Louis Gervais Fine Foods and Catering is a full service Vancouver caterer for corporate events and meetings, private parties, weddings and special events. We cater to a wide range of clients and provide all services required to execute an outstanding event or meeting.
Full Service
Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering hires only experienced staff. They are efficient, personable and professional. We trust them implicitly to attend to all catered event details including setting up and decorating, circulating canapès, preparing and serving the food, tending the bar, and cleaning and tiding up once the event is over. We only provide service staff for events we are also catering the food and beverage.
All staffed events require a minimum of one onsite Catering Chef and one Lead Server. Staff are paid for a minimum of four hours plus an 18% gratuity of the food and beverage total. When client’s supply their own beverages and liquor the gratuity is based on the estimated beverages served. The amount of catering staff required for an event depends on guest count, the type of menu and service requested, and the time required for setup and teardown before and after the event. The Supervisor, Lead Servers and Chefs are also paid for travel to and from the venue. Depending on the location of your venue additional travel charges for all staff may apply.
The cost of service personnel varies depending on the skills required as follows:
Supervisors – $35.00 per hour per staff member
Lead Server or Lead Bartender– $30.00 per hour per staff member
Servers & Food service staff – $25.00 per hour per staff member
Bartenders – $28.00 per hour per staff member
Executive Chef – $50.00 per hour
On site chefs – $35.00 per hour per staff member
On site cooks – $30.00 per hour per staff member
Delivery or Take-away
Clients wanting a quick, easy and delicious alternative to cooking themselves can take advantage of our take-away catering menus. Pick it up at our studio kitchen or have it delivered. Perfect for a casual reception at the office, a dinner party with friends, a few canapès and party platters to go with cocktails, or a warm and serve buffet dinner. Depending on how hands-on or hands-off you wish to be at your event, our event planners can recommend menu items that are ideal for a take-away or delivery orders.
For our corporate clients we offer a full range of delivery menus from French baguette sandwiches, soups and salads to cocktail and dinner options – ideal for meetings, conferences and special events.
The cost of delivery and pick-up of equipment and dishes after the event will depend on your location. Please ask for a quotation when placing your order. There is no delivery charge to catered functions with staff.
Catered Event Policies
Catering Menu
We will do our best to accommodate all allergies and diet restrictions. Any changes to a menu, other than guest count, must be made no later than one week prior to the event date. In compliance with Food Safe regulations, we reserve the right to dispose of any perishable food items two hours after food service is complete.
We offer catering menu tastings at $50 per person (up to a maximum of four guests) for clients with an event proposal of $5000 or more. If you book your event with us, the tasting is complimentary for up to four guests ($200 value). A credit card is required to confirm all tasting appointments.
Event Planning
Once the catering menu proposal is perfected and you have paid your deposit to confirm the date and your event we will continue to provide up to two hours of assistance revising menus based on changes to guest count and unforeseen dietary requirements and, if required, revising rental contracts following a site inspection. If you need additional help with event coordination including creating floor plans, seating plans, or timelines etc. we will track these hours and add them to your final invoice at $50.00 per hour.
Site Inspections
Site inspections are complimentary for clients with a minimum $5000 booking. If a client requires a site visit for an event in which the booking is less than $5000, a $50 per hour charge will be applied to their final invoice.
Event Rentals
We can take care of ordering and organizing any catering rentals you require including: table wares, glasses, bar equipment and supplies, tables and chairs, linens, cooking equipment, etc. We use outside providers for this and our fee for coordination is 10% of the total cost when working with our partnered rental companies in North Vancouver and Vancouver.
In order to guarantee high quality service and event execution, we insist upon coordinating the food and beverage related rentals. However, if you choose to coordinate the remainder of the rentals (such as tables, chairs, linens, etc), we reserve the right to charge a consultation fee to review and revise your order as necessary. The fee is $100.00 and is charged if the total consultation time is in excess of one hour.
Alcohol
We have a BC Catering Endorsement mobile Liquor License and can provide full bar service at your Vancouver venue, which includes purchasing, storing, chilling, and serving your alcoholic beverages. All liquor will be served by Serving it Right certified staff. If you choose to purchase your own liquor we can provide guidance on amounts to purchase and recommend suitable wines pairings, but you are then responsible for securing a liquor license if required. For events held in our Bistro we are required to supply and serve all alcoholic beverages as per the venue’s liquor license.
Cash Bar
We can provide a cash bar for any catered event where liquor is being served. If we are providing the beverages, the cost per beverage will be increased to include tax and gratuity. We will provide the cash float, drink tickets, debit and credit card terminals and cashier(s). If the client wishes to provide their own alcohol, and manage their own cash bar, they must provide the float, drink tickets, etc.
Flowers, Dècor, Music
We would be happy to look after arrangements for flowers, dècor and/or music. Our fee is a 30% service charge.
Gratuity
There is a 18% gratuity charge applied to the food and beverage portion of your bill. If you choose to purchase your own liquor there is no corkage fee but the 18% gratuity will be applied to an estimate of the cost of beverages served. This gratuity is applicable only to catered functions and is divided up between all staff responsible for the success of your function.
Deposits
In order to secure the date for your Vancouver event, we require a non-refundable deposit of 25% of the total quoted. Two weeks prior to the event we will require a second deposit of 50% of the total quoted – refundable up until seven days before the event. The remaining balance will be invoiced after the event. Should another client show interest in the same date prior to payment of the second deposit we reserve the right to move the due date of the second deposit forward.
Payments
We accept Cash, Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, Cheques, and Interac E-Transfer payments. Cheques should be written to Louis Gervais Fine Foods and Catering. Final payment is due within 30 days of the event date. A 2% interest rate will be applied to any outstanding charges not paid within 30 days.
For corporate clients who order regularly, we can arrange to invoice on a weekly basis. Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering will expect payment within 15 days of receipt of the invoice.
Guest Count Confirmation
Your event quote is based on the number of guests specified. Should your guest list decrease significantly, the menu price, number of staff, or rental quantities may need to be adjusted. We require a final guest count five business days prior to the event. After that time, we will do our best to accommodate increases; however, we are not able to accommodate decreases in numbers.
Limitation of Liability
We will not take responsibility, assume liability, nor issue any monetary refund or discount for any forces outside our control including but not limited to unforeseen weather, utility failure, equipment failure or any issues arising from other Vancouver vendors failing to deliver of their promises.
