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Q.
Besides the food, what else does Feast Your Eyes take care
of?
A.
We take care of everything that has to do with the food and
beverage, including the menu, bar mixers and set-ups, all the
equipment you'll need, plus the entire event staff.
Equipment typically means the tables and chairs, all the
linen, china, silverware, glassware, buffet and other serving
pieces, as well as cooking hardware. We offer innumerable
linen, china, silverware and glassware options to clients who
want high design, as well as expert guidance on creating a
stunning look for your event. State law prohibits off-premise
caterers from selling alcohol, but we'll help you decide how
much you need and what types, especially wines. Our staff
deliver, cook and serve the food, handle the clean-up
associated with our work, and are the bartenders, too.
We can handle other aspects of entertaining, too. A specialty
of ours is tenting. We have designed various elaborate
installations, but many tents aren't terribly elaborate, and
we can expand your available party space intelligently while
insuring that, like mail carriers, your tent will deliver in
snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night. (Of course your tent
won't be gloomy, but you get the idea.)
We love working with florists and are happy to refer you to a
few based on real world experience. Our pricing includes table
top décor for buffets, but when you need full scale theme or
décor work you're best served by a professional decorator. We
appreciate being consulted in your planning for that, too,
since we see many parties and have a sense of what works well
(and what works less well). Plus we have a faaahhb-u-lous eye
for design.
For valet parking, bathroom trailers, specialty lighting and
power distribution you can rely on us for straight advice and
coordination services, as well.
Most importantly we know when you should turn to other sources
for particular items. We're not event planners or bridal
consultants, don't pretend to be, and aren't looking to grab
more business by taking over your party. If something you want
for your party supports the food and beverage or service
aspects the odds are we have experience in handling it. We
believe our primary job is to insure a wildly successful
event, so while we focus on cooking faboo food, marvelously
presented and served, we regularly take on responsibility for
other event details, too.
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Q.
How
much will my party cost?
A.
Any event, regardless of why it's being held, has so many
components that it's not easy to give a simple answer. Besides
the varieties of menus (hamburger or filet?) there are the
dishes, linen, glasses, number of courses, complexity of the
menu (which may determine how many chefs we need), and the
length of the party. Where the event's being held can affect
the cost, too, since some locations are easier to work in than
others.
Having said this, we know the usual costs for the different
types of parties we cater. We're happy to help you better
understand catering as long as you continue reading knowing
these are approximate costs. With attention to detail parties
may cost less (but not by a whole lot), while they can
certainly cost more if you have a big wish list.
These estimated costs include:
- the menu
- bar
setups, sodas & mixers, bar tools, bar fruit, ice, ice
chests(s), cocktail naps, and a crunchy, salty, savory bar
mix
- equipment
(as explained above)
- staff
costs
Cocktail
parties range in price from $40 to $65 per person. This would
be for a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour reception that is not intended to
replace dinner.
Dinners, whether seated or buffet but including hors d'oeuvre,
can cost from $80 to $130 per person for 4 hours of service.
Spending less doesn't mean you leave the party hungry or that
we scrimp on ingredients. We won't compromise the essential
elements of your party: enough great food so everyone's belly
is happy, stylish presentation, and sufficient staffing. With
Feast Your Eyes the lower price range still includes handmade
food by the same chefs who make all our food (no 2nd tier
chefs here!), and the same quality staff, but may include
simpler equipment choices, a less elaborate menu that needs
fewer staff, or maybe a venue that doesn't require a lot of
basic equipment (like your home, when you don't need tables,
chairs and linen for each guest).
Conversely, the upper range may reflect a party site that
needs more equipment. Of course it may also include a more
extensive menu, specialty linens, glasware or silverware, or
heavier staffing levels. And Yes, it's certainly possible to
spend even more and to see the difference.
Luncheons whose menu is lunch only, without a pre-meal hors
d'oeuvre time, run from $62 to $80 per person.
Smaller events (say, under 40 guests) are difficult to keep
within these estimates.
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Q.
