How to Sell More Catering Orders for Your Restaurant

To sell more catering orders, make catering easy to find, easy to understand and easy to order. That means a clear catering menu with packages by group size, photos of the actual trays, one phone number or chat to order from, and a steady effort to reach the groups that order food for many people: offices, schools, community centers and families planning gatherings. Most restaurants already have customers who would order catering. They just do not know it is offered, or they cannot work out what to ask for.

Here is how we would set it up for any New York restaurant, starting with what costs the least and reaches the most people.

Tell the customers you already have

Your best catering leads are standing at your counter every day. Someone who loves your chicken over rice at lunch is often the same person who orders food for the office meeting or the family get-together on Saturday. The problem is that most restaurants only mention catering in small print, if at all.

• A catering poster near the register and the pickup area, where people wait with nothing to look at.
• Table tents that say "We cater" with a photo of a full tray and the number to call.
• A small catering card or flyer in every takeout bag.
• A line on your digital menu board or TV screen that rotates in a catering slide.
• Staff who mention it when someone places a large order: "Did you know we do trays for groups?"

Build a catering menu people can order from in one call

A catering menu is not your regular menu with bigger numbers. People ordering for a group want to answer three questions fast: what do I get, how many people does it feed, and how do I order. Lay it out so they can decide without calling you to ask.

1. 01

   Group the options by headcount

   Packages for a small group, a medium group and a large group are much easier to choose from than a list of single trays. Say plainly how many people each one serves.

2. 02

   Show exactly what is in each package

   Rice, protein, salad, sauces, bread. List the tray sizes so nobody is surprised at pickup.

3. 03

   Give the package a name

   A named package is easier to remember and to ask for again. It also makes the menu feel planned rather than improvised.

4. 04

   Add extras and dessert at the end

   Extra sides, bread, falafel, dessert trays. This is where a simple order grows into a full spread.

5. 05

   Put the ordering details at the bottom

   Phone, WhatsApp or text, address, how much notice you need, whether you deliver, and any rules about pickup. If your food is halal, say so clearly; for many groups it decides the order.

Photograph the trays, not just the plates

Someone ordering for thirty people wants to see what thirty people will be eating. A single plate shot does not answer that. Photograph full trays from above, laid out the way they will arrive: the rice, the meat, the salad and the sauce cups lined up beside them. Shoot a spread of several trays together too, since that is the picture people imagine on the office table.

Use these photos everywhere: on the catering menu, on your website, on your Google Business Profile and in your Instagram highlights. A short reel of trays being packed and sealed for a big order is also a quiet way of telling followers that you cater, without making an ad of it.

Make it easy to order online and by phone

Catering customers often plan at their desk or late at night. If the only way to order is to call during your busiest hour, some of them will give up. Give them more than one door in.

• A catering page on your website with the full menu, photos and a simple request form.
• A WhatsApp or text number printed on every catering piece, because many people prefer to send a message.
• The catering link in your Instagram bio and on your Google Business Profile.
• One person on your team who owns catering requests and answers them the same day.

Reach the groups who order again and again

Some customers order catering once. Others order every month. It is worth a little effort to reach the second kind in your own neighborhood.

• Offices, clinics, banks and shops near you that feed staff for meetings and training days.
• Schools, parent associations and sports teams with end-of-season events.
• Mosques, community centers and nonprofits that host dinners and gatherings, especially around Ramadan and Eid.
• Families planning birthdays, graduations and get-togethers at home.
• Event planners and venues that need a reliable food partner.

Drop off a printed catering menu, with a sample tray if you can, and follow up a week later. Keep it friendly and short. One good office account can bring steady orders for years.

A catering customer is not one order. Treat the first tray as the start of a regular account.

Make the second order easier than the first

After the event, send a short thank-you message and ask how it went. If they were happy, ask for a Google review; catering reviews tell the next group that you can handle a big order. With their permission, keep a simple list of catering customers and remind them before the busy seasons: back to school, Ramadan, the holidays and graduation season. Put a catering menu in every catering order, so the next person at that table knows where the food came from.