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Prices & cost factors

What does catering in Frankfurt really cost?

Staff, bar and equipment: separate line items, costed per event.

One figure is fixed. The rest hang on six decisions, and you make them.

  • Reply within 48 hours
  • Culinary from €37.90 per person
  • Frankfurt & Rhein-Main
Finger food arranged in rows on a buffet
  • ★★★★★5.0★ on Google
  • Team behind Brunch and Bar Kronberg – over 1,000 reviews (4.8★)
  • Every position itemised
  • Reply within 48 hours

The one figure that is fixed – and how the rest comes about

The culinary part starts at €37.90 per person. That figure covers the food: designing the menu, purchasing, production and plating in the form you have chosen.

Cuisine, staff, bar and equipment all come from one team. Whatever your evening needs, we cost for your occasion and itemise every position separately, so you see how your price is made up before you commit. Anything further on request.

Covered by the starting price (✓) and costed as its own position (+):

  • Cuisine Menu design, purchasing, production and plating. That is the figure above.
  • Staff Service and kitchen crew on site, based on the hours of your event.
  • Bar and drinks Including the bartender. If your venue provides the drinks, the position falls away.
  • Equipment Tableware, cutlery, tabletop and furniture. With the seated dinner, logistics & equipment (from €690) is added automatically. The delivery fee for set-up and teardown only applies beyond 25 km from Kronberg.

If you calculate €37.90 × guest numbers, you are calculating the kitchen part. Add the remaining positions deliberately, rather than being surprised by them later.

Build your own ballpark

Roughly what will your event cost?

Click together what you need. You will see a lower bound, not a fixed price – what your event finally costs depends on the actual choice of food and drinks.

Who are you planning for?
The food Choose one.

Choose the guest count and distance first.

Staff Multiple possible.

Choose the food first.

Equipment and logistics Multiple possible.

Choose the food first.

Priced in your quote These belong in the package but deliberately carry no figure here.
Cost factors

The six variables that set your price

Variable What pushes the price up What you can bring down yourself

Number of guests

What pushes the price up

  • The guest count changes shortly before the date Purchasing, staff planning and equipment are already committed by then.

What you can bring down yourself

  • Fix the guest count early and realistically Tell us the deadline up to which it can still move.

Menu format

What pushes the price up

  • A seated menu with many courses instead of a standing format More courses mean more service, more tableware and more time at the table.
  • Many individual special requests in tiny quantities Every special portion is produced separately.

What you can bring down yourself

  • Choose the format for the occasion, not for the prestige At many occasions a flying buffet with good service feels more assured than a seated dinner that eats the budget elsewhere.
  • Focus the menu Fewer components at a better quality often cost less than a broad selection of which half is left standing.

Scope of service

What you can bring down yourself

  • Let your venue provide the drinks Then you do not need our bar. Tell us, and the position disappears.

Duration

What pushes the price up

  • A late finish, or two service windows on the same day Both are hours, and hours are staff.

What you can bring down yourself

  • Tighten the time window A clearly defined service window is the simplest saving on staff hours.

Travel and venue

What pushes the price up

  • A venue without infrastructure No kitchen, no water or power connection, no lift, no loading bay. Everything the venue does not have, we bring, and it appears in the quote.
  • A long journey or several trips For instance for multi-day events or two locations. Distance is measured from Kronberg: the delivery fee only applies beyond 25 km, from €99.

What you can bring down yourself

  • Use what your venue already has An existing kitchen, existing tableware and existing furniture reduce our equipment and transport position directly.

Date and lead time

What you can bring down yourself

  • Enquire early Lead time creates choice, and at any budget choice is the better starting point.
Serving tray of salmon and caviar canapés on blinis
Buffet chafing dishes with several dishes lined up
Plated starters: octopus carpaccio, goat cheese with beetroot and couscous, flowers in between
Examples

Three worked examples

So that you see sums and not only factors: three typical events, costed all the way through, with every position listed separately.

Example 1 · Corporate reception, fingerfood standing

Scenario: approx. 25 guests, venue with its own kitchen, approx. 3 hours, about 30 km from Kronberg.

Culinary · fingerfood, 25 guests
from €947.50
Service staff · 1 person, 4 hrs
from €151.60
Delivery fee (set-up and teardown), beyond 25 km from Kronberg
from €99.00
Net
from €1,198.10
plus 19% VAT (private clients)
from €227.64
Gross
from €1,425.74
Per guest, gross
from €57.03

Example 2 · Flying buffet with service

Scenario: approx. 60 guests, venue without its own kitchen, approx. 5 hours.

