A lovely enquiry for a busy Saturday
An enquiry arrives for a 200-guest wedding on a Saturday in July. You already have three events that day: a wedding for 120, a corporate barbecue and a small private dinner. The couple are keen and the budget is good.
Can you do it? The owner looks at the calendar and thinks it is probably fine. The head chef, when asked, says the kitchen is already producing for three events on Friday. The operations manager points out there are only three vans and two experienced event managers. And the large chafing dish sets are all booked. Nobody had that picture when the quote went out, and the couple are now expecting a yes.
A calendar counts events, not constraints
Most caterers' diaries record events by date. That is enough to avoid double-booking a single team. It is not enough when you run several events on the same day, each with different demands.
- Kitchen capacity depends on production the day before, not the event day.
- Vans and drivers have to cover drop-offs, services and pack-downs, sometimes at different times.
- Senior people, like event managers and head chefs, are the real limit on how many events can run.
- Equipment like hot boxes, chafing sets and marquee kitchens is finite.
- Casual staff availability varies by date and is not known when the quote goes out.
The owner carries a rough version of all this in their head. It works until the business grows beyond what one person can hold.
Saying yes too often, or no too often
Overloading a weekend is the obvious risk: rushed production, stretched teams and a greater chance of something going wrong at one of the events. Clients do not care that you had four weddings that day.
The less obvious cost is saying no when you could have said yes. A busy-looking date may have room if the new event is small, uses different kit and does not need a senior chef on site. Without a capacity view, the cautious answer is no, and the work goes elsewhere.
A capacity check for every enquiry
- Your constraints are set up once: production capacity per day, vehicles, key roles and the equipment items that commonly run short.
- Each confirmed event records what it uses: production on which days, vehicle slots, which key roles and which limited kit.
- When a new enquiry arrives, its likely requirements are estimated from the event type, numbers and menu style, using the same rules as your quote.
- The capacity view shows, for the date and the day before, what is already committed and what the new event would add.
- Anything that would go over its limit is highlighted, with options such as hiring extra kit, adding a vehicle or moving production earlier.
- Provisional bookings can hold capacity for a set time, so two enquiries for the same busy date do not both get a yes.
| Resource | Already committed | New enquiry adds | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday production | Three events | Large plated wedding | Over, unless prep starts Thursday |
| Vans | Three in use | One more needed | Hire a van |
| Event managers | Two booked | One needed | Over, need a freelance manager |
| Chafing sets | All booked | Not needed for this menu | Fine |
The view never decides for you. It shows what a yes would take, so you can decide whether it is worth it.
Answering enquiries with confidence
When a new enquiry lands, whoever picks it up can see in a minute whether the date is open, tight or full, and what would need to change to take it. The owner makes the call with the facts rather than a gut feeling, and the head chef and operations manager are not asked the same question over and over.
Across the season, you can see which dates were turned down and why. That is useful when deciding whether to invest in another van, more kit or another senior hire.
It also helps with pricing. Busy dates that would need extra resources can carry a different price, and quieter dates can be offered more flexibly, based on something more than instinct.
Is this your diary?
- Only the owner can say whether a busy date has room.
- You have overloaded a weekend and regretted it.
- You have turned down work without knowing if you could have done it.
- Vans, kit or senior staff are the real limit, not the calendar.