Balanced & budget friendly buffets.
Because everyone deserves an accessible affordable meal.

Guests of Large Gatherings enjoy:

  • House made salad dressings

  • Pasta and veggies roasted and prepared in extra virgin olive oil

  • Conventional or organic proteins

  • Simple sweets and seasonal fruit

  • Ecofriendly service ware

Event Organizers enjoy:

  • Expansive menus for a wide variety of guests

  • Adaptable pricing and proposals

  • Friendly service staff from planning to event execution

  • Experienced event partner who cares about their event success

Our Budget Friendly Buffets are great for:

  • Small Nonprofits

  • Faith Based Organizations

  • UC Berkeley Groups

  • Scouts and Youth Groups

  • School Fundraisers

Great for gatherings of 100 - 300 guests.

From drop off to partial service.

We love to partner with your volunteers

Berkeley, Oakland &
surrounding East Bay cities

  • "Your delicious dishes bring us all together in community!” - Kathy + Rick

Your Next Steps

#1 Complete an Event Inquiry

Let’s get to know your event and budget needs. We will make suggestions to see how we may support your overall event success.

#2 Ensure Food is
Checked off your List

Together, we’ll confirm all logistics are in place and answer any of your team’s questions.

#3 Enjoy Your Day

Your guests are well cared for with flavorful food and a catering partner who cares about your overall budget and event success.

FAQs

  • We have several simple fare menu available. Some example menus include:

    • Simple Romain Salad Greens with choice of simple toppings and house dressing

    • Roasted BBQ or plain chicken

    • Roasted wedge potatoes in extra virgin olive oil

    • Plain Pasta prepared in olive oil and not butter (vegan)

    • Roasted tofu

    • Dipping sauces

    • Simple House cookie dessert and or fruit

      Continue use to learn more

  • We would love to speak with you to best understand your event priorities and check event date availability.

    Please complete an event inquiry below!

  • We are a certified Green Caterer and strive to make sustainable choices that care for our earth.

    We offer reusable platters and silver tongs to bring a bit of sustainability to your gathering.

    Clients do have the choice of all compostable or reusables for your event, or a blend.

    Generally, We recommend
    - compostable or picnic style plates, forks, napkins
    - Reusable platters, reusable tongs,

    We can arrange for pick up and washing of these supplies, leading to less trash/compost for your group post event.

  • We partner closely with value aligned locally owned and operated job development delivery company, Piikup.

    Piikup pays fair wages and job training to community members who otherwise may face hiring barriers

    The Table Catering can have a greater position impact in our community by partnering with our strategic partner and allows us to serve more groups while staying a small boutique style caterer.

  • We serve Berkeley, Oakland Piedmont and surrounding areas and about 30 minutes to 45 minutes beyond and within the East Bay

    We want to ensure freshness of food for your event and keep costs to a minimum, which includes transportation length and time.

  • We are able to accommodate one to two weeks advance notice and in some cases less time

    . To guarantee your date availability, we recommend contacting us at least one month in advance of your event.

  • The Table Catering provide’s full transparency in our menus, with featured farms, ingredients and allergens.
    including attention to vegan, vegetarian, gluten free dishes.

    Every catering includes a detailed menu for your guests.

  • Full Service catering includes all food is prepared fresh for your event, inclduing delivery, service, set up, replenishing and final clean up.

    We are also experienced in coordinating additional services such as table, chair, linen, tableware rentals or can connect you to our referral partners.


    Planning begins everywhere between one year and one month in advance with final details in place on or by two to three weeks in advance.

  • We also offer a DIY option of essentially drop off catering, still with our committment to reusable platters and containers.

    Check out the DIY Buffet optional below and starts at an average of $35 per guest

  • The majority of our clients spend between $15-$30 per guest. There are several factors that go into cost, including menu, delivery and related logistics.

    We charge per platter not per guest, which should give your organization flexibility for increased head count.

    We do have a $2,000 minimum, to ensure base line culinary and operational costs are covered.

  • You have a choice of

    1. Our service team

    2. Your staff and volunteers

    3. Our team and your team

    In an effort to pay livable wages, We charge our client’s $40 per hour per team member, which covers related scheduling, payroll taxes and workers comp and related expenses.

    We recommend 30m-1 hr for arrival, set up, 1-2 hours for meal service depending on your groups needs and another 30 minutes to one hour to clean up. We do have a three hour minimum for our staff.

    Example:
    Event begins at 12noon for 100 guests. We arrive and load in at 11a, bring 2-3 team members to support simple self serve buffet service, Meal is from 12p-1p and our team supports clean up, and we depart by 2p. That would be 3 hours at $40 hr, $120 per team member. We can strategize is 2 or 3 team members is best for your event.

    Often organizations find it advantageous to have The Table Catering team own set up, service and teardown entirely, so their staff can focus on programing for the guests.

From purchasing, preparing, cooking and transporting, and clean up of all food and beverage needs

So you can focus on fantastic event programming for your organization.

Menus
Example Quote #1
Example Quote #2

We look forward to partnering for large group catering event success