✳ Catering / Pricing

What catering actually costs.

Ask what Caribbean catering costs in Queens and you get told to call for a quote. So here is ours, in public. A Jamaican buffet, delivered in trays and set up ready to serve, runs roughly $26 to $42 a head, and what moves it is which trays end up on the table. Every build below is worked out line by line off our own catering menu, so you can check the arithmetic yourself.

What is in that number. The trays, the juice by the gallon, and the setup: chafing dishes, sternos, serving utensils and disposable place settings, with every tray laid out ready to serve before we leave. Sales tax and delivery are not, and delivery is quoted on the address before you agree to anything. Build your own table to price a spread that is not one of these, or call (646) 603-8665 and you will have the figure the same day.

Fifteen and thirty five

A half tray serves 15 and a large tray serves 35. Those two numbers are printed on our own catering menu, and every quantity on this page is arithmetic on them. Forty guests takes one large and one half.

Two sides a guest

Everybody takes rice. Most people take one more thing. That is 2 portions each, and it is what every build below uses.

No event markup

Nothing gets added for the word party. Whatever the chef quotes you is built the same way as the builds below. Worth checking against anyone else you ask, because it is the line most quotes quietly move.

Four rooms, four numbers.

Not brackets or packages. These are actual orders built out of the same pound prices the ordering page charges, at the sizes people book most, up to a hundred guest repass.

25 guests · Classic Jerk

Birthday or backyard link-up

Jerk chicken, BBQ chicken and stew oxtail, so nobody is stuck with one choice, and oxtail on the table because somebody always asks.

What 25 guests works out to, item by item
The mains, 8 trays in all
Jerk Chicken · 1 × $70, half tray, serves 15	$70
BBQ Chicken · 1 × $70, half tray, serves 15	$70
Stew Oxtails · 1 × $190, half tray, serves 15	$190
Sides
Rice & Peas · 2 × $40, half tray, serves 15	$80
Fried Plantains · 2 × $50, half tray, serves 15	$100
Macaroni Pie · 1 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$95
Juice and setup
Sorrel · 2 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$80
Fruit Punch · 2 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$80
Disposable setup and service · 25 × $5, per person	$125
Total	$890

Works out to $35.60 a head, set up and ready to serve. Sales tax and delivery are on top.

40 guests · Full Yard Spread

The full spread, nothing held back

Lamb chops, oxtail, curry goat and jerk chicken. Lamb is the dearest tray on the sheet, so this is the top of the range rather than the middle of it.

What 40 guests works out to, item by item
The mains, 10 trays in all
Lamb Chops · 1 × $375, half tray, serves 15	$375
Stew Oxtails · 1 × $190, half tray, serves 15	$190
Curry Goat · 1 × $150, half tray, serves 15	$150
Jerk Chicken · 1 × $70, half tray, serves 15	$70
Sides
Rice & Peas · 1 × $80, large tray, serves 35	$80
Rice & Peas · 1 × $40, half tray, serves 15	$40
Macaroni Pie · 1 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$95
Macaroni Pie · 1 × $50, half tray, serves 15	$50
Fried Plantains · 1 × $110, large tray, serves 35	$110
Fried Plantains · 1 × $50, half tray, serves 15	$50
Juice and setup
Sorrel · 3 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$120
Pineapple Ginger · 3 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$120
Disposable setup and service · 40 × $5, per person	$200
Total	$1,650

Works out to $41.25 a head, set up and ready to serve. Sales tax and delivery are on top.

60 guests · The Office Line

Office party or graduation

Jerk and curry chicken with rasta pasta beside them. The leanest of the three published builds, and the one an office floor usually orders.

What 60 guests works out to, item by item
The mains, 13 trays in all
Jerk Chicken · 2 × $70, half tray, serves 15	$140
Curry Chicken · 2 × $70, half tray, serves 15	$140
Rasta Pasta · 2 × $60, half tray, serves 15	$120
Sides
Rice & Peas · 1 × $80, large tray, serves 35	$80
Rice & Peas · 2 × $40, half tray, serves 15	$80
Tossed Salad · 2 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$190
Vegetable Medley · 2 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$190
Juice and setup
Pink Lemonade · 4 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$160
Fruit Punch · 4 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$160
Disposable setup and service · 60 × $5, per person	$300
Total	$1,560

Works out to $26 a head, set up and ready to serve. Sales tax and delivery are on top.

