Culinary Concerts inc. - Pricing Page

Culinary Concerts Price Guide

To determine a menu price, we calculate a variety of cost factors such as the guest count and scale of the event, timing, amount of food required for the serving period, location, and logistics. The price ranges listed herein accurately and historically reflect the scope of work that has been arranged and provided on behalf of our customers across a diverse range of parties and events.

Culinary Concerts' prices will always include the menu, site visits, tastings, unlimited planning with our sales staff, and a creative presentation of the food and drinks. The company has a significant investment in vintage silver, fabrics, antiques, folk art, European serving pieces, unique baskets, eclectic serving wares, and most of the behind-the-scenes equipment (ovens, plate stackers, coffee makers, plate warmers) any party could ever require. These items are always included within the menu price and should save you money as opposed to working with a caterer that must "rent" this equipment and pass all of those costs on to you. Furthermore, the grade of investment we have made in property will give your party a distinctive signature. Your party will probably not look "catered" and that's just fine with us.

*Prices below are per person and are for the menu and menu services described above. Our staff , wine, liquor, and table settings (dish, glass, flatware) are not included in the menu per person price ranges below.

Hors D'oeuvres Receptions

Two hour: $ 15 - $ 35

Three hour: $ 18 - $ 50

Four hour with dessert: $ 25 and up

Stations: $ 25 and up

Desserts: $ 12.50 and up

Lunches / Brunches

Breakfast and Box Lunches: $ 15 and up

Buffets: $ 18 - $ 50

Served: $ 35 and up

Dinners

Buffets: $ 25 and up

Served: $ 35 and up

*Small Dinners

*intimate groups of 8 to 20 guests served are normally $ 55 and up

*Weddings

*All-inclusive wedding packages include the menu, cake, staff, wine and bar, decorative for buffet, stations and bar, standard placesettings, basic linens, unlimited planning and coordination of the day and related.
Please review our weddings page for more details.

*Custom wedding event details will be determined on a per event basis.

*Wedding Prices
(buffets/stations/served/hors d'oeuvres receptions)

Wedding Package Menus priced for the following venues: Eolia Mansion-Harkness,
Wadsworth Mansion: $ 85 and up...

Private homes or other venues: prices to be determined based on menu selection.

Note: Our special-priced wedding menus here on the web-site may result in costs lower than the ranges suggested should you decide on minimal staffing or equipment.

*Children
Children age 5 and under are not charged. We'll prepare your food for them or supply a kids menu at minimal or no-charge. Children ages 6 - 12 are typically half-off the menu price, except for those children being served the same menu as the adults. If a child's portion is requested, the result is again a half-price charge. If the proportion of children attending your event is significant, we may recommend separate food and set-up for them with your approval.

*Musicians and Vendors

Menus and charges for feeding and serving vendors will be determined on an event-to-event basis.

Staff Rates

Chris' services and hours are typically not billed unless he is filling in for a chef or a captain. Chris plays a hands-on role on all of the events the company serves. You'll find Chris most often in the front of the house, blending and conversing with the host and guests while quietly directing his staff.

*Our Staff: Chefs, Bartenders, Servers, and Event Managers
*All tenured employees - no subs or agencies, but only professional people who love the company and help us to achieve remarkable things - every time out. Our full time staff are provided the best benefits package in the local industry.

Billed by the hour without gratuities or service charges.

70 hours and up: $ 38.50 per hour / 30 - 69 hours: $ 40.00 per hour

11 - 29 hours: $ 42.00 per hour / 10 hours or less: $ 45.00 per hour

*Discounts of 10-15% on our staff rates will be applied on larger and/or charitable events and are determined on an event-to-event basis.

Staff-to-Guest Ratios

An extremely important measure of how well your event will flow, and a direct link to the quality of the food and presentation, service of drinks, and the overall design of your party. Culinary Concerts never understaffs their events. In addition, we are extremely well-organized and we get the maximum productivity from every staff person and staff hour.

Cocktail Parties: 1: 10-20 * Buffets: 1: 10-15 * Stations: 1: 8-15

Served Dinners: 1: 4-8

Note: Our staff ratio is defined as one staff member overall to the guest count. Therefore, the staff number in the ratio includes the servers, bartenders, chefs, and captains.

Example: Cocktail party for 300 guests with a moderate menu of passed and displayed foods - A staff of 10 to 15 servers, 4 to 5 beverage staff, 4 to 6 kitchen staff and 1 to 2 service captains would be recommended.

Example: Buffet luncheon for 40 guests with a simple menu and served dessert and coffee - A staff of 3 to 5 servers, 1 beverage staff, and 1 to 2 kitchen staff would be recommended.

Example: Formal served dinner party for 24 guests with h.d.'s, four elegant courses, and after dinner drinks - A staff of 3 to 4 servers, 1 beverage staff (swings to service), and 2 to 3 kitchen staff would be recommended.

Example: Served dinner party for 100 guests with h.d.'s and a simple menu of three courses - A staff of 6 to 9 servers, 1 beverage staff (swings to service), and 2 to 4 kitchen staff would be recommended

Weddings: 1: 6-12

Example: A complete wedding package at Harkness or Wadsworth may average 1 staff member to 12 guests depending on the style of menu.

Example: A custom-design wedding at a private residence or venue can range from 1: 3 to 1: 15.

Travel

Clinton, Guilford, and Madison parties do not incur travel expense. For work out of our area, we will add one-way travel time from Madison, pay our staff that travel time, and bill that time at the same hourly rate your event is billed. If your location is beyond one hour travel from Madison, we'll add up to half of the return trip time. If we are stuck in traffic, or must plan extra travel time due to road work, accidents, peak travel, we do bill for that time. Weekends in the summer get special attention when we travel on I-95.

Incidental travel costs for further distance or out-of-state work will result in added truck charges, tolls, etc. Parking and garage fees for our vehicles are also billed - locally or out of the area. Overall, travel charges will result in added expenses for our customers - but are usually quite nominal.

In-house Rentals

Our party gear is generally discounted 15%-30%, or more, based on the size of the order and the overall scope of your event. Because we own almost all of the equipment everyone else has to rent, we can offer attractive incentives and pricing.

Out-sourced Rentals

Out-sourced rentals will be specified as an itemized cost on the client's invoice.

Linens, Flowers, and Design Work

Linens, flowers and design work will be specified as an itemized cost on the client's invoice.

We will often provide the flowers ourselves for events at great prices, or as accents to presentations at no additional charge. We buy at wholesale from the area's major flower vendors. Our labor to apply fabric to tent poles, string lights, arrange candles, landscape (yes - we've done that too) and related tasks are billed at our lowest hourly rate.

Wine and Spirits

We have a state permit and provide wine and spirits to our clients for their convenience. Preparing our great food and recommending wines from our cellar that will compliment the menu is a task we cherish. Unlike a package store, there are higher costs for us to stock, transport, inventory and serve. Insurance costs are higher as well. Our charges reflect these expenses, however, discounts will be applied on larger orders. Please refer to our wine list for pricing. Note, you may have a full bar with our services and not be stuck at the end of the party with an array of open or partially-served bottles that you have to pay for when you use a package store.

Deposits / Payments

If you are a new customer, we require a non-refundable date deposit of $ 500.00 to guarantee space
on our calendar. Weddings and large events require a non-refundable date deposit of $1,000.00. Since many key weekend dates sell out well in advance, it is essential that we first work
out a budget range for your event that meets your with your approval. Final menu selections, and details
and design of our services will fall in place as we plan together.

We do not over-book weekends as it the company mission to provide our customers with the highest quality work and service.

All major credit cards are accepted.