The Questions to Ask at Your Wedding Tasting - From a Caterer Who Has Sat Through Hundreds

I have done a lot of tastings. Couples arrive nervous, eat, say everything was lovely, and leave without asking the things they actually need to know. Then three months later something they should have asked about turns into a problem.

So here is the list I wish every couple brought with them. Some of these are questions I would rather not be asked, which is exactly why you should ask them.

About the Food Itself

• Is this exactly what will be served on the day? Same cuts, same presentation, same portion size. A tasting cooked for two in a calm kitchen is not the same as feeding 140 in a field. Ask how the dish changes at scale, and ask them to be honest about it
• Who is cooking today, and who is cooking at my wedding? If the head chef cooks your tasting and a junior cooks your wedding, you want to know that now
• Where does the meat come from? Not the name of a supplier. The actual answer. If a caterer says wild venison, ask where it was shot. If they cannot tell you, it was not their venison. Ours is stalked by us or by people we know, and I will tell you which estate
• What happens if a guest has an allergy you did not know about until the day? This tells you whether the kitchen is organised or improvising
• Can I change things? Some caterers have a menu. Some have a starting point. You want the second kind. The whole point of a tasting is to adjust

About the Day

• How many events do you do on the same day? The honest answer for us is one. If a caterer is doing two weddings on a Saturday, ask which one gets the A team
• What time do you arrive, and what do you need from the venue? Fire cooking needs space, a safe surface and a few hours of lead time. A good caterer will have already asked you about the venue before the tasting
• What does the service actually look like? Plated, sharing boards, stations, a mixture? Ask them to walk you through the hour from the first canape to the last plate being cleared
• How many staff will be there, and what are they doing? You do not need a breakdown of hours. You need to know there are enough hands. As a rough rule, one member of front of house per ten guests, before the kitchen team
• What happens if it rains? Every outdoor caterer should have a clear answer. Ours is here

About the Money

This is where couples go quiet, and it is the section that matters most.

• What exactly is included in the per-head price? Food, staff, tableware, refrigeration, set up, travel? Or just the food? Two quotes that look £20 a head apart can be identical once you add everything in
• What is not included? Ask for the list. Kitchen hire, accommodation for the team if the venue is remote, a chiller trailer, crockery, glassware. None of these are unreasonable, but you want them on the page, not in a surprise invoice
• Is the tasting charged, and does it come off the final bill if we book? Both approaches are common. Just know which one you are in
• When does the final number have to be confirmed, and what happens if it changes? Guest counts move. Ask how much and how late
• What is the deposit, and what is the cancellation policy? Read it. Then ask them to explain it in plain English

The couples I trust most are the ones who ask me the awkward questions. It tells me they are paying attention, and it means there will be no surprises for either of us. Nobody has ever offended me by asking where the venison came from.
- Cai

The Question Nobody Asks

Ask the caterer what they are excited about cooking right now. Not what is on the menu. What they would cook if it were their own wedding.

The answer tells you whether you are talking to someone who loves food or someone who runs a catering business. Both can feed your guests. Only one of them will make the meal something people talk about a year later.

If you want to sit across a table from me and ask all of the above, book a tasting. I will answer every one of them, including the awkward ones.