Aftershock: How the exchange rate has impacted the catering industry.

As depressing as it is, the undeniable fact exists, that along with everything else, food prices are rising sharply. 

All caterers find, over time, that some people are surprised when they receive a quote, thinking the cost is higher than they had anticipated. 

One really needs to consider the expense of food as well as other costs to the caterer. 

Everything is climbing rapidly and sharply – the price of electricity, wages, rentals, travel, and especially food. 

Some categories of food have become pretty much a luxury today, for example, Crayfish – so it really is not too surprising that if you want a caterer to provide crayfish for you, that the price is going to be relative to the cost of crayfish.

It is often a good exercise to calculate the cost of catering for yourself – research the cost of all the ingredients, take into consideration the cost of all the extras, like hiring, electricity, wages, dishwasher, water, transport – then add to that the stress and responsibility and all your time – I think you will come to the conclusion that the quote you were given was more realistic than you thought and not so surprisingly high!

A headline in The Mercury, Tuesday, December 8th reads 'Food prices go up in multiples' - MULTIPLES, that's big! 

In the past few months, cauliflower has increased in price by 10 times, tomatoes by 4 and potatoes have doubled.  

There is a shortage of fresh produce as more and more small farmers go out of business as the drought gets worse. Our economy is also really not so healthy so everyone is having to pay more for what they used to get for less. 

So, with the current food price on the hike, we ask our loyal clients to please remember this when planning your next function. While the food prices are on the up, there are many advantages to enjoy by bringing in a caterer.

Consider the following:

• Time – you are not using your own time
• Convenience – just arrive at your function
• Equipment and serving vessels – you don't have to get any, borrow any, buy any, transport any....
• expertise – there will be no flops!
• Travel, electricity, water and labour costs – you will not be burdened by these costs
• Cleaning up and returning equipment – this is the best part if you are hosting a function – when you are tired, you just go home, and bask in the fact that you and your guests have just enjoyed a successful, happy stress-free occasion!

Let us discuss your next function and how we can help you.