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The short answer

For events of around 50 guests or more, La Casserole regularly sees separate quotes from caterers, rental companies and technical suppliers appear cheaper at first glance. The catch is that staffing, equipment, transport, setup, breakdown and your own planning time are not always included. That is why we compare catering in Brabant on one consistent basis: the all-in cost per guest. With one full-service event partner, every cost sits in one budget, with one point of contact and one party accountable. In practice, that often makes full event management more cost-effective than hiring everything separately. It is the only way to compare quotes based on what your event will actually cost.

Key takeaways

• Never compare quotes using the basic per-person price alone. Convert every quote into an all-in cost per guest, including service staff, tableware, transport, setup, breakdown and rental equipment.
• According to CBS (2024), event catering is the largest segment of the food and beverage sector, with 27.000 businesses. The number of providers has increased more than sixfold since 2007, which means more choice, but also more quotes that are impossible to compare fairly.
• Always ask to see the food hygiene code. Under NVWA requirements, every catering business must operate with a HACCP-based food safety plan.
• Noise limits are set by individual municipalities rather than nationally, so check the rules in the municipality where your event is being held before booking sound equipment.
• Factor in your own time. Coordinating five separate suppliers can easily take half to a full working week in the run-up to an event.

Why two quotes for the same party can differ by hundreds of euros

La Casserole works in a market where caterers, wedding venues, event agencies and rental companies each quote for one part of the same event. That is exactly where comparisons become misleading. One supplier quotes €42,50 per person, but that only covers the food. Another quotes €68 and has already included chefs, service staff, tableware, transport and clearing down. (Services)

Put those quotes side by side and the first one looks cheaper. Six weeks later, invoices arrive for glassware, cocktail tables, a generator and three extra hours of staff time.

This affects corporate clients just as much as couples planning a wedding. A marketing manager budgeting a client event for 120 people may be asked by procurement why four invoices have arrived instead of one. A couple may discover two weeks before their wedding that no one is responsible for connecting the refrigeration unit in the garden.

The rest of this guide explains which costs are routinely left out of quotes, how to compare separate suppliers with full event management on a like-for-like basis, and the type of event where the balance tips. If you first want a rough idea of catering costs per person, the guide to catering prices per person in Brabant is a useful starting point for your own budget. For the tax side of corporate catering, start with this guide to costs and tax rules for an off-site business lunch.

What is actually included in a catering quote, and what is not?

At its core, a catering quote only covers the food itself: purchasing, preparation and presentation, calculated per guest. Everything around it is a separate decision. Some suppliers include it as standard, while others invoice for it separately.

The five costs that make the difference

When comparing quotes, these are the line items that matter most:

1. Staffing. Chefs and front-of-house staff, including travel time, setup hours and the extra hour that almost always crops up. Ask whether the hourly rate starts when the team arrives on site or when they leave the kitchen.
2. Equipment. Crockery, glassware, cutlery, linens, cocktail tables, buffet stations and refrigeration. Some of this is rented per item, per day.
3. Technical equipment and power. Generators, distribution boards, lighting and sound. For garden parties and venues without three-phase power, this is the cost most often overlooked.
4. Logistics. Transport, setup, breakdown and waste removal. Two deliveries instead of one can double this line item.
5. Event management. The time spent creating the run sheet, coordinating suppliers and deciding when the main course is served on the day itself.

That last cost will not appear on any quote when you hire suppliers separately. It disappears into your diary.

What to request from every supplier

Before comparing quotes, ask for three documents: an itemised quote, the food hygiene code they work under, and a draft schedule for the day. Catering businesses are required to work with a HACCP-based food safety plan. They may use a hygiene code approved by the NVWA for their own trade association rather than writing their own plan. A supplier that cannot send that documentation within a day is not one you should trust to cook off-site.

What you can do now:

• Convert every quote into one figure: the total cost divided by the number of guests, including VAT and staffing.
• Check each quote against the five cost areas above, then ask for anything missing.
• Ask directly about the policy for overtime: is there a fixed hourly rate, or a surcharge after a certain time?
• Check the permitted finish time and noise limits with the municipality before confirming a technical package.

Comparing catering in Brabant: separate suppliers or one full-service partner?

The comparison below is an illustrative scenario for a corporate party in Brabant for 100 guests, including a walking dinner, drinks, furniture, lighting and sound. These are typical ranges from everyday practice, not fixed prices. The actual cost depends on the venue, menu level and season.

Where the price difference comes from

The food costs roughly the same under both models. The difference lies in transport, waiting time and duplicate setup work. Five suppliers make five separate trips to the same venue, and three may be left waiting until the previous team has finished. You pay for that waiting time.

With full event management, the same truck can deliver furniture, tableware and kitchen equipment in a single trip. La Casserole works with one setup schedule for the kitchen, staff, furniture and technical equipment, removing those duplicated movements. It is not a discount. It is simply less work.

The costs no one puts in a quote

Imagine an HR manager at a technology company with around 200 employees organising the annual party alongside her regular job. With five separate suppliers, coordination can easily add up to dozens of touchpoints across eight weeks. Conservatively, allow twenty to thirty hours. At an internal hourly rate of around €50, that is €1.000 to €1.500 that appears on no supplier quote and largely disappears when there is one point of contact.

