Which dishes should you offer for catering and delivery? Off-site sales can dramatically increase your revenue, but choosing the wrong dishes kills your margins faster than you'd expect. The secret lies in balancing profitability with logistics.
The three pillars of off-site sales
A dish that shines in your dining room can become a nightmare for catering. You've got to evaluate three critical factors:
- Margin: Does enough profit remain after hidden costs?
- Logistics: Will the dish survive transport and reheating?
- Quality: Does it still taste great after two hours?
Calculate your actual margin for off-site sales
Your standard 30% food cost can balloon to 45% because of expenses you didn't anticipate.
💡 Example: Pasta carbonara
Restaurant cost price: €7.50 per portion
- Packaging: €0.80 per portion
- Transport (fuel): €0.30 per portion
- Extra staff time: €1.20 per portion
- Warming costs: €0.20 per portion
Total cost price off-site: €10.00
If you sell this dish for €18.00 (excl. VAT €16.51), your food cost becomes: (€10.00 / €16.51) × 100 = 60.6%. That margin won't sustain profitable operations.
Which dishes handle off-site logistics?
Not every dish survives the journey and reheating process. Here's what works and what doesn't:
✅ Excellent for off-site:
- Stews: Actually improve with time
- Pasta with sauce: Provided the sauce stays stable
- Curries and ragouts: Hold their flavor and texture beautifully
- Soups: Simple to keep at proper temperature
- Grilled chicken or meat: Especially in marinades or sauces
❌ Avoid for off-site:
- Fried food: Turns soggy and unappetizing
- Fresh salads: Lettuce wilts and becomes mushy
- Fish: Dries out and gets rubbery
- Risotto: Becomes gluey mess
- Medium-rare steaks: Overcook during reheating
⚠️ Note:
Test everything yourself first. Prepare the dish, package it, drive around for 30 minutes, then reheat it. Would you eat this? Only offer dishes that pass your own taste test.
Calculate your break-even point
Off-site sales require higher break-even calculations due to additional expenses. Here's how to determine your minimum selling price:
💡 Example calculation:
Braised beef with vegetables:
- Ingredients: €6.50
- Packaging: €0.60
- Transport per portion: €0.40
- Extra time: €1.00
Total costs: €8.50
At desired margin of 35%: €8.50 / 0.65 = €13.08 excl. VAT
Minimum selling price: €14.26 incl. VAT
Streamline your off-site menu
Don't offer your complete menu for catering. Most kitchen managers discover too late that a focused selection of 8-12 dishes works far better. Pick dishes that:
- Handle logistics effortlessly
- Stay profitable after additional costs
- Your regular customers love
- Need minimal last-minute preparation
A smaller, thoroughly tested menu generates better profits than an extensive menu plagued with issues.
Factor in economies of scale
Catering becomes significantly more profitable with larger orders. Transport costs get distributed across more portions.
💡 Economy of scale example:
Transport to location: €25.00
- At 10 portions: €2.50 per portion
- At 30 portions: €0.83 per portion
- At 50 portions: €0.50 per portion
That's why minimum orders make sense: below 20-25 portions, catering often becomes unprofitable.
How do you select the right dishes? (step by step)
Test the logistics of each dish
Make the dish, package it professionally and drive around for 30 minutes. Then reheat it the way you would for catering. Note how it tastes, smells and looks.
Calculate the full cost price including extras
Add to your normal ingredient costs: packaging, transport per portion, extra staff, warming costs and any additional prep time. This is your real cost price for off-site.
Determine your minimum selling price
Divide your total cost price by (1 minus your desired margin). At 35% margin: cost price / 0.65. Multiply by 1.09 for the price including VAT. This is your absolute minimum.
Set minimum order quantities
Calculate at what number of portions your transport costs become acceptable (usually around €0.50-1.00 per portion). This becomes your minimum order for profitable catering.
✨ Pro tip
Test exactly 6 dishes over the next 2 weeks - package them, drive 20 minutes away, then reheat and taste. Only add dishes to your catering menu that still taste restaurant-quality after this process.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
What's a realistic minimum order for catering?
Usually 20-25 portions, depending on your transport costs. Below this threshold, fixed costs like transport and extra staff time per portion become too high for profitable sales.
What packaging should I use for hot dishes?
Use aluminum containers or high-quality microwave-safe plastic containers. Budget €0.50-1.00 per portion for professional packaging including lids and dividers. Cheap packaging ruins the customer experience.
How much extra should I charge for off-site sales?
Add 15-25% on top of your regular selling price to cover extra costs like packaging, transport, and additional labor. For smaller orders, this can increase to 30-40% extra.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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