Save up to $1,000 - Negotiate Cake Cutting Fees Charged by Hotels

Yesterday I spoke with the mother of a bride who refused to use a hotel to cater her daughter’s wedding simply because they refused to waive their cake cutting fee.  The bride’s best friend was a fabulous professional baker and as a gift, was providing the cake.  For four dollars a person, the hotel lost the bride’s business which would have easily been five figures.

Go figure….Why do hotels charge this fee in the first place for couples who wish to bring in their own cake from their favorite baker?   It’s all about money…..if they allow outside cakes, they lose the revenue they would earn from either marking up the cake prepared from their in-house baker, or their mark-up from their preferred outside cake vendor.  As a business man I understand that the hotel’s food and beverage department looks to maximize their revenue…..but is it worth losing a large wedding over such a small amount?  I doubt it.

So what’s the bottom line here?  Wedding couples, moms and dads listen carefully!!!…if you wish to bring in your own cake from an approved source you should be able to negotiate not having to pay the cake-cutting fee.  How much does it cost the hotel to cut your cake?  Maybe one broken plate and some dishwashing labor and handling along with the chemicals to clean the plates…the wait staff are already working.  They can take out ten minutes or so to cut and serve the cake…come on!!!!

As an off-premise caterer, we welcome outside cakes from approved vendors, and we do not charge a cake-cutting fee….and we have the cost of renting or providing the plate and fork.  A cake cutting fee is one charge that you should not have to pay, and for a wedding of 200 guests, this can reach close to $1,000 or even more.

Secrets to Successful Food Tastings

Ok, I do hate to admit this, but for quite a few years, I hated to do food tastings…having catered thousands of weddings since the late 1960’s I’ve seen huge changes in the way weddings are planned.  For many brides in my early years, their menu planning thoughts were, “Bill, whatever you think our guests would like…we trust your judgment and experience!”  Fast forward four decades and things have changed…wedding couples are much more educated thanks to Martha Stewart, Colin Cowie, The Knot and myriad other wedding planning gurus on TV and in print.

This coming Wednesday, I am doing a food tasting for close to one hundred clients and friends.   This is a great time for my team to exhibit what we do best, as well as find out more about what our clients like and even dislike.

Here are a few iron-clad tips for “food tasters” planning weddings and special events.

1.     Rely on your caterers suggestions as to what will work and what will not work.  Remember, we’ve seen many more weddings than you have…the good, the bad and the ugly.

2.     Aim to please, not to impress…one bride for whom I catered tried to impress her guests by passing around bottles of Johnny Walker Blue with the bottles prominently displayed  on silver trays…obviously trying to impress her guests…it didn’t work, and interestingly enough, many of her invited guests did not even show up.

3.     Just because you’re a vegan or some type of vegetarian, that does not mean that your guests will like what you eat and like.  Remember, aim to please, not convert your guests into your way of eating….if you do, there will be a long line at the closest steakhouse once your wedding is concluded.

4.     Don’t be afraid to ask your caterer to prepare special dishes and recipes.  Good caterers enjoy the challenge of using Aunt Millie’s recipe.  Ask your caterer first to make a trial batch so that you can taste it and adjust if necessary.

5.     Don’t try to make a large batch of something for your wedding unless they have commercial cooking experience, and that your caterer will allow it.  One disaster, a few years ago, occurred when the mother of the groom, made a large pot of special soup for 80 guests, and put it in a home style refrigerator overnight.  When we were given then soup to heat up before service, the soup had spoiled since the small fridge was not powerful enough to cool it to a safe temp.

6.     Lastly, it is your wedding and you should have the foods you want that will please your guests.  Only use caterers who understand that idea.   

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

Brides ask us all the time how much does it costs for a wedding cake.  Just as houses come in all different price ranges, so do wedding cakes.  Some supermarkets make pretty good wedding cakes at under $2 per slice.  Over-the-top wedding cakes produced by Ana Paz and other high quality cake designers can cost five to ten times or more that price.  Mid-range wedding cakes cost in the $3 to $4 per slice range.

I always recommend to my brides that they prioritize the importance of the various components of their wedding:  venue, catering, music, flowers, cake, décor, photography, lighting, beverages, etc.  Then list them from most to least important.  If the wedding cake is at the top of your list, then spending more for a better looking and tasting cake may make sense.  If the cake is simply something you want to have, merely as a formality, then why spend a fortune on the cake?

Over the years I’ve seen and cut thousands of cakes….I’ve tried to cut beautiful ones that are so dry inside they crumbled into an unrecognizable pile, ones that have fondant thick enough to require a chain saw to cut through, and ones that look great and taste way less than that.  (By the way,  just to set the record straight, Bill Hansen Catering does not make wedding cakes, and we only recommend bakers that we can trust not to let the above happen).

Most cakes not that memorable…a few are, such as the Crockenbush (Piece Monte), one made completely from Haagen-Dazs ice cream (boy, we had to move fast before it melted), cupcake tree cakes, groom’s cakes shaped like cigar boxes, and the list goes on… How about this one from the Internet? 

  

 

Wedding Cake Topped with a Large Wheel of Cheese with a Greek Gyro Round on top of that, Topped with Whipped Cream and  a Strawberry the size of Rhode Island.

