Drop-off vs full-service catering

What each one actually includes

Drop-off catering means the food arrives ready to serve, in disposable or returnable containers, with serving utensils, labels and, where ordered, plates, napkins and cutlery. The driver sets it out where you direct and leaves. You or your team handle serving, keeping it tidy and clearing away. See drop-off catering.

Full-service catering means a team stays for the event. Depending on the plan, that includes a captain or event lead, servers, kitchen staff finishing food on site, bartenders where the plan includes a bar, and a clearing crew. They set up, manage food temperature and presentation, serve or replenish, clear plates and pack everything out. See full-service catering.

There is a middle ground: drop-off food plus one or two hired staff for a set number of hours to set up, refresh and clear. For a 40-person office party or a home reception, that is often the most sensible choice. Our event staffing page covers it.

How the costs differ

With drop-off, you pay for food, delivery ($45) and any disposables or equipment rental. Our minimum for drop-off orders is 15 guests, with a standard lead time of 48 hours.

Full service adds staff time, billed at $38 per staff hour, including setup and clearing, and a service charge of 18%. Rentals such as china, glassware and linens are usually part of a full-service event too. The minimum for full-service events is 40 guests.

A useful way to think about it: staff hours scale with the length of the event and the formality of service, not only with guest count. A two-hour reception for 60 guests with passed canapés needs more staff than a buffet lunch for the same group, because every canapé is carried by hand.

Food safety and time out

This is the difference most people overlook. Ontario's Food Premises regulation (O. Reg. 493/17) sets hot holding at 60°C or hotter and cold holding at 4°C or colder. With drop-off, once food is set out, keeping it in that range is up to you. Standard food safety guidance is to eat perishable food within about two hours of it leaving temperature control, and to discard it after that.

For a one-hour lunch meeting, that is easy. For a four-hour open house, an all-day training session or an outdoor party in July, it is not. Chafing dishes with fuel help for a while, but someone still has to watch them, and many offices and venues don't allow chafing fuel at all.

Full-service staff hold food in hot boxes or refrigeration and bring it out in smaller batches, so what guests eat at hour three is as safe and fresh as at hour one. They also manage allergy questions at the table rather than leaving guests to read labels.

Guest experience and the host's evening

At a drop-off event, the host is also the server. Someone needs to open containers, keep the table tidy, restock napkins, and clear plates as people finish. For a team lunch that takes five minutes. For a milestone party at home, it means the host spends part of the evening in the kitchen.

Full service lets the host be a guest. It also changes what food is possible: passed canapés, plated courses, carving and pasta stations, and hot items finished on site all need staff. Drop-off menus are built around food that travels and holds, such as sandwiches, salads, grain bowls, platters and baked dishes.

Setup and clean-up

Drop-off setup takes a few minutes and cleanup is whatever you make of it: disposables into bins, leftovers wrapped, returnable equipment stacked for pickup. Full service includes building the buffet or bar, setting tables if needed, and a full clear-down at the end, including garbage removal where the venue requires it. At venues with strict out times, such as galleries, condo party rooms and lofts, that clearing crew often matters as much as the food.

Two examples

A 25-person Tuesday team lunch in a North York office: drop-off is the clear choice. Food arrives 15 minutes before the meeting, everyone eats within the hour, and leftovers go into the office fridge.

A 70-guest 60th birthday at a Vaughan home, 7 p.m. to midnight: full service, or at least drop-off with two staff. Food will be out for hours, the host wants to be at the party, and a home kitchen can't hold hot food for that long without someone managing it.

Choose drop-off if / choose full service if

Choose drop-off if:

• The event is a meeting, working lunch or casual gathering of an hour or two.
• Guests will serve themselves and the menu is built for it.
• Someone on your side can set out food, watch timing and clear up.
• The venue is an office or a home where cleanup is simple.
• Budget per guest is the main concern.

Choose full service if:

• The event runs longer than two hours or food will be out for a long time.
• You want passed food, plated courses or live stations.
• The host should be free to spend time with guests.
• The venue has strict setup, alcohol or clear-out rules.
• Guests include several people with serious allergies who need answers in person.

Still between the two? Price drop-off plus a staff member or two for the length of the event. It is often closer to what you need than either extreme.