The conclusion may sound counterintuitive: full event management often costs more per line item, but less for the event as a whole. You pay more for service staff, and less for everything that goes wrong around them.

When is hiring everything separately the better option?

A full-service solution does not always win. For drinks and nibbles for 25 colleagues, plus a crate of beer, hiring separately is simply quicker and cheaper. The same applies if you have a regular venue where tableware, furniture and sound equipment are already available. In that case, you only need to arrange the food.

The balance usually shifts at around 50 guests, or sooner when three or more services need to come together at a venue without its own kitchen. At that point, planning matters more than the initial price.

Which model suits your event: wedding, conference or garden party?

The rule of thumb is simple: the more services that need to come together at one venue, and the less the venue provides itself, the more valuable full event management becomes. Here is what that looks like in three common situations.

A wedding at a venue without its own kitchen

A wedding is the hardest event to compare because you cannot course-correct on the day. You should be a guest at your own celebration. For a wedding of 80 to 120 guests at a castle, garden or industrial venue, three questions matter most: is there refrigeration, is there three-phase power, and who makes the call if the schedule runs late?

If you are looking beyond catering alone, work through these seven things couples often overlook when choosing a wedding venue in Brabant before the catering quote arrives. The order matters: the venue determines your catering costs, not the other way around.

A conference or client event with a tight schedule

At a conference with 150 attendees, catering supports the programme rather than leading it. The coffee break lasts 20 minutes, and lunch needs to be served within 45 minutes. Separate suppliers may not know the event schedule, so they work to their own logic. One team that knows the host’s run sheet can have lunch ready while the final session is still underway.

The measurable result is turnaround time: a lunch completed in 45 rather than 70 minutes gives you half an hour of programme time back.

A garden party or event at home

Cooking outdoors is a technical challenge. Power, refrigeration, drainage and the weather determine whether it works. The practical details are covered in this guide to garden party catering without the stress of power and weather. One important detail that separate suppliers rarely coordinate is that event noise limits are not set nationally. They are determined locally through the General Local By-law or environmental plan, so permitted decibel levels and finish times vary by municipality and time of day.

What you can do now:

• Count the services you need: food, drinks, staffing, furniture, technical equipment and styling. If you need four or more, request at least one full-service quote.
• Check whether the venue has three-phase power, refrigeration and washing facilities. If even one is missing, include technical equipment as a separate budget item.
• Call the municipality about finish times and noise limits before signing anything.
• Agree in advance who can make decisions on the day if the schedule runs late, and include that name in the run sheet.

Frequently asked questions

How much does wedding catering cost per person in Brabant?

Typical range. For a well-presented dinner with service staff, the cost per guest is usually between €55 and €95, depending on the menu, number of courses and whether drinks are included. A walking dinner or buffet is often less expensive than a plated multi-course meal because fewer service hours are needed. At a venue without its own kitchen, always allow extra for mobile kitchen equipment and refrigeration.

How do you compare catering quotes that are not alike?

Convert them into one figure. Divide the total cost, including VAT, staffing, equipment and transport, by the number of guests. Only then can you compare them. Ask every supplier directly about the five cost areas that make the difference: staffing, equipment, technical equipment, logistics and event management. A quote that mentions fewer than four of these five is not yet a quote. It is a price indication.

Is one caterer offering full event management more expensive than separate suppliers?

Often more expensive per line item, but usually not for the event as a whole. The per-guest price can look higher because staffing, equipment and transport have already been included, while separate quotes charge for those costs individually. What disappears is duplicate transport, waiting time between suppliers and your own coordination time. From around 50 guests, with three or more services involved, the calculation generally starts to favour one partner.

Who can arrange catering, styling and technical equipment for an event in Brabant?

Full-service event partners. La Casserole brings together catering, styling, technical equipment, rentals and project management under one point of contact, working from a setup schedule that coordinates the kitchen, furniture and technical requirements. In practice, this saves two to three delivery journeys for an average event. For corporate clients, it also means one invoice rather than four or five.

What does the NVWA check for off-site catering?

Food safety away from a permanent kitchen. Businesses and individuals preparing and selling food and drink at markets and events must do so safely and hygienically under NVWA rules, to prevent guests from becoming ill. In practice, this means maintaining the cold chain, recording temperatures and keeping food preparation tasks separate. Ask your caterer about the hygiene code they follow and how refrigeration will be guaranteed at your venue.

Conclusion

Comparing catering in Brabant is not really about comparing prices. It is about comparing scope. If one quote only covers food while another covers a complete event, the headline figures tell you nothing. Convert everything into an all-in cost per guest, including staffing, equipment, technical requirements, transport and event management, and the picture often changes within one spreadsheet.

Three steps to take this week: convert your current quotes into that single per-guest figure, request the missing costs, and call the municipality about finish times and noise. Also request at least one full-service quote, even if you intend to hire suppliers separately. Without that benchmark, you do not know what separate sourcing actually costs. If you have not chosen a venue yet, this overview of seven practical criteria for choosing an event venue in Brabant will help you make those decisions in the right order.

About La Casserole

La Casserole is a full-service event partner based in Best, combining catering, styling, technical equipment, rentals and project management into one complete solution for corporate and private events. With more than 40 years of experience, its own event venues in Brabant and an established partner network, the company supports clients from concept through to delivery. Its services are designed for businesses hosting events in Brabant and private clients looking for a fully managed celebration.

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