Catering orders that arrive as orders, not as a forty-message chat thread

Setting up a catering menu people can order from without calling you

A catering menu is a different document from a dinner menu. Nobody orders a single portion, the person ordering is usually not the person eating, and the questions they have are about quantities, timing and logistics rather than what is in the sauce. The ordering page should answer those questions in the item names and descriptions so the notes field only has to carry what is specific to the event.

Price in the units you cook in

If you cook biryani in a tray that serves ten, sell a tray that serves ten. Do not sell “biryani, per portion” and hope the customer multiplies correctly. Per-head boxes are the other common unit: a set lunch box at one price, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian as variants. Add-ons carry the things people forget: disposable cutlery, serving spoons, the extra raita. Each add-on has its own price, so a box that is upgraded with a dessert calculates correctly without a second item.

Write the description like a short quote

The description is where you pre-empt the ten questions you always get. Say what is included and what is not. Say the minimum, because minimums are not enforced automatically. Say how it arrives: foil trays with lids, labelled boxes, chafing dishes on request. Say what you need from them: “Please add the vegetarian count, any allergies, and the name of the person receiving the order in the notes.” A customer who reads that writes a useful note; one who does not read it gets a call.

Lead times and what you can promise

The lead time on pickup and delivery is your main protection against an order that cannot be cooked. Set it from the longest realistic preparation time for a full order, not from how fast you can do a single box. For most catering kitchens that is measured in hours. Since the page does not schedule orders for a future date with a cut-off, the required date and time belong in the notes, and your acceptance is the confirmation. Accepting quickly matters: the office manager needs to tell their team the lunch is sorted.

Delivering trays: your van, a rider, or collection

Trays travel badly on a two-wheeler and a hot box does not fit in most rider bags. Most caterers deliver with their own vehicle, which the self-delivery setup handles: assign the driver on the order, update the status when it leaves, mark it delivered at the door. Porter riders are useful for small drops, a dozen boxes to an office nearby, in cities Porter serves, but check that the packaging fits before offering it. Collection suits customers with their own transport and saves the delivery charge, so offer it as an option rather than assuming everyone wants delivery.

Corporate repeat business is the whole point

Offices order lunch for the same meeting every month. The value of taking that order on your own page rather than through a marketplace is that the customer’s details stay with you, the order history is on your screen, and the second order takes them two minutes. Keep a short list of your regular corporate customers and send them the link with a note when the menu changes. There is no automated marketing in Tuckly today; a personal message from the owner works better anyway. The guide on encouraging repeat orders through direct channels has the practical version.

Minimums, small orders and saying no

Some caterers want the page to refuse orders under a certain value. That is not something the page does automatically. In practice, a clear minimum in the item name and a willingness to decline on the order screen covers it, and it leaves you the option of accepting a small order from a customer you want to keep. If you find yourself declining the same kind of order repeatedly, change the menu so it cannot be built in the first place.