Cooking for bar mitzvah vs. catering

hope33

Thu, Oct 19 2017, 8:34 pm

How much do you save by cooking on your own for a bar mitzvah shabbos vs. having it catered with the cheapest caterer possible? I'm talking about a Friday night meal for about 60 people, including many kids, and a shabbos lunch meal for 100 people, including many kids.
I know it's a lot of work, but I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it from a purely financial perspective.

Thank you.

mandksima

Thu, Oct 19 2017, 10:20 pm

I catered our bar mitzvah party myself and had my BIL do the Shabbos meals and I can just say for the party it came out so much cheaper but was a lot of work. I froze whatever I could and it was great but it took a lot of planning and organization. If you have family or friends to help, it will be easier. Ask around what the cheaper caterers charge and then figure out a grocery list to compare costs. A caterer is usually three times the food cost but they do get their food cheaper with wholesale purchase. Do you work out of the house? That would also make fulfilling other commitments hard unless you had helpers.

ila

Thu, Oct 19 2017, 10:37 pm

If you end up making it yourself try at least to have someone else ( friend or family member) in charge of serving so you can enjoy all the work! And be relaxed at the party. I did a Shabat bar Mitzvah for less people and saw this is an important part

amother

Ruby

Thu, Oct 19 2017, 10:49 pm

Also calculate the fact that for some of us, the caterer is a financial impossibility.

So we are calculating our stress etc. over making the event work, vs. the stress of denying our son the event he is so hoping for, or denying friends/family the opportunity to join in our simcha.

Mommyg8

Thu, Oct 19 2017, 10:49 pm

hope33 wrote:

You save a lot. It's also not that hard to make your own food - you can make stuff in advance and freeze it, and then maybe some of the guests can bring a salad or two. As for Shabbos by day - I found that there's not much to cook. Everyone just ate by the kiddush, and if you buy just the cholent - where I live that's pretty cheap - and buy the rest like cold cuts, or whatever else you want to put out - it's not a fortune.

The hard part is serving and plating. If you can get waiters just for that - then you're good. Otherwise, it may just be worth it to have it catered, and spend the money, unless you're really super geshikt and have no problem doing it all yourself, or you have tons of help from friends/relatives.

shanie5

Sun, Oct 22 2017, 3:46 pm

Definitely cheaper to cook yourself. Lots more stress and planning. Where are you eating? Can you bring in home cooked food or must you cook in their kitchen? Are you using paper goods? Buying that and remembering everything you need is HARD. (every serving bowl, serving utensil, enough cus and forks, platters or bowls for each item being served......

I run simchos for people. Many people will do all the cooking and shopping, then hire me to get waiters and run the kitchen so that they can enjoy the simcha itself. If you dont have someone to do that, you will not be able to enjoy your own simcha.

Relying on family to help sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. For bringing in food, they are good, but when it comes to serving and cleaning up-it's no guarantee.

amother

Bronze

Sun, Oct 22 2017, 3:52 pm

I cooked for my oldest son's bar mitzvah. I started the actual cooking a few weeks in advance. What I did not take into account was all the work involved in shlepping the food to the shul where we were making the bar mitzvah, setting up (it was a buffet) and getting myself and my kids dressed and ready for the bar mitzvah. Although we did save money it was not worth it. I was wiped out and didn't really enjoy the bar mitzvah at all. Another aspect is that our relatives stayed late to help me clean up afterwards and I felt bad--they should be coming as guests to enjoy and not feel obligated to help.

My next few bar mitzvahs I hired a caterer but still kept it simple. Another option is to order trays of food (still cheaper than full catering) and hire waiters to set up/clean up. There are lots of ways to make a bar mitzvah on budget without doing all the work yourself.

amother

Crimson

Sun, Oct 22 2017, 4:27 pm

I don't have kid those ages but my mother (with my help...I did a lot of it) has cooked 10 shabbos simchas bh. (Between 95 and 150 ppl. Per meal) We have aleays cooked it and found it was way tastier and cheaper. We hire a team of waiters to serve and clean up. It works out great! I don't like catered food so by my own simchas I will probably cool them as well.
Sample menu: (from Ours)
Grape juice
Challah...homemade whole wheat. White bought
Dips
Pesto. Chummus. Tomato. Eggplant (pickles and olives and hearts of palm on the table.)
Fish...teriyaki salmon and herb salmon
Vegetable salad on table
Soup...chicken soup with matza balls. Croutons on table
Main. Stuffed chicken or capons. Slice of meat. Rice with mushrooms
Roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes string beans.
Dessert. Apple cobbler. Vanilla ice cream with maple syrup an droasted pecans over it.

Shabbos day.
Challah. And dips like Friday night
Side table with salads and fish for ppl who want
Chopped liver. Sauteed liver. Egg salad.
Maon
Cholent. Kishka.Overnight kugel. Pastrami. Shnitzel and grilled cutlets. Veggy. And cold cuts
Dessert. Pareve ice cream and sorbet

amother

Linen

Sun, Oct 22 2017, 7:18 pm

amother wrote:

This is a great menu! How long does this take to prepare?