# How do charge for a small event?



## Selani (Feb 3, 2019)

Hi !
My mother & I were asked to cook for a small middle school dance from a friend who's a teacher. I graduated culinary school a few years ago & my mom is just awesome cook with no actual catering experience. This is new to us & I'm having trouble with coming up calculations. The school is charging the kids $10 per person but, they want to know how much do WE charge for our services? They've asked for heavy hors d'oeuvres & our menu is short, simple and kid friendly. We're doing meatballs w/ marinara, rotel dip with sausage, tortilla chips, mini shredded chicken quesadillas, seasonal fruit tray (no dip), veggie tray w/ homemade ranch dressing, full pan of banana pudding & kool aid punch. They so far have 10 kids who've paid & are coming. They are supplying the equipment, venue and giving us money for food shopping. We are only cooking, setting up & cleaning up. My question is what is the food cost calculations and how much should we charge for ourselves? Thanks!


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

Hi and welcome to CT. 

The formula is simple. Cost of food and overhead + what your time is worth. If you have paid help, factor in their hourly or flat rate and any other overhead costs such as kitchen and/or appliance rental, propane, gasoline, plates, forks, cups trash bags etc. . 

On a side note, usually the caterer is consulted and a quote given before a cost per ticket is given to the customers and the promoters start selling tickets. 

Good luck.


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## Selani (Feb 3, 2019)

Hi, Thank you! 
We just found out that the $10 included the food & dj, which was a drawback for me. Yes, that's what I told my mother that you normally sit down & discuss things first before setting the price. I think I heard that the school's justification is that its a fundraiser, so I don't know? Haha. I appreciate your willingness to answer me back.



sgsvirgil said:


> Hi and welcome to CT.
> 
> The formula is simple. Cost of food and overhead + what your time is worth. If you have paid help, factor in their hourly or flat rate and any other overhead costs such as kitchen and/or appliance rental, propane, gasoline, plates, forks, cups trash bags etc. .
> 
> ...


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

Selani said:


> Hi, Thank you!
> We just found out that the $10 included the food & dj, which was a drawback for me. Yes, that's what I told my mother that you normally sit down & discuss things first before setting the price. I think I heard that the school's justification is that its a fundraiser, so I don't know? Haha. I appreciate your willingness to answer me back.


$10 person for food and a DJ? If it were me, I would take a pass on this one.


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## nateboussad (Jan 8, 2019)

Think Ticketmaster. Large ticketing agents like that usually have partnerships with venues and can do the bulk of heavy lifting for you - helping you promote the event, sell tickets, and handle the distribution. If you’re a well-established organiser or, say, a big name in the music industry, these traditional ticketing agents would probably be your go-to choice.


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