Anything from around 300 guests upward, and we regularly cater 500-plus. Above 300 we do a site visit before quoting to plan service flow, kitchen access and staffing properly.

Formal plated service for seated award nights and fundraisers where timing matters, or buffet with multiple parallel service points where you need to feed people fast. Many galas run canapés on arrival then one of the two.

Multiple service points rather than one long line, sized to the guest count, with dietary stations run separately so guests are not hunting through a buffet. For 300-plus we typically run parallel stations.

Yes, with the right staffing and kitchen or prep access at the venue. Plated at that scale is a logistics exercise — we will tell you honestly what the venue can support.

Yes. Both have fixed programme timing, so the run sheet matters more than usual — courses need to land between speeches rather than during them.

Yes, that is standard for us. We cook in our South Kingsville production kitchen and bring hot-holding equipment. Your venue needs space and access, not a kitchen.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal are part of every menu. At gala scale we run clearly labelled separate service points, and plated dietary meals are tracked to the table.

Sized to the guest count and service style. Your quote itemises staffing separately so you can see exactly what the service component costs.

Two to three months minimum. Large events need a site visit, a staffing plan and supplier coordination that cannot be rushed.

Yes. We vary the menu across days so attendees are not served the same thing twice, and we plan service points to match each day’s programme.

We cater them regularly. We need to know about power, water, shade and vehicle access, and we build a wet-weather contingency into the run sheet.

Ultima Function Centre handles up to around 800 guests across eight event spaces. For larger or site-specific events we cater wherever you choose.

We cater events up to eight hundred guests, which is the capacity of our own Ultima Function Centre in Keilor East. We also cater into external Melbourne venues at that scale, subject to a site inspection of the kitchen, loading access and holding space. Above eight hundred we would discuss a staged or multi-room service plan.

Crew size for a five hundred guest event is built from the service style, the venue layout and the number of buffet lines, and includes separate kitchen, line and floor teams plus a dedicated service supervisor. We confirm the exact roster in the quote. Understaffing at this scale causes queues and cold food, so we do not trim it.

We stagger service by zone and feed multiple buffet lines from separate holding stations, so the room is released in sequence rather than all at once. Mains are chosen for how they hold at volume, and fried entrees go out in timed batches. The goal is a tight window between the first and last guest eating.

We can cater venues without a commercial kitchen by cooking off-site and bringing our own hot-holding and serving equipment. What we need instead is vehicle access close to the serving area, adequate power, and enough space for a holding and plating zone. We inspect the site first so the crew and equipment plan matches what the building can support.

Yes, we build our service times into the event run sheet alongside the speeches, awards and entertainment, and a supervisor runs the food against it on the night. Every food moment gets a time and a trigger. Send us your draft run sheet early, because entree and dessert timing is usually where conflicts show up.

Dietary meals at large events are counted, cooked and plated separately, then delivered to identified seats rather than sorted out at the buffet. We need the numbers and the table allocations two weeks out in writing. Vegetarian, vegan, Jain and halal requirements are standard for community galas and we plan capacity for them from the start.

By zoning the room and running waves, with holding equipment positioned close to each zone. Plates are assembled in a staged sequence rather than all at once, and each zone has its own runner team and release time. The floor manager calls waves from the room, not the kitchen. The venue’s back-of-house layout determines how many zones are possible, so we assess it early.

Yes, with a mobile kitchen build. We bring cooking, holding and refrigeration equipment, which requires confirmed power or generator capacity, water access, a level footprint and waste arrangements. Warehouses, sports pavilions and marquee sites all work when planned properly. A site visit is non-negotiable at this scale — the power load alone decides what the menu can include.

Enough for service, replenishment, clearing, back of house and a floor manager who runs the room rather than carries plates. The number moves with service style — plated service needs substantially more floor staff than stations. We set the headcount against the floor plan, the course count and the program, then confirm it with you in writing before the event.

Yes. Auctions, speeches and award presentations all compete with food, so the program and the service sequence are built together. Courses land in gaps, clearing happens between segments rather than during them, and staff stay off the floor while the stage is live. Send the draft run sheet as soon as it exists and we will mark the food windows on it.

We set a confirmation deadline, usually two weeks out, and work to an agreed tolerance either side. At gala scale, large late swings affect food ordering, staffing rosters and equipment hire, so the earlier the signal the better. Small movements of twenty or thirty guests are absorbed without drama. Tell us as soon as registrations indicate a trend.

Yes. Day sessions with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea followed by an evening gala is a standard structure for us. One plan covers the whole day, so equipment stays in place and the room turn between day and evening format is scheduled rather than improvised. Confirm the turn time with the venue, since it is usually the tightest part of the day.