Whatever your taste may be, there’s always a cake fit for your very special day….For more information on weddings cakes, as well as anything else having to do with weddings, please e-mail me at hansen@leadingcaterers.com

Tea Drinkers Are Often Treated as Second Class Citizens

January is National Hot Tea Drinkers month....7% of the U.S. populace rate tea as their hot beverage of choice.  But what happens at a typical catered event?  The coffee and decaf drinkers get theirs, and if you’re lucky you will get your tea sometime before everyone leaves.  Tea drinks at many banquet facilities, hotels and off-site catering venues are treated as second-class citizens. Some even bring their own knee pads so that they can kneel down next to their seat and beg for just a cup of hot water….they came prepared with their own tea bags and few with a lemon wedge or two tucked neatly away in their purse of jacket.


This is too bad…..I can remember 30 years ago when I first started catering we were lucky if we could get the coffee to brew before blowing a fuse or circuit breaker, much less consider serving tea….it was most definitely an after-thought.   We would scramble for a clean pot to boil the water in, and then tried to find where someone hid the lemons and the actual tea bags…I’m sure basic Lipton!!!
Times have changed since the early 1980’s, and now Bill Hansen Catering is proud to serve hot tea drinkers before their Juan Valdez loving friends who love the cuppajoe……We proudly serve Mighty Leaf Tea…from a classic tea box…


Here’s how it works:  Ladies and Gentlemen, we about to begin after dinner beverage service, but first, who would like tea?”


January is also National Eat Your Prunes for Breakfast month…we have no comment and plead the fifth…

Ten Fun Facts About Bill Hansen and Bill Hansen Catering

• In April 1998, Bill Hansen and his late partner, Bill Hendrich helped cater Tiger Woods’ cheeseburger, French fry and milk shake dinner at the Champions’ Feast at Augusta National Golf Club on the Tuesday night before the Masters.  In attendance were Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and 20+ other winners of the tournament since 1935.  

• In the summer of 2007, Bill and Terry Hansen flew to Nicaragua to visit the homes of their key culinary team members, who have worked for  Bill Hansen Catering since the mid-1980’s.  They visited the homes where their staffers grew up, along with the jungles and beaches.  The entourage also overnighted on a private island in the center of Lake Nicaragua in a private home with a private chef who rowed her way back on forth with fresh vittles.

• In 1982, Bill Hansen ran in and completed the New York Marathon.  He finished right behind the winner that year, Alberto Salazar!!!.......Two Hours Behind Him!!!!!

• We’ve witnessed both dogs and ferrets as ring-bearers for the thousands of weddings that we have catered in the past 30 years.

• Over the past 30 years, Bill Hansen estimates that he sliced over 10,000 whole beef tenderloins.

• And speaking of 10,000, in 1995 Bill Hansen Catering was selected to cater for 10,000 French plumbers and their wives at Miami Seaquarium.

• Senior event planner and sales manager Janet McDonald’s first professional job offer was to write the Playboy Advisor .  Her mother told her “No Way!!!”

• Executive Chef Tim Andriola owns Timo Restaurant in Sunny Isles, prior to holding the position of Executive Chef at Mark’s on South Beach, sous chef for Chef Allen, as well as holding down stints at world famous eateries Charlie Trotters in Chicago and Chez Panisse in Berkley.  

• Key staffers who plan events and help create amazing experiences, Lev Shanaidman, Shaneil Sibblies and Stephanie Lim are all former students of Bill’s at Florida International University.  Along with other key staff members Bills’ staff can communicate in over ten different languages.

• In 1997, Bill Hansen catered for Pope John Paul II and President and Mrs. Reagan at Villa Vizcaya.  He was also selected to cater for both Presidents’ Bush.

Questions to Ask Your Caterer—Secrets to Entertaining Success

The right answers to these questions will help guarantee an excellent working relationship with your caterer.  If you want to create an affair that will generate rave reviews from those in attendance, these questions will help you begin the planning process.

Who is the contact person when planning the event?

Who is the contact person during the event?

What does the chef prepare best?

What are your portion sizes?

When will coffee be served?

Will wine be poured by the staff or placed on the tables?

Is the champagne just for the toast, or will it be served from the bar?

When do you suggest we do the champagne toast and cut the cake?

Will you provide a cake table for the wedding cake? Do you charge a cake cutting fee?

Where will the place cards and gifts be placed?

Will you assist with valet parking, music, flowers, photography, décor, event planning  etc.?

Is there a curfew at the event site?

How many staff will be working the event?

How is your staff attired?

What are your substitution policies?  Are vegetarian and special meals available?

Should we offer after dinner drinks on the bars?

Since all the guests are arriving at once, could you pass wine or champagne as they arrive?

How many bartenders will be serving drinks during the cocktail hour?

Will the bars be open during dinner?

Will cocktails be served by your wait staff, or will guests need to go to the bar?

Will you feed the band members, photographers and others working the event?

When can I expect your written proposal?

What is your policy regarding deposits and cancellations?

When is the final payment due?

Are there other charges for set-up, delivery, overtime, etc.?

Do you take credit cards?  Do you take personal checks?

When must I give you my final guarantee?

What percentage is overset?

What is the sales tax, and what are you gratuity/service charge policies?

What time can we have access to decorate the room/area?

What are the smoking policies?

Will you provide table numbers?

What size tables do you offer? 

What are the options for linen, chair covers, china, stemware, flatware, charger plates?

What decorations do you provide for tables, buffets, and food stations?

Are there facilities available at the site for handicapped?

Can you provide bathroom attendants?

Can you provide a podium, mike and overhead projector?

Bill Hansen

Bill Hansen Catering

Since 1980

www.billhansencatering.com

www.villa-woodbine.com

Founder and CEO

Leading Caterers of America