making desserts for a caterer

[lilthorner]

on a few occasions, I have made desserts for a caterer and she is asking me to do it again.. "a dessert bar for 150" is what she is asking for. the last times, I made sweet potato tart, pecan tarts, lemon tarts (like chess pie, not meringue), one time I made cupcakes and tarts..

I have a couple of things I am dealing with here. Those other times I charged by the item and I think that she really didn't get enough pieces per person, but thats not really my problem LOL. this time she is just asking for buffet for x amount of people, I will most likely suggest 2.5-3 pieces per person total. my dilemma is if I should continue to charge her by the piece or if I should have a listing like these desserts are xx. per 100 or per 50 OR (another twist) if I say something like x amount per person gets you 3 items off this list or 2 off that one, etc..

I am not really sure, but I can about guarantee that she marks up from what I charge her, although she does let it be known that she has a someone she works with to bake and will give my information if asked. I'm trying to get myself the best price (wholesale I suppose) but not have to rethink this every time she asks me.

so I am asking the experts.

[Pam R]

How do you cut your desserts? Wedges? Small pieces (like a wedding cake)?

We are caterers and we do our own baking. We sell by the cake/torte not by person, but have a general idea of how many desserts we need for different group sizes.

[tino27]

I would see selling by the "batch". In other words, if a single batch makes 50 individual servings, sell it based on 50. That way you won't have to make half-batches and possibly have to throw away good profits.

I've seen rental companies do that as well with things like dishes, glassware, etc. You have to rent plates 10 at a time, that kind of thing.

[lilthorner]

Pam, I am thinking mainly mini desserts, not cakes that I would have to cut.. unless it is in bars. like a cheesecake or lemon bar or something

[sugarseattle]

firstly, of course caterers would be marking up your desserts, at least 2x, but most likely 3x. This is because they have to cover the costs of their overhead, how much they pay their servers to serve it, etc.

you can base your pricing either by the piece or by the person. either way,you are going to have to be clear about your serving sizes. For example, i price my minis by the dozen, and most catering companies will budget for 1-1/2 pieces per person so if they are serving 12 people, that will be 16 pieces. However, since I only sell them wholesale by the dozen, they would have to either buy 1 or 2 dozen. Think about it...they are getting the wholesale price based on a certain QUANTITY. you don't go to costco and say i just want 1 roll of toilet paper, right?

then, you should make up a quick price sheet that shows how you are pricing....for example...

pricing per piece

minis: $12/dozen, we recommend 1.5 per person

whole tarts: $24/tart, serves 12

etc.

pricing per person

minis, $2.50 per person, portion = 1.5 pieces

whole tarts, $2.00 per person, portion tarts into 12 slices

personally, i think pricing per piece is better for the baker because you are charging for what you are actually giving them. ALso, since this is a wholesale situation, your margins are very low so you're going to have to make sure to watch your food costs very carefully. So if your client wants to serve 11 people with a tart, they will only pay $22 bucks versus the $24 bucks you will get if you sell by the piece.

I have a client who always asks for "desserts for 35" or something. I always turn it back around and say "we sell our desserts by the dozen and recommend 1-1/2 pieces per person. How many dozen would you like to order?"

also, be sure to think about minimums for each of your items...it takes just as long to make batter for 12 cupcakes as it does for 24...

Edited July 4, 2008 by sugarseattle (log)

[lilthorner]

thank you stephanie.. I am still going back and forth on this, mainly becasue I just want to bake. I hate thinking about pricing, also I want to do it "right" so I don't have to do it again, except to reevaluate my pricing when eggs go up again. Oh wait, that will be tomorrow huh?