Corporate Catering in Sydney: What to Order, How Much You Need, and What It Costs
If you book catering for your office, the food is rarely the hard part. The hard part is working out how much to order, which format suits the occasion, and whether the quote in front of you is reasonable.
This guide covers all three. It is written for the office managers, executive assistants and team leads who actually place the orders, and it draws on what we deliver for corporate event catering in Sydney every weekday. By the end you should be able to brief a caterer properly, order the right volume, and know what moves the price.
Matching the Catering to the Occasion
Most corporate catering falls into a handful of formats. Getting this right matters more than the specific menu, because the wrong format is what leaves you with either a table of untouched food or a room of people who did not get any.
Breakfast Meetings and Early Starts
Suits meetings starting before 9 am, board meetings and training days. Pastries, breakfast pots, seasonal fruit and savoury options, with coffee or juice added.
People eat less at breakfast than you expect, and they eat while doing something else. Order for lighter appetites and favour items that can be picked up one-handed. Our breakfast catering range is built around that.
Morning and Afternoon Tea
Suits full-floor gatherings, milestone celebrations and mid-session breaks in longer meetings. Sweet and savoury platters, scones, fruit platters.
This is the format most often over-ordered. If lunch is coming two hours later, halve what you think you need. See morning tea catering for the range.
Office Lunch
The most common corporate catering booking. Sandwich platters, wraps, salads and buffet options for shared eating, or individual lunch boxes where people are eating at their desks or on different schedules.
Individual boxes cost more per head than platters, but they eliminate waste and handle dietary requirements cleanly. If your team eats at different times, they are usually worth the difference. Browse office lunch catering.
Grazing and Finger Food
Suits client meetings, launches, end-of-week functions and anything where people are standing and moving. Cheese, charcuterie, seasonal produce and warm or cold finger food.
Judge quantity by duration, not headcount alone. A two hour function needs meaningfully more per person than a one hour one. Our grazing platters are sized for shared eating rather than plated service.
Canape and Event Catering
Suits evening functions, client entertaining and formal occasions. This is where you move from delivered catering to catering with a run sheet, and often with staff on site. See canape catering.
Boardroom and Conference Catering
Suits multi-session days and larger guest numbers where timing between sessions matters. Usually a sequence of services across a day rather than a single delivery. See boardroom catering and conference catering.
How Much to Order
The most common mistake is ordering by headcount alone. Three things change the answer.
Duration. A one hour meeting and a three hour workshop need very different volumes for the same number of people.
Time of day. Morning tea sitting between breakfast and lunch needs less than an afternoon tea that is the last food before people go home.
Whether it is the meal. Catering that replaces lunch needs full portions. Catering alongside a mid-morning meeting where people have already eaten does not.
As a working rule for platters, count on the stated serving size rather than assuming everyone takes an equal share. In practice, around 70 to 80 per cent of a room eats at a morning tea, and close to everyone eats at a catered lunch.
For a mixed room, order dietary options as a proportion of the group rather than as an afterthought. If four people in twenty are vegetarian, four servings of a vegetarian option is the minimum, not a token platter on the end of the table.
What Corporate Catering Costs in Sydney
Prices vary with format, quantity and how much service is involved. Delivered platter catering sits at the lower end. Staffed events sit well above it, because labour is charged separately from food.
Approximate per-person ranges for delivered corporate catering in Sydney:
| Format | Approximate cost per person |
|---|---|
| Breakfast catering | |
| Morning or afternoon tea | |
| Office lunch, shared platters | |
| Office lunch, individual boxes | |
| Grazing and finger food | |
| Canape catering |
What moves the number:
- Individual packaging costs more per head than shared platters
- Hot food costs more than cold
- Staffed service is charged separately, on a four hour minimum plus travel
- Weekend delivery attracts a surcharge
- Minimum order values apply regardless of headcount, so small bookings work out higher per person
At Catering Project, delivered orders start from $100 plus GST Monday to Saturday, and $250 plus GST on Sunday. Full delivery areas and fees are on our delivery areas and fees page.
Lead Times and Delivery
Most Sydney corporate caterers work on next-day turnaround with an afternoon cutoff the day before. Ours is 3 pm. Later orders are sometimes possible depending on availability, though the menu choice narrows and a surcharge may apply.
For anything involving staff, a run sheet or unusual volumes, a week is a more realistic lead time.
If you are ordering into a CBD tower, tell the caterer the access arrangements when you book: the floor, the on-site contact, and whether there is a loading dock, a concierge desk or security sign-in. It is the single most common cause of a late delivery, and it is entirely avoidable.
Choosing a Corporate Caterer in Sydney
Five questions worth asking before you book.
Do they run their own kitchen, or subcontract? It affects consistency, and it affects how quickly a problem gets fixed.
How are dietary requirements handled? Labelled options across the whole menu is a better answer than a separate dietary menu, because it means one order instead of several.
What is the real cutoff, and what happens if you miss it? Some caterers will take a late order with a surcharge. Others will not take it at all.
Is there a delivery window, or just a delivery day? For catering that has to land before a meeting starts, this is the question that matters most.
Can you set up an account? If your team orders monthly, account billing saves a lot of administration.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does corporate catering cost per person in Sydney?
It depends on the format. Delivered platter catering is the most economical per head, individual lunch boxes cost more, and staffed events cost considerably more again because labour is charged separately from food. Minimum order values also apply, so small bookings work out higher per person than large ones.
How far ahead do I need to book corporate catering?
For delivered catering, the day before is usually enough. Our cutoff is 3 pm for next-day delivery. For events involving staff, a run sheet or large guest numbers, allow at least a week so quantities and timings can be confirmed properly.
How much food do I need for an office lunch?
Order for close to the full headcount if the catering is replacing lunch. Platters state their serving size, so work from that rather than dividing a total by the number of people. Order dietary options in proportion to the group rather than as a token addition.
What is the difference between delivered catering and event catering?
Delivered catering arrives ready to serve and you set it out yourself. Event catering involves a planned run sheet, often staff on site, and service across a schedule. Delivered catering suits meetings and office lunches. Event catering suits functions, launches and formal occasions.
Can corporate catering handle multiple dietary requirements in one order?
Yes, if the menu is built for it. Look for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and halal options labelled across the full range rather than confined to a separate menu. That way you place one order rather than several.
Do corporate caterers deliver to Sydney CBD high-rise offices?
Yes, though it is worth giving the access details when you book. Most CBD deliveries go through a loading dock, a concierge desk or security sign-in. Supplying the floor, the on-site contact and the access instructions is what keeps a delivery on time.
Ready to Book Corporate Catering in Sydney?
Booking corporate catering comes down to three decisions: pick the format that fits the occasion, order by duration and time of day rather than headcount alone, and give the caterer the access details so it arrives when you need it. Get those right and the rest is menu preference.
On cost, delivered platter catering is the most economical way to feed a room well, individual boxes buy you convenience and zero waste, and staffed events are a different budget conversation because labour is priced separately. Minimum order values mean the smallest bookings always look expensive per head.
We deliver catering in the Sydney CBD and across the city every weekday, from single boardroom lunches to full-day conference catering. Orders placed by 3 pm arrive the next day, presentation-ready, with dietary requirements labelled on every product.
Browse the range and order online, or request a quote if you want help putting a larger booking together.