Culinary · flying buffet, 60 guests
from €2,754.00
Service staff · 3 people, 8 hrs
from €909.60
Chef · 8 hrs
from €367.20
Kitchen assistants · 2 people, 8 hrs
from €606.40
Net
from €4,637.20
plus 19% VAT (private clients)
from €881.07
Gross
from €5,518.27
Per guest, gross
from €91.97

Example 3 · Seated dinner with table service

Scenario: approx. 120 guests, approx. 6 hours.

Culinary · seated dinner, 120 guests
from €8,268.00
Mobile kitchen & logistics concept (incl. travel)
from €2,990.00
Crockery & cutlery incl. cleaning
from €1,428.00
Service staff · 6 people, 10 hrs
from €2,274.00
Chef · 12 hrs
from €550.80
Kitchen assistants · 6 people, 12 hrs
from €2,728.80
Net
from €18,239.60
plus 19% VAT (private clients)
from €3,465.52
Gross
from €21,705.12
Per guest, gross
from €180.88

Each of these examples is a snapshot, not a price list. Your figures will differ as soon as one of the six variables above sits differently. That is precisely why we cost every enquiry from scratch.

Why two catering quotes are so hard to compare

Two quotes for the same event can differ several times over without either of them being disreputable. They simply do not contain the same things.

Before you lay totals side by side, settle these seven points, with us and with every other supplier:

QuestionHow Fine Bites answers it
Is service staff included? With how many people and for how many hours?

How Fine Bites answers it

Yes – the number of staff and the hours are listed individually in your quote, billed per person and hour.
Are tableware, cutlery and glassware included, including collection and washing-up?

How Fine Bites answers it

Tableware and cutlery: yes, including cleaning. Glassware belongs to the bar position and is listed there separately.
Are travel, set-up and teardown included, or separate positions?

How Fine Bites answers it

A separate, openly stated position that only applies beyond 25 km from Kronberg: from €99 as a guide price, calculated exactly in your quote.
Are drinks included? Charged as a flat fee or by consumption?

How Fine Bites answers it

Listed separately, including glassware, ice, set-up and teardown – depends on your selection and appears in the quote.
Are the stated prices net or gross?

How Fine Bites answers it

Net. For private clients we additionally show the gross price including 19% VAT.
What happens if the guest count changes, and until when is that free of charge?

How Fine Bites answers it

Handled individually and included in your quote.
Are there minimum orders, deposits or cancellation deadlines?

How Fine Bites answers it

Yes – a minimum spend of €750, and tiered cancellation terms: 30% from 15–30 days out, 75% from 5–14 days, 100% from 0–4 days before the event.
Process

What your enquiry sets off, and how quickly

  1. You describe the setting. Occasion, approximate guest numbers, preferred date, and the venue if it is already fixed. Through the form in a few steps, or straight over the phone.
  2. We reply within 48 hours. Usually with one or two follow-up questions, because those answers are exactly what separates a ballpark figure from a dependable quote.
  3. You receive a written quote with every position itemised: culinary, staff, bar, equipment, travel. Separately, so you can see how your price is made up, and so you can strike individual positions.
  4. You adjust, we recalculate. A different format, a different guest count, a different scope of service: you get a second version, with no obligation.
  5. For larger events we are glad to arrange a tasting before you commit.

Short notice? Then please call us, so we can work the planning out together directly.

Your event starts here

Tell us about your event

A few steps to your personal quote – we get back to you within 48 hours. Free and without obligation.

Step 1 of 4

What occasion are you planning for?

Prefer to talk directly?

Give us a call or send a short message – here too, we reply within 48 hours.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions about price

PS: We are happy to name the €37.90, because it is true. And we say just as clearly what is added on top. A quote that gets more expensive on the second reading helps nobody.

What does catering cost per person in Frankfurt?

With us the culinary part starts at €37.90 per person. Staff, bar and equipment are added according to the scope you choose and are itemised separately in the quote. The final amount per guest depends on the menu format, the scope of service, the duration and the venue.

Is service staff included in the €37.90?

No. As a full-service caterer we provide professional service staff, bartenders, chefs on site and complete event supervision on request. These are separate positions and are costed for your event.

Is travel charged on top?

Up to 25 km from Kronberg there is no delivery fee for set-up and teardown. Beyond that it is added automatically from €99, as a guide: we calculate the exact travel in your quote. Our core area is Frankfurt and Rhein-Main; we also take on selected business events further afield.

Why do you not quote one all-in price per person?

Because a single price per person would only be honest if every event ran the same way. They do not. A standing reception in a venue with its own kitchen and a seated dinner in an empty event space differ in every position except the menu. So we name the one figure that always holds and cost the rest out for you individually.

How much budget should I plan for?

Tell us the guest numbers, the format and the date, and you will get a concrete figure within 48 hours instead of a range. If you already have a budget, tell us: we build the concept around it.

Is the quote non-binding?

Yes. You receive a written quote with every position itemised and decide afterwards.