total costs.  Similar to going to Costco and buying something at "family size", the more guests you invite, the lower the total cost per guest.  However, before guaranteeing a certain number of guests, you should know your budget and factor in taxes and gratuity to understand the amount of dollars you can spend per guest (which I will discuss in another blog).
• In order to calculate the actual cost per guest for catering, determine the State Tax, percent gratuity, and extra charges for rabbinic staff that the Caterer will charge.
• The combination of these costs can add considerable amounts of money to the actual cost per guest and should be included when calculating the total amount your budget will allow you to spend per guest.
• Does the Venue offer in-house Kosher catering with an acceptable hechsher?
• If the answer is yes, then the price of a combined Venue / Catering cost will be significantly less than going to a Venue that does not offer in-house Kosher catering. 

For my own Kosher catered wedding, I chose to go with an in-house Kosher catering venue but only after researching over 70 other venues to find the best bang for the buck.