Catering Numbers and Dietary List

Who this is for

The numbers the caterer asks for, on one sheet. A headcount for each sitting or course — adults, children, staff and suppliers, totalled — and a dietary table with a count and the names against each requirement.

Anyone giving final numbers to a caterer, a venue or a kitchen — for a wedding, a wake, a party, a conference lunch — and the caterer receiving them.

What this helps you track

• How many people are eating at each sitting, split into adults, children and staff
• The total heads per sitting and for the event, which is the figure the kitchen works to
• Each dietary requirement with how many people it covers and who they are
• Which requirements have been passed to the caterer and confirmed

How to use it

1. Write the event, the date, who is catering and the date they need final numbers by at the top.
2. Add a row for each sitting or course — the meal, the evening food, a breakfast the next day — with the adults, children and any staff or suppliers being fed.
3. The total column and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add across and down.
4. Go through the guest list and count each dietary requirement into the second table, with the names so the caterer can match plates to people.
5. Tick told when each requirement has been passed to the caterer, and send them the completed sheet or the downloaded PDF.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do the numbers come from?

From your guest list. The wedding guest list and RSVP sheet counts the heads who have said yes and records dietary needs against each; this sheet turns that into the per-sitting and per-requirement totals a kitchen needs.

Should suppliers and staff be counted?

Ask the caterer what they expect. Photographers, musicians and coordinators are often fed; the staff and suppliers column keeps them separate from guests so the kitchen can plan for both.

The printed dietary rows do not match my guests. Can I change them?

Yes. The printed requirements are the common ones; rename any of them, and add or delete rows in the browser or workbook so the list matches your guests.

What about children's meals?

Count children in the headcount table so the total is right, and if a separate children's meal is being served, use the children's meals row in the dietary table to say how many.