A good catering brief saves time, prevents errors, and produces better food. A vague brief produces a vague result. For office managers, PAs, and event planners organising corporate catering in London, the quality of the brief you give is directly proportional to the quality of the catering you receive. This guide covers everything a London caterer needs to know before they can give you an accurate proposal and deliver a successful outcome.
The Non-Negotiable Information
Headcount is the foundation of any catering brief. Provide a firm number where possible, or a realistic range with your best estimate. Caterers price and prepare based on headcount — a significant last-minute change creates waste, shortfall, or both. For corporate events where headcount is uncertain, agree a cut-off date for final numbers with your caterer in advance.
Date, time and location need to be specific. The date is obvious. The time matters because it determines whether you need breakfast, working lunch, afternoon refreshments, dinner, or a combination. The location matters because it affects delivery logistics, access requirements, and sometimes pricing. Be specific about the delivery address, which floor, whether there is a goods lift, and whether parking is available for delivery vehicles.
Dietary requirements are the single most important piece of information after headcount, and the one most frequently provided incompletely. For every person attending, you need to know whether they have any of the following: halal requirement, kosher requirement, vegetarian or vegan, any of the 14 mandatory UK allergens (particularly peanut, tree nut, gluten, dairy, egg, sesame), or other specific dietary preferences. Collecting this information in advance rather than on the day is essential — your caterer cannot improvise safe allergen management at the point of service.
Format and Service Style
Be clear about how you want the food served. The main formats for London corporate catering are:
Individual portions — each person receives their own labelled meal, either a box or tray. This is the most allergen-safe format and the most popular for regular office lunch delivery. Vanda's Kitchen's Freedom Tray format is built around this principle. Read our comparison of individual portions vs shared platters.
Platter style — dishes are presented on shared platters for people to serve themselves. Higher cross-contamination risk for allergen requirements, more wastage, but works well for informal networking events and receptions where grazing is appropriate.
Buffet — a spread of dishes for self-service. Good for larger groups where the event format is informal, but requires careful allergen labelling and serving utensil management.
Budget
Providing a budget range upfront saves significant back-and-forth. Many clients are reluctant to name a budget, but a caterer working blind will often produce a proposal that is either well below your expectations or significantly over budget. Neither is helpful. A realistic London corporate lunch budget ranges from £12–18 per head for basic individual portions to £25–45 per head for premium event catering. Be honest about your range and a good caterer will tell you what is achievable within it.
Frequency and Regularity
Are you briefing for a one-off event or looking to establish a regular arrangement? These are different conversations with different implications. A regular standing order for weekly team lunch requires discussion of delivery schedules, ordering cut-off times, headcount change processes, and billing arrangements. A one-off event requires more detailed event logistics. Make clear which you are enquiring about.
Quality and Brand Standards
If the catering is client-facing — a board meeting, a client working lunch, an investor event — communicate this. The food quality expectation for client entertainment is higher than for an internal team lunch, and a professional caterer will adjust their offer accordingly. If there are presentation standards, specific brand guidelines, or particular foods that should be avoided for cultural or business reasons, include these in the brief.
Logistics Details
The practical details that trip up corporate catering deliveries are usually logistics-related: the delivery window being too tight, access instructions being incomplete, the person responsible for receiving delivery being unavailable. Provide the following in every brief: preferred delivery window (e.g., 12:00–12:30), the name and mobile number of the on-site contact who will receive the delivery, any building access codes or sign-in requirements, and what should happen if the contact is unavailable.
Briefing Vanda's Kitchen
Vanda's Kitchen is based near St Paul's Cathedral in EC4 and delivers certified halal, 100% nut-free corporate catering across London. Our briefing process is designed to be straightforward — a single WhatsApp conversation or email exchange typically captures everything we need to produce a same-day proposal.
The information we always need: headcount, date and time, delivery address, dietary requirements (particularly halal and allergen needs), format preference, and budget range. With those six pieces of information, we can come back to you with a complete proposal within hours.
WhatsApp us your brief, send a detailed enquiry, or view our team lunch options to order directly. For more on our full corporate catering offer, read our complete corporate catering London guide.