How to Build a Catering Program from Scratch

You've decided your restaurant should offer catering. Good. It's one of the highest-margin revenue streams you can add. Now where do you start?

Here's the sequence, from zero to your first orders. Each phase builds on the last.

Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1-2)

Define your catering niche

You don't need to cater everything. Start with what fits your kitchen.

• Fast-casual restaurant → corporate lunch platters and boxed meals
• BBQ joint → event catering and party packages
• Mexican restaurant → taco bars and burrito bowls for offices
• Deli/sandwich shop → platter trays and boxed lunches
• Bakery → breakfast meetings and dessert catering
• Pizza shop → pizza party packages for offices and events

Pick the 1-2 types you already cook well and that someone nearby actually wants.

Research your local market

Before you build a menu, get a few answers.

• Who's nearby? - offices, coworking spaces, hospitals, schools, corporate parks
• What do they order? - ask your regular customers if their offices order catering
• Who else caters locally? - what restaurants, caterers, or marketplaces serve your area
• What's missing? - is there a gap you can fill (healthy options, ethnic cuisine, dietary-friendly)?

A 30-minute drive around your delivery radius beats any market report.

Set your goals

Be specific: 5 catering orders per week within 3 months, $3,000/month in catering revenue by month 4, 3 recurring corporate accounts by month 6. Write them down. You need something to measure against, and so does your team.

Phase 2: Build the product (Week 2-3)

Create your catering menu

We've got a full guide on creating a catering menu. Short version:

• Start with 3-5 packages, not 20 individual items
• Use per-person pricing - easier for customers and for you
• Set minimums - 10-15 people or $150 minimum for delivery
• Include dietary options - vegetarian at minimum, vegan/GF as add-ons
• Offer add-ons - beverages, desserts, serving supplies

Set your pricing

Our catering pricing guide goes deep. In short, target 30-35% food cost including packaging, price delivery separately ($25-$50) or build it into a minimum, plan your deposit structure for large orders, and require 24-48 hours of lead time.

Get your packaging

Order disposable catering packaging early: foil pans with lids for hot items, plastic platters with dome lids for cold, boxed lunch containers if you offer individual boxes, utensils, napkins, labels, and insulated bags for the drive. Budget $1-$2 per person and bake it into your pricing.

Phase 3: Set up your systems (Week 3-4)

Online ordering

Set up online catering ordering so customers can order from your website. If you do one thing on this list, do this. Customers stop emailing back and forth, and you stop retyping orders.

FlashCater gets most restaurants live in under a week, with a branded ordering page, payment processing, and an order management dashboard.

Not ready for software? At minimum, a PDF menu and a Google Form. But don't sit there long, because the ROI is immediate.

Order management

Decide how you'll track catering orders. Three options.

• Best: Dedicated catering software with dashboard and calendar
• Okay: Google Calendar + spreadsheet (works for fewer than 5 orders/week)
• Bad: Memory and sticky notes

Pick one before the first order shows up, not after.

Kitchen prep workflow

Decide when and where catering prep happens before it hits the lunch rush.

• Prep timing - start 2-4 hours before delivery for most items
• Dedicated station - even a small section of counter helps
• Packing checklist - print a list for every order so nothing gets forgotten
• Quality check - one person verifies the packed order against the ticket before it goes out

Phase 4: Launch and promote (Week 4-5)

Announce to existing customers

Your warmest leads already love your food and don't know you cater. Email your list, post photos of the actual spreads, put table tents and signage in the restaurant, and have staff mention it to regulars.

Local business outreach

Highest-ROI tactic on this page, and the one most owners skip. The full guide is getting catering clients. Four steps.

1. List 15-20 nearby offices
2. Bring sampler trays during lunch hours
3. Leave a catering menu + ordering link
4. Follow up within a week

First-order incentive

Lower the barrier. 10% off the first catering order, free delivery on the first order, or a complimentary dessert platter with orders over $200. Pick one.

Online presence

Add catering to your Google Business Profile, put a catering page on your website (or link to your ordering page), and post about catering on social media 2-3x per week.

Phase 5: Optimize and grow (Month 2+)

Track what matters

After your first month, review these.

Iterate your menu

Your first 20-30 orders will tell you what to change.

• Drop items that don't sell
• Add items customers request
• Adjust pricing if food cost is off target
• Add seasonal or rotating options

Build repeat systems

The automation guide covers this in detail: automated re-order emails, customer preferences tracked in your CRM, a follow-up after every delivery, and a quarterly check-in with your top accounts.

Scale carefully

Don't chase volume before your operations are solid. 8 perfect orders a week beats 15 with mistakes. Scale when your current volume runs with no errors, your kitchen can take more without hurting dine-in, and you have (or can hire) dedicated delivery capacity.

The timeline

Stick to this plan and most restaurants end up with a working program doing $2,000-$5,000/month within 3 months.