I've never had a caterer before. How does this work?

That is a great question! Contrary to popular opinion, catering is not only for fancy, large parties (though it can be). We have catered events ranging from team meals for University of California sports teams to company holiday parties to weddings.

We are happy to work within different budgets and with different levels of service desired. Do you want us to just drop food off or do you want us to stay and serve your guests? Do you want a full meal or simply a few appetizers? Feel free to look through our menu and past events pages to get ideas of the kinds of foods that we offer. Don't see what you are looking for? Those pages are just a sampling of the kinds of food we can prepare, so please ask if there is a specific dish you are looking for. 

Our approach to catering is simple: we will work as hard as we can to ensure that each and every client gets the food that he or she wants, no matter the budget, size or menu.  Please contact us and we will help to guide you through the process of designing a menu that ensures your event goes off perfectly. 

You mentioned different levels of service. Can you explain what those levels are?

Another great question! At Simply Satisfied Catering, we pride ourselves not only on our delicious food, but also on our ability to work with our clients to provide them with the event that they desire.

We can either: 1) drop off your food and leave (there is a delivery fee if the delivery is outside of Yolo County), 2) drop off your food and set up a buffet using our chafing dishes, platters and serving utensils. At least one member of our team will arrive at your event to set up the buffet and pick up the supplies at a later time. The cost of that staff member is included in our standard service fee. Like most catering companies, we charge a service fee of 18%, which also helps cover our overhead costs, like insurances, errands, planning, etc. For some larger buffet events, additional service staff may be required, at a price of $25/hour per staff member. Finally, 3) we can bring your food or prepare it at your event, as well as plate and serve your food. With that option, there is also a fee of $25/hour per service staff member needed for your event. For both options 2) and 3), staffing needs are determined on a case-by-case basis, as each event is unique. For all non-drop-off meals, we ensure that there is a staff member to stay during your event to replenish the buffet, clean up the buffet table and make sure everything goes smoothly.

If you choose to have staff stay for your event (either option 2 or 3 as listed above), rest assured that our staff is very knowledgable about how the food is prepared, as well as what foods are safe for vegetarians, gluten intolerant guests, etc. The staff is also very personable and we pride ourselves on having a staff that is friendly and enjoys interacting with guests. As far as pricing, if you require additional staff beyond our basic staff, we will have them there before your event starts; however, unless our staff is doing setup/breakdown, as discussed below, you will not be charged for that staff until your event starts and you will only be charged for the time that our staff is actively serving, directing or clearing plates. There will be an additional charge of $25/hour/staff member if you would like us to setup and/or breakdown your event.

Do you have plates, utensils, glasses, etc. that we can use?

We do provide a dinner or lunch plate, a beverage glass and utensils (knife, fork and spoon) for a fee of $3.00/person. That price includes delivery of the items as well as the washing of those items--there is no clean up for you!

Additional items can be rented from us including: champagne glasses, wine glasses, salad/dessert plates.