Event staffing

Who is on an event team

The number of staff matters less than having the right roles. A typical catered event team in Toronto and the GTA is built from these positions:

• Event lead (captain). Your single point of contact on the day. Runs the timeline, coordinates with the venue, planner, DJ or emcee, and makes decisions when something changes.
• Chef or cook. Finishes and plates food on site, runs stations and controls holding temperatures.
• Servers. Pass canapés, serve plated courses, replenish buffets, clear plates and glassware, and keep the room tidy.
• Bartenders. Serve drinks and manage the bar. In Ontario, who may sell or serve alcohol depends on the licence or permit for the event; see bar service.
• Kitchen support. For large plated dinners, a porter or dishwasher keeps plates, cutlery and glassware moving.

How many staff you need

Staffing depends on service style more than guest count alone. Plated dinners need the most people, because every course is carried out and cleared at the same time. A buffet needs fewer, because guests carry their own plates. These are the ratios we plan from, and they are in line with common industry practice:

Adjust upward when the space is spread over several rooms or floors, when the kitchen area is far from the room, or when the timeline is tight, such as a plated dinner that must finish before speeches at a fixed time.

Why staff hours are longer than your event

A four-hour reception is not four staff hours per person. Staff arrive before guests to receive rentals, set tables, build stations and prepare the first round of food, and they stay after to clear, pack and load out. For a typical evening event, the event lead and chefs arrive three to four hours before guests; servers one and a half to two hours before. Breakdown takes one to two hours after the last guest, longer if rentals must be counted and packed.

Staff time is billed hourly ($38 per staff hour) per staff member, including setup and breakdown. Your quote lists each role, the number of people and hours, so you can see exactly where the staffing cost comes from.

An example staffing plan

A corporate reception for 120 guests, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., in a downtown loft with no kitchen, with passed canapés, two food stations and a bar:

• 1 event lead, arriving 3:00, leaving 10:30
• 2 chefs, arriving 3:00, leaving 10:00 (finishing canapés and running the hot station)
• 5 servers, arriving 4:30, leaving 10:00 (passing, clearing, one on the cold station)
• 2 bartenders, arriving 5:00, leaving 9:30

That is 10 people and about 64 staff hours for a three-hour event. A buffet dinner for the same guests would need fewer servers; a plated dinner would need roughly twice as many.

Staff at home and in small spaces

Staffed service is not only for large venues. A dinner party at home for 20 with a family-style meal usually needs one chef and one or two servers, and it lets the host sit down with guests. In a condo, check the party room booking rules, elevator reservations and whether the building limits the number of vendors. Our private homes and condos guide covers the details.

What to expect from our team

Before the event, the event lead reviews the run of show, floor plan, dietary meals and vendor list with you. On the day, the lead does a walk-through with your contact before guests arrive, briefs the team on the timeline and any allergies, and checks in with you at key moments rather than making you look for them. Dietary meals are tracked by seat or name so the right plate reaches the right guest.

For guidance on planning the numbers yourself, read how many catering staff per guest.