Frequently Asked Questions

Absolutely.  Tastings are about clarifying and hashing out details.  This important step helps us to understand who you are as a couple and to learn about the vision you have for your wedding.  Bring your appetite and your questions and let’s get to work!

We can either provide targeted tastings based on a menu you’ve chosen, or can offer several different choices to help you choose one or more items.  The cost for a tasting is $200 for the two of you.  Once you’ve made the commitment to use Haystack Catering with a deposit for your wedding date, this tasting cost will be fully refunded.

Yes, and have done so many times!  We have both the equipment and the experience to set up electric, potable water, cooking, refrigeration, lighting, etc. almost anywhere.  We’ve catered weddings on small islands, Vermont pastures, abandoned barns, on the sides of ski slopes  and in the middle of the woods.

We have a fully licensed, fully equipped commercial catering kitchen.  At this location, we prepare, from scratch, all the items we will be serving.  At the venue, or wedding site, we then cook and/or complete all the menu items, ensuring each plate is  fresh, hot, artistic and served on time.

We would be honored to cook and serve any events around your wedding, like your rehearsal dinner or post-wedding brunch. Also, our drop-off service is an easy and delicious solution for your bridal shower or engagement party! Our team is here to assist you with your served, or drop-off order for any of your auxiliary events.

While our menus offer a vast variety, we understand that you may have a favorite dish, or found something amazing at your new favorite restaurant.  We pride ourselves in the flexibility it takes to create and execute any ideas you may have.

We take special dietary needs very seriously, whether due to allergies, cultural restrictions, or merely taste.  Please let us know of any and all dietary needs, and we will curate a menu accordingly.

There are so many factors that go into the cost of a wedding that are outside the purview of the caterer: Venue, Flowers, Entertainment, Transportation, Rentals, Photography – you get the picture.  Costs that are  related to the catering end include: Food, beverages (venues often provide this portion), gratuities, and labor overtime (we include labor in our costs for the first four hours of service, and then there’s a cost/hour after four hours up until the music stops; this amount is based on the number of attendees). 

A typical range of prices for a wedding’s food portion, including cocktail reception, dinner, and dessert is roughly between $75-$125 plus tax, gratuity and labor overtime. 

Beverage service for six hours will run from $39/person for beer and wine up to $77/person for premium liquors, beer and wine.  Haystack offers beverage service on a flat-rate basis for four to six, or more hours, and does not offer beverage service based on consumption.  This allows our clients the ability to fully budget in advance, with no surprises on the night of the wedding.

For all events we serve, we provide our own service platters and boards for cocktail hour, buffet dinners, and dessert displays included in the cost of food.  We have enough service bowls, platters, and utensils to serve 200 people family style, however there is a cost associated with this.  For all other rentals, including China, Glass, Silver, Linens, Tables, Chairs, Tents, etc., we have very close, long standing relationships with several rental companies.  We put the entire order together, based on the menu(s), number of attendees, location of event, and time of year (no heaters in July, thanks!).  This is sent either directly to the rental company, or first to the venue if they have specific items to add on, and then to the rental company.  Once the invoice is generated, we will forward it to the client.  Haystack never has, nor ever will add on to the cost of rentals.

One of the things we take great pride in is our flexibility.  Maybe we’ve come up with a great menu at the tasting together, and a month prior to your wedding you try an amazing ethnic restaurant you’ve never tried before.  You discover foods and tastes you may not even had known existed!!  Give us a call – because we don’t overbook your weekend, we will always have time to experiment with dishes we may not have tried, and we love to learn too.  Note that we order food for your wedding or event starting a week prior to the date, so if we’ve already ordered or started prepping the food, we will need to stick to the script, so to speak.

The short answer is yes.  Whether it’s a menu item we’ve prepared dozens of times, or a brand-new-to-us entrée, we “scale” every dish we make.  This means that we weigh each ingredient in grams when we make a single entrée, like the one at your tasting.  This is far more effective than using teaspoons and cups (think: this single dish took two tablespoons of veal stock, now I need to make 125 of them.  250 tablespoons of veal stock? Weight is way easier and far more accurate).  Catering is truthfully about mathematics, and if you follow the math, the results are assured.