What Do You Charge?

[L.Quinn]

I was asked what would you charge for this dinner by my girlfriend. She made a 3 course dinner for her grandparents anniversary and, clearly not charging them, they asked what it would have costed do do such a dinner. We both have no experience with this so I thought I would ask all of you how you determine what to charge for a dinner.
It was a dinner for eight.
fried goats cheese salad to start
dauphiouse potatos and seared duck breast for the main
and baked pear w/ sabayon for dessert
she did all the shoping including wine and food.
including all prep and cooking how do you get a price?
do you charge by the person, by the hour by the job???
any feedback would be great!
Thanks
L
ps I thought maybe around 50-60 bucks a head...I don't know!

[ChefJen]

Well PEI is going to be cheaper then in Toronto!

it depends on how much everything cost

But i think roughly 40ish a person isnt unreasonable if it included wine...

I mean I charge for a three course meal 40.00 that includes once glass of wine but i know in my area i couldnt get more then that

and i dont think you can either.

[moselle]

40 UK?

[L.Quinn]

What about a bottle for every two people?

[Silverfox]

As a personal chef, we often serve dinners like this and, as a guideline, we would charge USD250-USD450 plus cost of food, beverages, and rentals, if any, depending on the specific menu and the level of service desired. So, for dinner for 8, the fee amounts to, roughly, USD30-USD60 per person.

We never quote a per person fee for small dinner parties in someone's home because the per person price varies widely with the number of people. In the instant example, assume the food and beverages cost, say, USD15 per person, then dinner for 8 would be USD45-USD75. Drop the number to 6 and the per person price becomes USD55-USD95, a substantial change, mainly because we do NOT reduce our fee as the same amount of time and effort is involved.

[ChefJen]

40 Canadian mo.. its 18.95 £

[thecooktoo]

For this menu for eight people I would charge $400 plus the cost of food and wine. And depending on the circumstances, possibly an additional server, approx $100 that the client would also pay for.

It is my opinion that anything less than $75 per person average is too little for a formal dinner party served in a persons home. They certainly cannot get the same quality in a restaurant for the same money.

Jim

[ChefJen]

See i think y9ou need to look at geographics..

and PEI isnt a culinary hub that youd pay top dollar for

[chefelle]

I agree with you, Jen. The dinner and service may be worth WAY MORE....but people in the Maritimes may not pay that. I am not sure about PEI, but alot of the areas in the Maritimes are very economically repressed....

I could be wrong though.

Hey, LQuinn--I'll pay you and your girlfriend $400 plus travel expenses and accomodations to make that meal for me and my family in Cape Breton!!!!

[moselle]

40 Canadian mo.. its 18.95 £

With wine? That is so cheap IMO

[ChefJen]

Yup but in my area.. thats reasonable thats what the pubs charge

I mean they only get one glass of wine with me!

But the pubs are cheap here same with restaurants!

[JewelsQ]

What are the liquor/wine regulations in Canada/UK? In the states, I do not purchase any wine or liquor as I don't have a license.

[ChefJen]

well im allowed to give away a glass as part as a package without being licenced "complimentary"

[chefelle]

I was studying this out a few days ago. It is amazing the things you need a license or a permit for alcohol for in Canada. Did you know that you have to have a permit to purchase and use sacramental wine? In Canada--churches that use wine for their communion services MUST have a permit from the province. I was really surprised by that.

As far as liquor regulations go--I believe you have to have a license if you are purchasing wine and selling it in any form or venue--so that would include personal chef services. Even if you were to host a fundraising dance and were selling alcohol on the premises and it was a one shot deal--you would have to get a permit from the province for that one function.

A liquor license is pretty hard to come by in this province. Not sure about any of the others.

Maybe some of the other chefs in Canada know more about this topic....I am just studying it out now....

[Blueicus]

A liquor license is hard to come by in any province .