Nasi box
One rice, one protein, a vegetable, sambal and fruit. Boxed, labelled with the contents and any allergens, delivered hot.
Those are the two lines that surprise people on a catering invoice, and hiding them inside a per-head number is how the industry does it. Ours are on the calculator before you speak to anybody.
A buffet for sixty needs the same chafing dishes and nearly the same staff as one for eighty, so it is billed at eighty — and unless somebody tells you that, you find out on the invoice. Staff are rostered as whole teams of six or ten, so the eighty-first guest costs an entire second team.
Both are on the calculator, with the total divided by the guests you actually have. That figure is the only one worth comparing between caterers.
Written out because catering is judged on twenty minutes at the buffet and decided nine hours earlier.
“Three caterers quoted us a per-head price. Only one of them mentioned that we would be billed for eighty when we had sixty-two guests. That is why we used them.”
Ibu Ratna · family wedding, 62 guests
“The vegetarian count was wrong on our side and they cooked twelve extra portions without being asked and without charging. I only found out because a guest mentioned it.”
Pak Damar · company launch, 240 guests
“The dessert table was late by twenty minutes and the supervisor came and told me before I noticed. Small thing, and it is the reason I have booked them four times since.”
Sekar · engagement, 130 guests
The calculator takes two minutes and shows the minimum order and the staffing separately. If the number works, the tasting is free — four people, Tuesday or Thursday, the actual dishes from your menu rather than a showcase.