What corporate catering costs per person
Most companies want two answers before they plan a team lunch or a client event: what it costs per person, and whether there’s a minimum. Here are both for Handheld Catering, followed by five ways to keep the total down without cutting quality.
These are the per-guest ranges on our corporate event catering page. Your final price depends on guest count, menu, venue and service level.
| Type of event | Per guest |
|---|---|
| Corporate breakfast | $20 to $55 |
| Corporate lunch (boxed lunches start at $18) | $18 to $75 |
| Full-service dining: buffet, family-style or plated | $90 to $300+ |
| Executive events and C-suite dinners | $150 to $350+ |
Order minimums
Weekday corporate events before 5 PM have a $600 minimum. Events after 5 PM, and any event on a weekend, have a $1,500 minimum.
Five ways to fit corporate catering into your budget
1. Book early
Booking ahead gives you the full menu to choose from and time to match portions and service to your headcount. If you feed your team every week or every month, tell us up front so we can plan a recurring order around your budget.
2. Choose buffet or family-style over plated
Plated meals take more staff to serve, which is why they sit at the top of the full-service range. A buffet or family-style service still looks good on the table, lets guests choose their own portions and needs fewer servers.
3. Be strategic with the menu
Chicken and vegetarian entrees usually cost less than steak or seafood and work just as well with the right preparation. Seasonal produce helps too. Our sample corporate menu shows what a typical lunch looks like, and we can build a version around your budget.
4. Match the service to the occasion
A working lunch doesn’t need servers. Drop-off catering or boxed lunches keep labor costs out of the bill. Save full service for client dinners, anniversaries and other events where the room matters, and even then one or two servers with a buffet line often does the job.
5. Keep it with one caterer
Ordering drinks, snacks and desserts with the meal means one delivery, one setup and one invoice instead of three vendors to coordinate.
Corporate catering cost: quick answers
How much does corporate catering cost per person?
At Handheld Catering, corporate lunch runs $18 to $75 per guest, breakfast $20 to $55, full-service dining $90 to $300+ and executive dinners $150 to $350+.
Is there a minimum order?
Yes. $600 for weekday corporate events before 5 PM, and $1,500 for events after 5 PM and on weekends.
What’s the most affordable way to feed a team?
Boxed lunches, from $18 per guest, delivered without service staff.
Plan your next corporate event
Tell us your headcount, date and budget and we’ll put together a menu that fits. Get a corporate catering quote.
