A catering delivery is usually decided in the twenty-four hours before it leaves the kitchen. By the time the driver is on the road, most of the things that could go wrong have already been settled, one way or the other: whether the right person is expecting the order, whether the food is packed to arrive at the right temperature, whether anyone knows which door to use.
This is a checklist built around that day. It is written for caterers, restaurants that cater and office-lunch businesses, and it is meant to be printed and used.
The short version
- One order sheet, with a named on-site contact, an arrival time and a separate "ready by" time.
- Hot and cold items packed separately, labelled with contents and allergens.
- Departure worked out backward from "ready by", with a buffer.
- A photo at the hand-off, and a plan for collecting equipment afterward.
The order sheet: eight fields every delivery needs
Most catering mishaps trace back to something that was known by one person in the kitchen and not written down for the person driving. A single sheet, completed before the order is packed, fixes most of them.
| Field | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Event start and "ready by" time | These are different times. The food must be set out before the guests arrive, not when they do. | Event 12:00; ready by 11:30 |
| Committed arrival time | A time, not a window. This is what the route is built around. | Arrive 11:15 |
| Exact address and entrance | Large venues have several doors. The wrong one costs ten minutes. | Rear loading door on the lane; ring Dubois |
| Parking and building rules | Many buildings need a booking for the elevator or dock. See delivering in Montréal. | Freight elevator booked 11:00 to 11:30 |
| Named on-site contact and phone | The one person who will answer and who can accept the order. | Marie Dubois, 514 555 0100 |
| Headcount and item list | The thing the driver checks against at the door. | 24 guests; 6 platters, 2 trays hot, 1 dessert box |
| Dietary and allergen labels | On the order sheet and on each package. | Vegetarian tray marked; nut-free dessert marked |
| Equipment to collect | Chafing dishes, trays, carriers: what goes back, and when. | Collect 2 p.m.; leave on the loading dock |
The checklist, from 24 hours out to the table
- 24 hours before: confirm everything with the client.Headcount, start time, ready-by time, address and entrance. Ask who will meet the driver and get a phone number that will be answered. Confirm any building rules. Send the order sheet to whoever is delivering.
- The evening before: prepare and label.Label every package with the contents, the allergens and any reheating or serving notes. A label that says "vegetarian, no nuts" on a box is worth a conversation at the door.
- The morning of: pack by temperature.Pack hot and cold separately, and tell the courier which is which so the cold is not on top of the hot. Keep items upright and level. Put the most fragile at the top of the load, not the bottom.
- Two hours before: confirm again.A short message or call to the on-site contact: still on? Same entrance? Any change in headcount? Check traffic, weather and road work, since a downtown route that is clear at 8 a.m. may not be at 11. Winter conditions add time and care.
- Before departure: work out the leave time.Start with the ready-by time and subtract the arrival buffer, the route time, and a margin. The worked example below shows the arithmetic.
- At the door: hand over and check.The driver hands the order to the named contact and checks it against the sheet. A photo at the hand-off records where and when. Both are quick and protect the caterer if there is a question later.
- Afterward: collect the equipment.Agree a time and a place before the event, not after it. The return trip is a pickup like any other, and returns work best when the pickup is planned.
A worked example
A client has an event at noon and needs the food set out by 11:30. The venue is a 35-minute drive away. You want the driver to arrive 15 minutes before the ready-by time, so the food can be carried in and laid out. That puts the arrival at 11:15. Subtract the 35-minute drive and the van needs to leave at 10:40. Add a 15-minute margin for traffic and parking and the departure is 10:25.
Temperature and time
The commonly cited Canadian guideline is to keep cold food at 4°C or below and hot food at 60°C or above, and to limit the time perishable food spends between the two to under two hours in total. The window between the kitchen door and the table is part of that time, and a long drive or a slow hand-off uses it up. Your own food-safety plan and permit conditions set the rules for your business, and in Québec the MAPAQ is the authority to ask.
In practice, this argues for a tight route for catering orders, with the food that is most sensitive to time handled first, and for a courier who is told which items they are. Why caterers need a dedicated delivery partner explains why general-purpose delivery networks are often not designed for it.
When something goes wrong
- The contact does not answer. Agree in advance how long the driver waits, who they call next, and when the order is handed to reception instead.
- The venue has changed. A last-minute change of address is the most common serious problem. A confirmation two hours out catches most of them.
- The headcount has changed. The order sheet and the delivered quantity should be checked together at the door, so a shortfall is known when it can still be addressed.
- The client wants a change of time. Decide who can approve it, and tell the route as soon as it is agreed. Fixed-time deliveries do not bend easily; see how time windows shape a route.
If you also supply events, many of the same steps apply, with the extra complication that setup crews and guests share the same timeline.
Running catering deliveries on a schedule? Tell us your usual times, addresses and volumes when you request a quote and we will plan routes around them.