Hi all, I will be catering an event this weekend with an expected crowd of 2000 people. The numbers are solid. There will be one other vendor from pizza hut serving slices. I will be serving hot dogs, hamburgers, and garden salad,,also chips and soda,water. It will be cash sales. I would like to know how much food to bring? How can I figure out how many people will stop by my booth and then what the mix of hot dogs and hamburgs wil be,,,salad too. Again me and one other vendor will be serving 2000 people and most of the patrons will be eating. Any information, opinions and commentary will be much appriciated. thanks again chef78
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Posted
Chef, Your major problem isnt what the portion count is going to be.....your major issue is likely to be grill size and how much cargo capacity you are likely to have. Technically this isnt a catering but a vending so you also should check with the proper authorities about a temporary food service license. As to the amount of food to bring......just depends on how much you are willing to take home. When we vend festivals our menu is typically larger so I dont take as much of any one thing....but generally my rule is I take as much as I would be happy if I sold out but not so much that if I dont I wont be throwing a lot away.....Again the likely limits will be your grill and how much space you have to transport stuff there. If you take 400 hotdogs and 400 hamburgers....the buns will take probably 10-12 cubic feet of space just for the buns. There is no exact science to how many of what to take.....next year you will have a better idea if the opportunity presents itself.
How long are you going to be on-site (that determines your total available time)?
Are you manning the booth by yourself (that determines how much time it takes for one hamburger/hotdog sale)?
I'd take enough to keep you busy the first day, then you'll have a handle for the second, and possibly, third day. If, at peak production, you can only cook 300 hamburgers an hour and there are only three major sales hours, I'd take 1,000 hamburgers because I couldn't cook more if I had to.
From your "handle", you've got the knowledge to figure out your maximum production capacity. For the first day, figure half the crowd will stop at your booth.
What was the final outcome....how much did you take and did you run out? Could you be a little more specific on what type of event(ie music or arts festival, concert....) so that others can get an idea for the future?
