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Cater PGH mark Cater PGH Party & Gathering Hub
May 31, 2026
Annapolis, MD · ZIP 21037

Crave Catering Co.

Wedding Caterer

+1 443-302-9169

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Standalone profile
Photo on file Many catering kitchens keep their plating photos in private portfolios. Ask for tasting photographs and a sample contract before the booking call so what their plating looks like is visible.

The Menuevents on the kitchen's roster

Standing Servicepractice overview

Caterer in Annapolis covering corporate events and office catering, plus wedding receptions and custom menu planning — booking via Crave Catering Co..

Where Annapolis sits within MD matters: neighborhood age, code requirements, and seasonal demand shift the dispatch calculus.

Ask the dispatch line what zip codes they cover most.

Use this page to prep a call with Crave Catering Co. in Annapolis, MD.

It maps public-source signals against questions that usually decide a catering service job fit.

Service indicators documented for this listing: corporate events, wedding catering, menu planning — 3 distinct cues.

None of these confirm field execution; verify by asking the dispatch line for recent jobsite examples.

Where this provider most likely fits: Corporate lunches, meetings, and office events; Wedding receptions and private celebrations; Cuisine-specific event menus.

The dispatch should confirm match for your specific situation.

Ask whether the provider leaves a written report after each visit listing what was done, what was found, and what to watch next.

Without that, the next provider has to re-diagnose from scratch.

Treat the writeup as orientation, not vetting.

The real-time dispatch conversation and written estimate carry the rest.

Mise en Placebooking facts

Regional Practicepermits & service customs in this region

Across the Northeast — NY, NJ, PA, MA, CT, MD, RI, VT, NH, ME, DE, DC — caterers in the dense metros are typically licensed by the city health department, with a posted permit and a certificate of liquor liability if bar service is included. Most venues require the caterer to carry general-liability and host-liquor coverage. Sales tax applies to both food and the service charge in most of the region, so factor that into the per-head budget early.

Consider Before You Callfive questions to bring to the booking

  1. What's the minimum headcount for a corporate booking, and is there a separate weekday vs. weekend rate?
  2. How far in advance do weddings book up, and is a tasting offered before the contract is signed?
  3. Do you handle the full menu-planning consult, or do we work with an outside event planner?
  4. What is included in the per-head price — appetizers, dessert, non-alcoholic drinks, gratuity, taxes?
  5. Do you carry a current health-department permit and a certificate of insurance the venue can request?

Table Questionsfrequent asks at the booking

How is catering priced — per head or per dish?
Most catering is priced per-person ("per-head") for a fixed package: appetizers and main and dessert and non-alcoholic drinks. Service staff, rentals, and the bar are usually separate line items. À-la-carte and weight-based ("market price") pricing is common at high-end and cuisine-specific kitchens. Confirm whether tax, service charge, and gratuity are inside the per-head number before signing.
How far ahead should the kitchen be booked?
Wedding caterers typically book six to twelve months ahead for prime spring–summer dates. Corporate events book two to four weeks ahead, sometimes shorter. Drop-off catering for office events can be twenty-four to seventy-two hours. Last-minute bookings limit the menu, since the kitchen has to source from what is already in their order rotation.
Drop-off versus full-service — what is the practical difference?
Drop-off means the kitchen delivers food (hot or cold) and leaves — no servers, no bar, no on-site staff. Full-service brings servers, bartenders, an event captain, and sometimes rentals (linens, glassware, china). Full-service typically costs thirty to sixty percent more than drop-off for the same food.
How is the menu tasting handled?
Most full-service caterers offer a tasting before the contract is signed (sometimes free, sometimes a credit-on-booking fee). The tasting is a curated four to six dish version of the proposed menu. Bring the decision-makers and write notes on each dish; the tasting is to lock in the menu, not redesign it from scratch.
What is the difference between a wedding caterer and a regular caterer?
A wedding caterer specializes in reception dining at scale — typically fifty to three hundred guests with a fixed timeline (cocktail hour, plated dinner, dessert station). Wedding caterers often have venue partnerships, contracts written for wedding contingencies, and staff trained for the wedding-day flow. A regular ("event") caterer covers a broader range of events but may not be staffed for the long, multi-stage flow a wedding needs.
Tipping and service charges — how do they work?
Service charge (typically eighteen to twenty-two percent) is added by the caterer to cover front-of-house labor; it is not a tip — it goes to the company. If the contract says "service charge" not "gratuity," a separate tip for the captain, servers, and bartenders is appropriate. Standard tipping for catering staff is ten to twenty percent of the food bill, distributed among the team.

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