"Jeepers,
for these prices I can go to a restaurant! Why should
off-premise catering be more expensive than a
restaurant?"
A.
Well, essentially we create a restaurant for you, for one
meal, one time.
Regardless of how clever we may be it's not possible to do
this for less than a restaurant that's open 6 or 7 days a
week. Besides having real chefs working for us, just like a
restaurant, as well as wait staff, we also have a part of our
business that's all too similar to a moving company; we have
to plot routes to get you your party, figure in travel time
and the effect of rush hour traffic, and maintain a fleet of
vehicles. None of these costs are part of the restaurant
scene. Restaurants and caterers both feed guests, but other
than that our businesses are quite different.
On the other hand we don't hustle you out because we want to
seat someone else at your table! An off-premise event has your
signature written all over it in a way that a restaurant
dinner never can.
Interestingly, a client for whom we recently catered a short,
stand-up buffet lunch after a bat mitzvah, and who had a big
dinner for 200 at a restaurant afterwards, told us, "I'd
never do it again this way, though they're going to do a nice
job. I'm holding their hand through all the planning, but
you're a caterer and you're holding my hand, guiding me, and
that's so much easier."
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Q.
We
have experienced palates. Can you accommodate us?
A.
After being in business for 24 years we have hundreds of
recipes, featuring all kinds of cuisine. You're likely to find
foods to drool over in our repertoire. We can incorporate
specific dishes upon request, although it we may have to spend
time developing your recipe to insure that Aunt Mabel's
family favorite can be scaled to serve the 237 guests at your
wedding. Additionally we have successfully catered vegan
meals, Indian/Jewish weddings, Korean weddings, and business
luncheons for visiting Japanese businessmen. Special orders
don't upset us....
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Q.
Our
event is scheduled to go until 11:00 PM. What happens if we
want to go a little longer?
A.
No problem. Our pricing to you includes service until a
pre-determined time. and the supervisors know to check with
you 20 minutes or so before the scheduled finish time to see
if you're okay with closing down the party at your original
time. If you choose to extend the party we'll say,
"Great!," and bill you in 1/2 hour increments.
Regardless, linens will not be snapped off the tables at 11:01
PM. While we can occasionally send home a staff person or
three, more often than not we need our full crew to stay to
the end since the breakdown is just as large at 11:30 as it
would have been at 11 PM.
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Q.
I'd
like to have the leftover food, okay?
A.
Our insurance agent and lawyer both tell us it's dangerous for
us to leave food behind, since we concede control over how and
when it's served once we're gone. On the other hand we don't
want you sitting around, basking in the afterglow of a rockin'
good time, hungry but with nothing to eat. So we make an
effort to leave you with some leftovers we're comfortable with
packing up for you from a safety aspect.
Clients who order food à la carte from our Take Out Menu get
every last morsel of food they ordered packed away carefully
in their refrigerator. (But only if the guests haven't wolfed
it all down once they've tasted it.)
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Q.
How are your staff dressed?
A. We have two
standard uniforms for floor staff. For home parties and
other, less formal events our staff wear a royal blue shirt
with a tie, black trousers and black shoes. Our other uniform
is a white tux shirt with wing collar, black bowtie, black
vest, black trousers and shoes, and a long white apron.
We can arrange for staff in full tuxedo wear or other outfits.
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Q.
Can I
pay with a credit card?
A.
Yes, you can. We accept VISA and Mastercard.
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Q.
When
do you need my final guest count?
A.
We get a
guaranteed count one week before your event. In the ensuing
week that number may increase, but not decrease.
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Q.
When
is my bill due?
A.
Private clients' invoices should be paid in full by the day of
their event.
Corporate clients unable to accommodate this
payment schedule have 30 days net. Deposits are required from
all clients in order for us to place your event on our
calendar. In the case of events with a longer lead time,
and/or larger invoices, a schedule of 2nd and 3rd deposits may
be established.
If there are additional charges that come up during your party
we're happy to bill you after the event.
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Q.
If I
don't eat all my vegetables will you still serve me dessert?
A.
Yes. We're not your mother and will not report to her.
Promise.
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