15 food safety questions to ask a caterer, and the answers to expect

Why ask at all

Catering is harder to do safely than restaurant cooking. Food is cooked hours before it is eaten, loaded into vans, carried up freight elevators, held in rooms with no kitchen and served to guests the caterer has never met, some with allergies. Most problems happen in those gaps, not at the stove.

The questions below are grouped by where things go wrong: the kitchen, the people, the temperature chain, allergens, and the paperwork. You do not need to ask all fifteen in a first call. Pick the ones that matter for your event, and ask the rest before you sign. For our own answers, see our kitchen and food safety practices.

The kitchen

1. Where is your kitchen, and which public health unit inspects it?

A good answer: a street address for a commercial kitchen, and the health unit that covers it. In the City of Toronto that is Toronto Public Health. In Mississauga and Brampton it is Peel Public Health, in Vaughan, Markham and Richmond Hill it is York Region Public Health, and in Oakville it is Halton Region. A caterer who is vague about where the food is made is the first warning sign.

2. Can I look up your inspection history?

A good answer: yes, and here is how. For a kitchen in Toronto, Toronto Public Health publishes inspection results through DineSafe. Each inspection ends in a Pass, Conditional Pass or Closed notice, and the record lists infractions, which are classed as minor, significant or crucial. Search the business name or address. A single minor infraction in an otherwise clean history is normal; a pattern of significant or crucial ones is not. Other regional health units publish their own results, so ask where to look.

3. Is all the food for my event prepared in that kitchen?

A good answer: yes, or a clear explanation of what comes from where (for example, a certified bakery for the wedding cake). Food prepared in a home kitchen for a paid event is a red flag. In Ontario a kitchen used to prepare food for sale is a food premises under the regulations, with requirements a normal home kitchen does not meet.

The people

4. Who on your team holds food handler certification?

A good answer: the kitchen leads and event leads at minimum, ideally everyone who handles food. Ontario's Food Premises regulation, O. Reg. 493/17, requires the operator to ensure at least one food handler or supervisor who has completed food handler training is on the premises during every hour the premises operates. Certificates from approved training providers show an issue date and usually an expiry date, so ask whether they are current.

5. Will a certified food handler be at my event?

A good answer: yes, named in the event plan. The regulation speaks to the food premises, but the riskiest part of catering happens on site, so a careful caterer applies the same standard at every event it staffs.

6. If you serve alcohol, are your bartenders Smart Serve certified?

A good answer: yes. Smart Serve is mandatory for staff of licensed businesses who sell or serve alcohol. The AGCO does not require it for people serving at a Special Occasion Permit event, but a professional bar team should have it anyway.

The temperature chain

7. How do you keep hot and cold food at temperature between your kitchen and my venue?

A good answer: specific equipment. Cold food chilled before packing and transported in insulated carriers or refrigerated vehicles, hot food in insulated hot boxes, and hot and cold never in the same carrier. Food is checked with a probe thermometer on arrival. Health Canada's danger zone is 4°C to 60°C, and the caterer should use those numbers without having to look them up.

8. How long will food sit out on the buffet or grazing table, and what happens after that?

A good answer: a time limit, usually two hours for perishable food at room temperature, and a practice of replacing platters rather than topping them up. Hot food on a staffed buffet should be held at 60°C or above in chafing dishes or on heated equipment. Our grazing table guide explains the two-hour limit, and where the four-hour figure you may see online comes from.

9. What do you need from the venue for handwashing and prep?

A good answer: a real question back to you about the venue. Many lofts, galleries and backyards have no handwashing sink near the food, and a good caterer brings a portable handwashing station rather than relying on gloves or sanitizer alone.

10. What happens to leftovers?

A good answer: a clear policy. Food that stayed chilled or was never set out can usually be packed for you; food that sat out past its time limit is discarded. A caterer who offers to box up everything from a buffet that has been out all evening is telling you something about the rest of their practices.

Allergens

11. How do you find out about allergies, and when?

A good answer: a defined step, such as an allergy question on the order form or RSVP, with guest names and severity collected before the final count.

12. How is an allergy meal prepared and served?

A good answer: made with cleaned equipment, packed and sealed separately, labelled with the guest's name and the allergen it is free of, and handed to the guest directly rather than placed on a shared table. Health Canada lists priority food allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans and molluscs, soy, wheat and triticale, and mustard, along with sulphites and gluten sources. A good caterer knows which of them are in each dish.

13. Can you guarantee an allergen-free meal?

A good answer: an honest one. Most caterers work in shared kitchens, and a caterer who promises zero risk of trace exposure for a severe allergy without a dedicated facility is overpromising. Better to hear the limits and decide together, for example by sourcing a sealed meal from a specialist. The same applies to celiac disease; see gluten-free vs celiac-safe catering.

Insurance and alcohol paperwork

14. Can you provide a certificate of insurance for my venue?

A good answer: yes, usually within a few days. Many venues require caterers to carry commercial general liability insurance and to provide a certificate naming the venue as an additional insured, sometimes with a minimum coverage amount set in the venue contract. Read your venue contract first, then send the caterer the exact wording required.

15. How will alcohol be handled legally?

A good answer: one of two models, clearly explained. Either the caterer holds a liquor sales licence with a caterer's endorsement from the AGCO and sells and serves under it (not at a residence), or you, the host, obtain a Special Occasion Permit, buy the alcohol in Ontario, and the caterer supplies the bar staff. A caterer should never offer to "sort out" alcohol without saying which model applies. Our Special Occasion Permit guide covers the permit steps.

Red flags worth walking away from

• No fixed kitchen address, or reluctance to say which health unit inspects it
• Surprise or irritation at questions about temperature, time limits or allergens
• "Everything is gluten-free" or "no nuts at all" from a kitchen that clearly uses both, with no explanation of how
• No written proposal, or one that leaves out staffing, equipment and who is responsible for alcohol
• An offer to sell you alcohol for an event at your home
• Buffet food planned to sit out for an entire evening without replenishment or hot holding

None of these questions is rude. Caterers who take food safety seriously are glad to be asked, because it means the client will take the answers seriously too. When you are ready to compare proposals, you can request a quote from us, and our FAQ answers the most common questions about how we work.