A catering website that turns event plans into quote requests

Who's shortlisting you

Catering enquiries come from very different people: a couple planning a wedding a year ahead, an office manager ordering lunch for Thursday, a family organising a wake at a few days' notice, an events agency comparing five suppliers. Each needs to find their kind of event quickly. Lead with the event types you do, as clear links, rather than a single page of everything.

Sample menus by event type

Sample menus show your style and help clients picture the day. Group them by event, not by course:

Weddings

Canapés, a sit-down or sharing-style meal, evening food, and how tasting sessions work.

Corporate

Breakfast meetings, working lunches, drop-off platters and evening receptions, with delivery and collection notes.

Private parties

Buffets, grazing tables, barbecues and hog roasts, with whether staff serve or it's drop-off.

Funerals and wakes

Simple, respectful menus that can be arranged at short notice, with a direct phone number.

Keep menus in an Anticode CMS collection with fields for event type, season, dishes and a short note. Each menu gets its own page, and seasonal changes are a dashboard edit. Mark menus as samples, so clients know you'll tailor one to them.

Price guidance without a price list

Clients want a rough idea before they enquire, and caterers worry a number will be taken as a fixed quote. A range per head for each event type, with what's included (food, staff, crockery, travel within an area) and what isn't (drinks, hire equipment, venue fees), meets both needs. State minimum numbers or a minimum spend in plain words, and any travel or out-of-hours charges. You don't need to show figures in a table if they vary too much; describe how the price is built.

The quote enquiry

This is the form that matters. Ask for everything you need to price an event in one go:

1. Event type and date, with a second-choice date if they're flexible.
2. Venue or postcode, and whether there's a kitchen, power and parking on site.
3. Number of guests, including children.
4. Style of service: canapés, buffet, sit-down, drop-off.
5. Dietary needs and allergies, as numbers rather than names.
6. Budget per head or in total, and how they found you.

With this many questions, use a custom form tied to a site function (up to 30 text fields), or ask for the enquiry form as an app build; both reach you through Anticode's form pipeline. The site function can run a small formula over the numbers sent, such as guest count times a per-head figure, and show a ballpark on the thank-you page while you prepare the real quote. Formulas work on numbers only, so service style still needs your judgement. Each enquiry is saved, sealed at rest and can be emailed to you; with connectors it can also land in a Google Sheet, Airtable base or HubSpot as a lead.

Dietary needs and allergens

Clients worry about guests with allergies, and the way you answer is a reason to choose you. Explain how you handle dietary requirements: separate preparation, labelling at the table, which allergens your kitchen handles, and what you can't guarantee. Follow the allergen rules where you trade. The business is responsible for its own food safety and allergen wording.

Why the booking calendar isn't the right tool here

Anticode's booking calendar suits appointments: it shows the coming days, refuses dates more than 120 days ahead and takes one booking per slot. Catering dates are often booked many months out, need a quote first, and don't fit a time slot. Use the enquiry form for event dates. The calendar can still be useful for tasting sessions or a call to talk through a menu.

Common mistakes

• Glossy stock photos of food you don't make. Photograph your own dishes and set-ups at real events, with the client's permission.
• A contact form with one message box, which brings back enquiries reading "how much for 80 people?"
• No minimum numbers, so you spend time on enquiries you can't take.
• Hiding the areas you cover.

Building it with Anticode

Describe the business in a sentence: "an event caterer in Leicester doing weddings, corporate lunches and private parties, with sample menus and a detailed quote enquiry". The Architect shows a plan with Services, Pricing and Contact pages and asks the questions that change the build. Editorial (Geist) suits a refined caterer, Organic (Figtree) a seasonal, farm-to-table one, and Playful (Fredoka) a street-food style business. See also food trucks and event planners.

Limits

• No availability calendar for event dates or provisional holds.
• No deposits or invoices. Take deposits through a payment link or your accounting tool.
• No online ordering or cart for drop-off catering.

Questions people ask

Should a caterer put prices on their website?

A price range per head for each event type, with what's included, helps clients shortlist. Exact quotes still follow the enquiry.

What should a catering enquiry form ask?

Event type, date, venue, guest numbers, service style, dietary needs, budget and how to contact them. Those let you quote straight away.

Can clients book a tasting online?

Yes. A tasting or menu call fits the booking calendar, which takes one booking per slot and shows the coming days.