For many couples, wedding planning is like visiting a country with a different language. Here is a useful glossary of some 30 catering terms you might hear during your adventures:
Back of House
The equivalent of ‘back stage’; everything that you and your guests do not (and should not) see.
Bowl Food
Small bowls of delicious food passed amongst your guests during a standing reception. A great choice for those looking for a casual reception.
Camp/Field Kitchen
Not all venues come with a kitchen! Sometimes the caterer needs to bring their own, for example, in a marquee or in an unusual venue such as a barn. This might incur extra costs.
Canapé
Canapés should always bite sized. Anything bigger is finger food, anything bigger than that is bowl food.
Charger
Larger decorative plates that sit at each place setting. Never used for food, sometimes removed before service, sometimes the first course is set on them.
Corkage
The charge levied (typically per bottle) if you decide to supply your own drinks.
Cover
A food and beverage term for ‘guest’. For example, whereas you might say “I have 80 guests coming” a chef will say “I’ve got 80 covers to do”.
Deposit
The amount you will need to pay in advance of your booking.
Dry Hire
This means you are hiring something, for example, the venue, without any labour, assistance, furniture, delivery etc included. Always check what ‘dry hire’ includes.
Event Planner/Coordinator
The person who works with you during the planning stages of your wedding, helping you decide on everything from your menu to suppliers. Also the role of an ‘in-house wedding planner’.
Event Manager
The person who will be there on the day managing the ops team of chefs and waiters to make your plans a reality.
F&B
Short for ‘food and beverage’.
Family Style
A way of serving where food is placed at each table for guests to serve themselves — like a family Sunday roast.
Food Stations
A fun way of serving a variety of foods at a reception. For example, you might have a Seafood Station with a chef shucking oysters, or a Crêpe Station.
Front of House
Like the stage of a theatre; everything you and your guests DO see!
Full Service
A full-service caterer will be able to do everything beyond simply providing the food and drink; from planning, to managing the other suppliers. You can see more about this in my article ‘The Role of a Wedding Caterer‘.
Hire
The term for everything hired from other companies by your caterer. For example, special glassware, cutlery or charger plates.
In-House
Everything that the caterer (or venue) already has. For example “we have in-house wedding planners”.
Linens
The table covers and napkins.
Maître De
Originally maître d’hôtel, this refers to the head waiter/waitress who is managing everything going on Front of House, and relaying it to the Event Manager.
Mise en Place
Literally means ‘putting in place’. This a kitchen term for organising and preparing the ingredients they will need later on.
Napery
Another term for ‘Linens’.
Ops Meeting
Held by the caterers before your event. The time when your Event Coordinator hands over the Ops Sheet to the team who will make it happen.
Ops Sheet
The battle plan for your events team on the night; all of your plans translated into numbers and events-speak to ensure everyone gets it right.
Outmess
Small meals for your events team and any suppliers, often eaten back-of-house. Your photographer may ask for you to supply ‘outmess’ during the day. Some venues will charge for some outmess for their security team as part of the hire.
Placement
The correct way of displaying cutlery, glassware and stationery on the table. Etiquette rules here!
Platters
Used to display and serve canapés to your guests. Can be extravagant or elegant, but should always allow for beautiful presentation. Often added to with ‘props’…
Props
The term for everything that exists purely for aesthetics, with no purpose other than to make things look beautiful or convey a theme e.g. feathers and flowers.
Service
A term for the delivery of food and drinks to all the guests.
Set Up
Also referred to as ‘the in’, this is the time it takes to get all the equipment into a venue and set up for guests. Don’t be shocked if this is quite a short time; my record for transforming a public museum into a dining hall for 600 is a mere two hours! Good caterers operate with military precision.
Shuck
What one does to open an oyster.
Site Visit
A visit you make with your event coordinator (or wedding planner) to the venue before your wedding day, to discuss logistics and to get inspiration.
Snake Service
Our standard style of service! Waiters line up with plated food then walk together, like a snake, to the table, before circling it and laying the food down in front of your guests simultaneously.
Table Stationery
All the bits and bobs that will sit on the table alongside the Placement (menu cards and place names).
Whisper Call
A sophisticated alternative to an announcement such as “Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats!”. Instead, the Maître De walks amongst your guests, asking each of them to move through to their table.
Guest post by Julie Gray of Bovingtons
Image from Yvette Roman Photography
