Catering Cost Per Head: How to Work It Out (UK)
The per-head calculation itself, why it moves with guest count, and the fixed costs that do not scale.
The short answer
Catering cost per head is the total event cost, food plus staff plus travel plus hire, divided by the confirmed guest count. It is not the food cost per portion. Because staff and travel stay almost flat as guest numbers change, your cost per head rises as the booking shrinks.
Step by step
- Total the whole event, not one plate. Add food, staff, travel, hire and disposables into a single event cost.
- Separate what scales from what does not. Food scales with guests. Staff, travel and hire mostly do not. Knowing which is which tells you how the price should move.
- Divide by the contracted guest count. Use the confirmed number, and re-run the figure whenever it changes.
- Set a minimum event charge. Below a certain guest count the fixed costs make a sensible per-head price look absurd, so charge a floor instead.
The same menu at three guest counts
Food at £8.50 a head, £308 of staff, £95 travel and £70 hire held constant.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| 40 guests, food | £340.00 |
| 40 guests, cost per head | £20.32 |
| 100 guests, food | £850.00 |
| 100 guests, cost per head | £13.23 |
| 160 guests, food | £1,360.00 |
| 160 guests, cost per head | £11.46 |
The same menu and the same staffing produce a cost per head that varies by over £8. Quoting one flat per-head rate across every booking size is how small events quietly subsidise large ones.
Why it matters
A guest count that drops after you have quoted does not reduce your staffing or your mileage. Without re-costing, the shortfall comes straight out of your margin, and it is invisible until the invoices land.