How a caterer gets booked
Most productions don't hire caterers as individuals. The UPM or line producer gets bids from two or three film catering companies during prep, compares per-head prices and what's included (breakfast, lunch, drinks, a salad bar, a dessert), and signs a deal. The deal usually spells out the per-head price, a minimum headcount, charges for a second meal, and travel fees for locations outside the caterer's normal zone.
On a small indie with no budget for a truck, "catering" might be a restaurant dropping off hot trays, or a producer's cousin with a folding table. The mechanics are the same: a headcount, a time, and a place to eat that isn't the set.
Working from the call sheet
Everything the caterer needs is on the call sheet or comes from the 2nd AD:
| Call sheet item | What catering does with it |
|---|---|
| Crew call and breakfast time | Hot breakfast ready before crew call |
| Background count | Adds to lunch headcount, sometimes a separate line |
| Lunch time | Food served on time so the company doesn't lose the hour |
| Location and base camp address | Where the truck parks and where tables go |
| Night exterior or split day | Meal times shift, second meal likely |
| Dietary notes | Vegetarian, vegan, allergy plates set aside and labeled |
A late lunch can cost production money. Crew and cast agreements set when a meal break has to happen, and a lunch that isn't ready on time can trigger a meal penalty under the applicable union contract. The meal penalty calculator shows how those add up.
The catering day
On a Day 4 with a 7:00 a.m. crew call, a location lunch at 1:00 p.m., and 72 people on the call sheet (48 crew, 9 cast, 15 background), the caterer's day goes roughly like this:
- 4:00a: Chef and assistants arrive at base camp, fire up the truck
- 6:00a: Breakfast line opens. Many shows run a non-deductible breakfast (NDB) for early cast and crew, and the ADs note it on the call sheet
- 8:00a: Breakfast breaks down, lunch prep starts
- 11:30a: Tables and tents set, water and ice out
- 12:45p: Food on the line
- 1:00p: The 1st AD calls lunch and the line opens for cast, crew, and background
- 2:00p: Cleanup, count the plates served, headcount sheet signed by the 2nd AD
- 3:00p onward: If the day may go long, prep for a possible second meal
The headcount sheet signed after lunch is what the caterer invoices from. If the call sheet said 72 but 81 people ate, the signed number is the one that gets paid, so the caterer wants a signature every day.
Costing it out
Using the Day 4 numbers and an example price of $24 per head for lunch and $12 per head for breakfast (use your own bids; prices vary a lot by city):
- Breakfast: 40 people x $12 = $480
- Lunch: 72 people x $24 = $1,728
- Day total: $2,208
- 20 shoot days at that average: $44,160
Background often get a separate, cheaper lunch or a boxed meal, which the line producer negotiates up front. Put catering in the budget by shoot day, not as a lump sum, so the hot cost report shows overages the day they happen.
Local 399 chef assistants
On union productions in Los Angeles, Teamsters Local 399 covers chef assistants and chef assistant-drivers under an amendment to the Local 399 agreement. The 2024 to 2027 wage schedule sets minimums by production type. For August 2, 2026 through July 31, 2027, a chef assistant-driver on productions other than long form TV, DVD, pilots, first-season one-hour series, and new media sideletter shows has a minimum of $37.05 an hour, and a chef assistant has a minimum of $31.05 an hour. Both are daily employees with time and a half after 8 hours and an 8-hour minimum call.
Who catering works with
The 2nd AD handles headcount. The craft services crew handles food between meals, and the two should talk so the 10:00 a.m. hot item isn't the same as lunch. The location manager finds room for the truck, tents, and tables, and transportation stages the kitchen truck at base camp. The production accountant pays the invoices.
Paperwork and tools
Signed headcount sheets, invoices, the catering deal, a health permit where local rules require one, and a certificate of insurance on file with production. Storiara builds call sheets from the schedule, which gives the caterer the day's call times.