Side Catering Job Question(s)

i know when i cook for 12 adults and its free for all eat i figure 4-5 bones and .75-1 lb cooked pork. I would lean towards the 4 racks and maybe one good size butt.

4oz of pulled pork and 3 rib bones per person. It's hard to make money cooking for 12 people and cooking meats only. A rack of spares can sell for $21-$27 each and pulled pork between $10-$14 lb on average so 3lbs of pork @ $13lb and 3 racks of ribs @ $23 each would be somewhere around $108 total. Add some sauce and buns in on that and call it $125.00

HBMTN said:

4oz of pulled pork and 3 rib bones per person. It's hard to make money cooking for 12 people and cooking meats only. A rack of spares can sell for $21-$27 each and pulled pork between $10-$14 lb on average so 3lbs of pork @ $13lb and 3 racks of ribs @ $23 each would be somewhere around $108 total. Add some sauce and buns in on that and call it $125.00

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Yup. Now divide that by the 16+ hours you'll have into it and you can see why there's no money to be made in part time catering. :crazy:

I pretty much keep a set price range between $11-14 per person. Almost every catering job I do, they ask for more than 2 meats. You will always price yourself out of a job by charging for the woods and sauce and pans etc for each job. that's all overhead. the way I do it still isn't exact but looks like this. Butts and brisket are in the $13-14/person range and chicken/ribs are in the $11-12/person range. The sides don't really affect my prices but if they want brisket and chicken I may charge in the middle (i.e. either $12 or $13). Those numbers are for parties under 100 people. If there are over 100 people I give quantity discount to the $9-11/person range and if they want beef ribs I am closer to $16 or $17 per person. So for your job i'd go $12/person and for 12 people that's $144.

Just remember this, your real friends don't ask for 'discounts' and always charge what you are worth. People will always try to 'negotiate' with you if this is a side job because you are not as threatening as a big restaurant. but remember no order calls Famous Daves and asks if they could lower the price on the 50 person catering menu with boiled ribs and dry chicken! you are offering a higher quality product and a much more personal customer service experience.

good luck!

Maybe it's just me, but it would depend on what kind of sponsor it is. Do they support you with product or money. Have you had to cook for them before. If it's the first time and they are a good sponsor I would probably eat the profit on this one, especially because it's such a small job. I would let the sponsor know that this is a one time deal.

As for the amount of meat...
Typically, 1 lb. of finished pulled pork product makes 4 hamburger bun sized sandwiches. I would say allow for 2 per person just have plenty. So, 24 sandwiches would be 6 lb.
Ribs are usually more popular than pulled pork. You might even want to leave it up to the customer - would they like 1/3 of a rack per person or maybe even 1/2 rack per person? Based on their answer, either 4 or 6 racks will do nicely.
These numbers are all rounded up - you will have more than enough food this way which is how I usually try to do things. Remember - these guests are future customers for you too. You want them to have a great time.
Side vary depending on what they are, but on average say 4 oz of each side per person to determine how much to make.

As for cooking costs, seasonings, etc. - I actually have a spreadsheet that breaks out the list of supplies and ingredients I use for my typical cook items. I even include things like aluminum foil and serving plates. I periodically visit my local Sam's Club and use my phone to take pictures of current prices that I then use to update the spreadsheet. That way, I know per portion what it costs me to make something. CAUTION - You of course can't buy things in the exact qty you need. You will always have overhead in keeping "stock" of certain items. However, this allows you to keep up with you usage of those items and assign value to their usage.

As for your time - Well, that's a different story. I don't try to assign a dollar amount to time spent manning the smoker, prepping meats, etc. Usually when I'm cooking for a catering job I try to take preorders for meat by pound to sell to other customers as well. So, its really hard to know which purchase to assign a particular hour of labor to. My best advice is this.... Make sure you are making enough profit to make it worth your time. If you aren't making some money, why do catering? You don't want to overcharge and loose business - but if you are undercharging then you only hurt yourself by doing business too cheaply.