How much do caterers charge in Nigeria?

Cost of Hiring an Event Caterer in Nigeria

The cost of catering services in 2024 varies and there is no standard price that caterers in Nigeria charge. Prices vary based on several factors such as; the type of clients the caterer work with, the reputation of the catering company, the location, the kind of meals needed at the party, the number of meals, and so on. Even at that, a sort of baseline price can be set. Depending on your location, the kind of meal you are ordering, and other things, you can expect to pay an event caterer in Nigeria a minimum price of ₦3,000 per meal. You should, however, note that this will not get you the highest quality meal possible.

Types of Catering Service

You can choose to have different types of catering services at your event. They include:

• Buffet: Buffet catering service is one of the options you can choose for your event. You can either request for the catering company to have staff on the ground that will help with the setup, restocking, and other things that will be required for the buffet, or have them just drop the meals and oversee those parts yourself. However, the price will be dependent on the type of meals you want to be served, and the size you want prepared.
• Corporate event catering: This is the catering service you should go for if you are having a corporate event such as a seminar or a workshop. The amount you pay will depend on the number of meals a day (could be any combination of breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as snacks), the number of days, and the number of guests. You can either retain the caterer to do the serving or have them just deliver the meals.
• Food stations: Another catering service you can choose to have at your event is the food station type. It is best suited for informal events such as birthday parties, graduation parties, and the like.
• Formal dinner: This service is similar to that which customers receive at a high-end restaurant. From the décor to the layout, how the meals are served, and the number of meals (multi-course). However, the amount you will have to pay will depend on the utensils you are asking for, the number of guests, the number of meals, etc.

Nigerian Catering Price List (2024)

While there is no particular price that can be referred to as the standard Nigerian catering price, we can, however, provide a range of prices with which you can set your budget. These ranges of prices cover what the majority of event caterers in the country charge for their services, but that does not mean that there aren’t caterers who charge outside these ranges. The catering price list in Nigeria covers the majority of the caterers, not all.

Price List For Catering Services (table with costs)

The table below contains the different options of meals available at a typical Nigerian event:

Small Chops Prices (table with costs)

Similarly, the table below contains the different options of small chops available in a typical Nigerian event:

How Much do Caterers Charge For a Wedding in Nigeria?

As previously mentioned, the cost of catering in Nigeria varies since catering prices are not dependent on the kind of party being held. This means that the amount you expect to spend for a wedding is the same as you should expect to spend on other events, provided the meals are the same. But then, weddings are usually more elaborate than other types of events, which means that you would probably have add-ons as part of your meal package. This is the only reason you can expect to pay more for the cost of catering Nigerian weddings than for other types of events.

That being said, you should prepare to spend a minimum of ₦3,000 per meal for a Nigerian wedding. This will cover basic food, such as rice and chicken/turkey, or swallow. For a more comprehensive list of what you will have to prepare for when calculating how much you will spend on catering for your wedding, check the list provided above.

Tips to Cut Event Catering Cost

• Have the caterers just prepare the food: You can hire a caterer to either prepare and supply you with just the meal or take care of the entire process for you. The entire process includes the dishing of food, the serving of guests, the sourcing of plates, the washing of plates, etc.
• Don’t use takeaways: Using takeaways at weddings will increase the amount of money you will have to spend since the takeaway packs won’t be for free. So you should move away from serving food in takeaways and towards serving them in ceramic plates. The caterer you are using should be able to make provisions for this.
• Offer fewer meal choices: One of the most effective ways to save money on wedding catering is to offer fewer meal choices. So, instead of serving fried rice, jollof rice, salad, chicken, and moin-moin, you can just serve rice and chicken.
• Find alternatives to alcohol: Parties in Nigeria, more often than not, serve alcohol, which could result in a significant hike in the amount of money spent on catering alone. So you should look into using just soft drinks, and maybe a handful of fruit juices and non-alcoholic wines for very important personalities. Doing this will help you save some money which you can divert to other important things. You can decide to serve Chapman instead of alcohol to the regular guests, it tastes very nice and you can also make it yourself.
• Avoid transport costs: It is best to find catering companies near you. Moreover, you can’t be having a party in Lagos and intend to use a catering company in Port-harcout, you would be spending too much on transportation.

How to Calculate The Total Cost of Catering For an Event

Calculating what it would cost you to cater an event is not a hard thing to do. All you need to do is to multiply the number of guests you are expecting at the event by the price of a meal package. Do a sampling of your expected guests and ask what they will prefer. While it is highly impossible to get the preference of each guest that will be attending your event, doing this will help you get a rough estimate which you can then use to decide on the number of orders you will make for a particular meal type. The total cost of catering = Estimated number of guests * price of a meal package.

How to Hire a Great Event Caterer

Since a lot of the success of an event depends on the quality of the meal that is served at that event. This is the reason why you have to ensure that the caterer you hire can deliver the best service possible for the amount you are paying. The following are tips on identifying which caterer is best for your event:

• Talk to different caterers and get different prices from them. Doing this will help you compare what each person offers so that you can choose the best for you in terms of price and quality.
• Source for what their previous customers had to say about them. If you are using an online platform such as VisCorner, this will be easier as you will see the reviews left by past customers of the caterers on that platform.
• Ask for an invite to an event they are hosting and go there to see their conduct for yourself. Doing this will help you know firsthand whether or not you can trust them to handle your event.
• Ensure that you communicate what you want for your event, and put everything in writing if possible.
• If you are satisfied, hire them.

In Conclusion, following the steps above will help you avoid any problem that can come up in your dealings with a Nigerian event caterer. It will also help to ensure that you get the best possible event caterer for your event. This is necessary if your event is to be a success.