A catering gig in Miami showed me why you should never trust a client's 'fully stocked' kitchen

I was hired for a 50-person wedding last month, and the client promised a professional kitchen with all the gear. I got there two hours before service to find a single home stove, dull knives, and no sheet pans. We had to run to a restaurant supply store and spent $300 of our own money just to get basic stuff. The whole event was a scramble, and we almost missed plating the main course. Now I send a detailed equipment checklist and do a site visit a week before, no exceptions. How do you guys handle last minute kitchen checks when you're working off-site?

3 comments

3 Comments

evanh271mo ago

Always do a walk-through first.

verar631mo ago

Yeah, @evanh27, that's solid advice. I learned the hard way when I moved last year and missed a broken window latch. My routine now is a 15-minute walk-through with a checklist on my phone, checking every switch and faucet. It saved me from a leaky toilet in my current place.

sams2517d ago

Don't forget to check under the sinks for hidden water damage.