100 guests · The Repass Table

Repass, 100 guests

This is a quote we issued in September, rebuilt line by line. Same table, same proportions, no event markup for the size.

What 100 guests works out to, item by item
The mains, 12 trays in all
Fried Chicken · 2 × $150, large tray, serves 35	$300
Baked Chicken · 1 × $150, large tray, serves 35	$150
Sides
Macaroni Pie · 3 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$285
Vegetable Medley · 3 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$285
Tossed Salad · 3 × $95, large tray, serves 35	$285
Assorted Pastry · 100 × $5, per serving	$500
Juice and setup
Fruit Punch · 6 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$240
Sorrel · 6 × $40, 1 gallon, eight 16 oz cups	$240
Disposable setup and service · 100 × $5, per person	$500
Total	$2,785

Works out to $27.85 a head, set up and ready to serve. Sales tax and delivery are on top.

Cooked for 105 rather than 100, because a repass is built on the count plus ten percent. Paper plates, cups, forks and napkins are $500 on top, so a hundred guests fully set is $2,785.

The repass ladder at 50, 75, 100 and 150

Move your own number.

Every price on the board, cheapest first. Swapping a few pounds of lamb for jerk chicken is the fastest way to bring a total down, and swapping the other way is how a table starts feeling like an occasion.

Mains, by the tray
Vegetable Lo Mein	$95 · $50 half
Chicken Lo Mein	$105 · $55 half
Beef Lo Mein	$105 · $55 half
Shrimp Lo Mein	$105 · $55 half
Rasta Pasta	$120 · $60 half
Escovitch Porgie	$130 · $80 half
BBQ Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Stew Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Curry Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Fried Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Baked Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Mango Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Pineapple Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Sweet & Sour Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Sesame Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Jerk Chicken	$150 · $70 half
Escovitch Whiting	$170 · $80 half
Sweet & Sour Pork	$170 · $80 half
Stew Pork	$170 · $80 half
Jerk Pork	$170 · $80 half
Stew Peas (Pigtail)	$170 · $80 half
Fried Chicken Wings	$210 · $100 half
BBQ Chicken Wings	$210 · $100 half
Jerk Chicken Wings	$210 · $100 half
Sweet Chili Wings	$210 · $100 half
Stew Beef	$210 · $100 half
Stew Cow Feet	$210 · $100 half
Curry Cow Feet	$210 · $100 half
Curry Beef	$210 · $100 half
Sweet & Sour Beef	$210 · $100 half
BBQ Spare Ribs	$210 · $100 half
Pepper Steak	$210 · $100 half
Stew Peas	$210 · $100 half
Stew King Fish	$260 · $120 half
Escovitch King Fish	$260 · $120 half
Steam Snapper	$270 · $130 half
Steam Parrot	$270 · $130 half
Escovitch Snapper	$290 · $140 half
Brown Stew Snapper	$290 · $140 half
Curry Goat	$310 · $150 half
Sweet & Sour Goat	$310 · $150 half
Brown Stew Goat	$310 · $150 half
Sweet Chili Shrimp	$340 · $180 half
Butter Shrimp	$340 · $180 half
Pepper Shrimp	$340 · $180 half
Curry Shrimp	$340 · $180 half
Shrimp & Broccoli	$340 · $180 half
BBQ Salmon	$370 · $170 half
Jerk Salmon	$370 · $170 half
Butter Salmon	$370 · $170 half
Pineapple Salmon	$370 · $170 half
Stew Oxtails	$400 · $190 half
Curry Oxtails	$400 · $190 half
Lamb Chops	$875 · $375 half
Lobster	$1,050 · $450 half

