Catering prices per person: what each style costs, and what staff adds
Upper Crust catering prices run from $11.99 a person for continental breakfast to $22.99 for a holiday dinner. The same $18.99 buffet is about $29.39 a person with staff.
By the Upper Crust Catering kitchen
Catering prices per person at Upper Crust run from $11.99 for a continental breakfast, $14.50 for a boxed lunch, $18.99 to $20.99 for a buffet, $21.99 for the Shower Package and $22.99 for a holiday dinner. Those are the food prices. Hire servers and the same $18.99 buffet comes to about $29.39 a person before tax and delivery for a 50-person event, so decide early whether you want drop-off or staffed.
The per-person price list
- Continental Breakfast: $11.99 a person.
- Basic Boxed Lunch: $14.50 each. Executive Boxed Lunch is $16.50. Minimum 20 boxes.
- Basic Breakfast Buffet: $16.99 a person.
- Buffet Menu 1: $18.99. Buffet Menu 2: $19.99. Buffet Menu 3: $20.99. All start at 20 guests.
- Shower Package: $21.99.
- Thanksgiving Dinner and Christmas Dinner: $22.99.
Trays are priced by the tray and serve 20, so a tray works out to a few dollars a person for a side and more for an entrée. You choose how many. Because trays have no minimum and no small-party surcharge, they are the way to price a party under 20.
What changes the price per person
Menu level
Moving from Menu 1 to Menu 2 adds $1.00 a person; Menu 2 to Menu 3 adds another $1.00. For 50 guests, Menu 3 versus Menu 1 is 50 x $20.99 = $1,049.50 against 50 x $18.99 = $949.50, a $100 difference.
Drop-off vs staffed
Drop-off and pick-up orders have no service charge. A staffed event adds servers at $35 an hour with a 4-hour minimum each, a $50 event production fee and a 20% service charge on food and rentals.
Here it is for Buffet Menu 1, 50 guests, with 2 servers (the number is set in your quote):
- Food: 50 x $18.99 = $949.50.
- Servers: 2 x 4 hours x $35 = $280.
- Event production fee: $50.
- Service charge: 20% x $949.50 = $189.90.
Subtotal: $949.50 + $280 + $50 + $189.90 = $1,469.40, or $29.39 a person before tax and delivery. The drop-off version is $18.99 a person, and with 9.25% sales tax it is $20.75.
Add-ons
Plates, Napkins & Silverware are $1.50 a person. A Chafing Dish Set is $17 per hot dish. Drinks are $2.49 a person for cans or water, or $89 for 50 servings of tea, punch or lemonade.
Delivery and tax
Delivery is quoted when you order, or you pick up at the kitchen in Yorkville. Sales tax of 9.25% applies to food and rentals.
How to bring the number down
- Pick up instead of using delivery.
- Order trays for a small group so you are not paying for servers.
- Choose Menu 1 for a casual crowd.
- Skip appetizers and add one dessert tray.
For an example at a larger scale, see what wedding catering costs in Kendall County, and for sizing food to a head count, how much food for 50 people.
Locking the number in
Your quote shows food, staff, rentals, delivery and tax on one sheet, valid 14 days. A 25% deposit reserves the date, and the balance is due 7 days before the event after your final count. Call (630) 553-9533. The Catering near me guide adds more pricing context, and the quote form takes your date and headcount.
Questions
What is the average catering price per person?
On our menu it runs from $11.99 for breakfast to $22.99 for a holiday dinner. Most buffet orders are $18.99 to $20.99 a person.
Is tax included in per-person prices?
No. Sales tax of 9.25% is added to food and rentals.
Is there a minimum order?
Buffets and packages start at 20 guests, boxed lunches at 20 boxes. Trays have no minimum.
Is there a small party surcharge?
No. We do not charge a small-party surcharge.
