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Trade guide

Quotes for catering and events

Meetings and boardroom lunches, staff canteens, year-end functions, conferences, launches and outdoor events, with or without the venue, the hire equipment and the staff. A price per head means little until it says what is on the plate, how many people serve it and what else the event needs, so the request has to pin those down.

Catering & Events · South Africa · Updated 7 October 2026

What to put in your request

A supplier can only price what they can see. Answer these and the quotes come back for the same job, which is the only way they can be compared.

  1. What you need: a once-off function, regular catering for meetings, a staff canteen run on contract, or a whole event with venue, hire equipment and staff.
  2. The date, the times, and the number of guests, with the last day the number can still change.
  3. The style of service: plated, buffet, food stations, finger food, or meals delivered in packs. It changes the staff and equipment as much as the food.
  4. Dietary needs: vegetarian, halaal, kosher and allergies, with how many of each, and whether halaal or kosher food must be certified.
  5. The venue: the address, whether there is a kitchen the caterer may use, power and water on site, and when the caterer can get in to set up and must be out.
  6. What else the event needs: furniture, linen, crockery, a marquee, a stage, sound and lighting, décor, toilets, security and parking.
  7. Drinks: soft drinks only, a bar you pay for, or a cash bar, and who supplies the liquor.
  8. For a canteen contract: how many staff are fed, the shifts and meals, whether staff pay or the company does, and who owns the kitchen equipment.

What to compare when the quotes come back

The lowest total is where comparing starts, not where it ends.

  • What the price per head includes: food, staff, equipment hire, delivery, setting up and clearing away. Count the chefs and waiters behind it.
  • The menu in detail, with quantities or portion sizes, so a lower price is not simply less food.
  • How late the number of guests can change, and what you pay for guests who do not arrive.
  • The deposit, the cancellation terms, and what happens if the event moves.
  • How the food is kept safe between the kitchen and the table. The national food hygiene regulations want perishable food that is kept hot to stay above 60 °C, and chilled food no warmer than 5 °C, unless it is sold or eaten within four hours of being prepared.
  • Who is responsible for breakages and losses of hired items, and what the caterer's insurance covers at your venue.

On SupScope every quote arrives with the same three figures: the total, the lead time and the deposit. The first comparison is done before you open anything. The rest of this list is what to read in each supplier's notes and documents.

Paperwork worth asking for

The caterer's certificate of acceptability
Under the national food hygiene regulations (R638), food may only be handled on premises that have a certificate of acceptability, issued by the municipality in the name of the person in charge. It belongs to one person and one premises, cannot be transferred, and covers only the kinds of food handling written on it. Ask for a copy for the kitchen your food comes from, and check that it covers that kind of cooking. A vehicle delivering the caterer's pre-packed food must carry a certified copy.
How staff are trained, and kept off work when ill
The person in charge of food premises must make sure everyone working there is trained in food safety and hygiene, and keep training records for the inspector. Anyone with diarrhoea, vomiting, fever or a similar illness that can spread through food may not handle food until a doctor certifies them fit. Ask the caterer how it does both.
An event permit, where your municipality requires one
Municipal by-laws decide when an event needs a permit. Cape Town's Events By-law, for example, applies to events of 200 people or more, and to smaller ones with amplified sound or temporary structures such as marquees and stages, but not to the events a purpose-built venue normally hosts. The application goes in at least three weeks ahead for up to 2 000 people, with the caterers' certificates of acceptability, the use of LP gas, any liquor licence application and proof of public liability insurance. Check your municipality's rules, and agree who applies.
A liquor licence for any bar that sells
Liquor licensing is a provincial matter under the Constitution, so each province has its own liquor law and authority. If drinks will be sold at the event, ask whose licence covers the bar and ask to see it.

And from any supplier

A SARS Tax Compliance Status PIN
It replaced the old tax clearance certificate. Checking it on eFiling shows the supplier's status on the day you check, not the day it was issued.
A B-BBEE certificate or sworn affidavit
Only if your own scorecard counts it. Small suppliers (turnover up to R10 million) may use an affidavit instead of a verified certificate.
Company registration and a bank confirmation letter
Worth having before the first payment, so the account you pay is the company you chose.

General guidance, not legal advice. Regulations change, and some depend on your municipality or the job, so confirm anything you rely on with the authority concerned.

How this works on SupScope

  1. Step 1

    Post it once

    Describe the job and choose Catering & Events and your province.

  2. Step 2

    It reaches the right suppliers

    Only suppliers who work in this trade and cover your province see it.

  3. Step 3

    Compare and award

    Quotes arrive side by side. Accept one and the others are told.

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