Sides, by the tray
Rice & Peas	$80 · $40 half
Yellow Rice	$80 · $40 half
White Rice	$80 · $35 half
Vegetable Rice	$80 · $45 half
Pumpkin Rice	$80 · $45 half
Callaloo Rice	$80 · $45 half
Seasoned Rice	$80 · $45 half
Jerk Fried Rice	$80 · $45 half
Vegetable Medley	$95 · $50 half
String Beans & Carrots	$95 · $50 half
Roasted Potatoes	$95 · $50 half
Macaroni Pie	$95 · $50 half
Potato Salad	$95 · $50 half
Macaroni Salad	$95 · $50 half
Tossed Salad	$95 · $50 half
Garden Salad	$95 · $50 half
Fruit Salad	$95 · $50 half
Veggie Platter	$95 · $50 half
Crackers & Cheese Platter	$95 · $50 half
Cranberry Rice	$105 · $45 half
Ackee Rice	$110 · $60 half
Fried Plantains	$110 · $50 half
Saltfish	$120 · $60 half
Callaloo	$120 · $60 half
Cabbage	$120 · $60 half
Okra	$120 · $60 half
Beef Liver	$120 · $60 half
Beef Kidney	$120 · $60 half
Fried Dumplings	$120 · $60 half
Boiled Provision	$120 · $60 half
Roti	$170 · $80 half
Baked Bean & Saltfish	$170 · $80 half
Butter Bean & Saltfish	$170 · $80 half
Shrimp Mac & Cheese	$175 · $75 half
Fried Breadfruit	$180 · $90 half
Bammy	$180 · $90 half
Salmon Salad	$200 · $100 half
Ackee & Saltfish	$220 · $120 half
Oxtail Mac & Cheese	$245 · $105 half

What is in it, and what is not.

The reason people stop trusting catering quotes is that the first number is never the last one. So both lists are here.

In the price

The food, cooked fresh the morning of your event, in half and large trays
Chafing dishes and sternos, so it is still hot an hour in
Serving utensils, plates, cups, napkins and cutlery, all disposable
Every tray set up and ready to serve when we leave
House juice by the gallon, where the build carries it

Not in the price

Sales tax
Delivery, quoted on distance once we have the address
China and real flatware instead of disposables, which is $10 a head
Staff to serve on site, at $30 an hour a server

Asked before booking.

How much is Jamaican catering per person in Queens?

At Yah Suh Nyce it works out between $26 and $42 a head, and that figure includes the setup: chafing dishes, sternos, serving utensils and disposable place settings, with every tray laid out ready to serve. What moves it is which trays you pick. A large tray of jerk chicken serves 35 for $150 and a large tray of lamb chops is $875, so a chicken-forward table lands near the bottom of that range and a lamb table lands at the top.

How much food do I need per person?

A half tray serves 15 and a large tray serves 35, and those two numbers are printed on our own catering menu. In practice that is half a pound of protein and two sides a guest. For 40 guests, one large tray and one half tray of a main covers 50 servings, which is the room with room to spare.

How much is catering for 50 people?

A fifty guest repass is $1,465 on our published table, which is $29.30 a head with the food, the juice and the full setup in it. A party table of the same size lands in the same neighbourhood, higher or lower on which trays go on it. There is no event markup and no price break for size either way, and /catering/repass carries that build line by line.

How much is catering for 100 people?

A hundred guest repass is $2,785, or $27.85 a head. That is not an estimate: it is a quote this kitchen issued in September, rebuilt on this page line by line. Food, juice by the gallon and setup for a hundred are all in it. Sales tax and delivery are not.

Is there a minimum order for catering?

No fixed minimum. It is sold by the tray, and the smallest tray serves 15, so a small room is priced the same way a large one is and you are never made to buy a size that does not fit it.

Do catering prices cost more than the menu prices?

No. The prices in the quote are the prices on our catering menu, tray for tray. There is no event markup, which is the single thing most worth checking when you compare quotes.

What is not included in the price?

Sales tax and delivery, which is quoted on distance once we have the address. Servers are separate at $30 an hour each, and china and real flatware instead of disposables is $10 a head rather than $5. Everything else, including the chafing dishes, the sternos and the setup, is already in the number.

How far ahead do I need to book?

48 hours for a repass and three days for a party, at any headcount. Shorter notice than that is still worth a phone call to 646-603-8665 rather than the form, because it often still works.

Ready for a real figure on your own room? Send us the date and the headcount and we will price it off this same board. Most orders are built around jerk chicken, oxtail and curry goat, and we cater across southeast Queens.