APPETIZERS

We cater a wide variety of events, including weddings, corporate functions, private parties, holiday gatherings, and more. Whether it’s an intimate dinner or a large celebration, we can customize our services to fit your needs.

Yes, we specialize in creating custom menus tailored to your preferences and event theme. Our team will work with you to design the perfect selection of dishes, accommodating any dietary restrictions or special requests.

We recommend booking as early as possible to ensure availability, especially during peak seasons. Ideally, a booking 2-3 months in advance is best, but feel free to contact us for last-minute inquiries, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your event.

Buffet style, family style, plated, stations, grilling on site, and simple deliveries. Some services may not be possible at all venues.  

The service charge covers the amount of staff working the event and the total approximate time from start to finish (including bartenders), admin time (including site visits, calls, etc), Chefs, Prep Cooks, and Dishwashing, as well as equipment and other supplies used for the event. 

We do not automatically include gratuity. Gratuity is very much appreciated, but is not mandatory.  

Dayton Catering consists of a large team of professionals who have anywhere from 10-30+ years of catering experience. We are servsafe certified, insured, and ABC Trained.

Our dress code is all black attire.  

Absolutely! Vendor meals should be included in your final guest count. Typically with buffet service, vendors will simply come through the line when they can. If they need to eat at a different time, we can simply provide their meal boxed. * We can also discuss special dietary needs for vendors, and also pricing of more simplified meals if needed.

When you book with us, you are securing your date. Eventually some dates will max out as we generally cut off booking once 3-4 events are claimed for the given date. All other info such as the timeline, final guest count, dietary restrictions, and any menu changes can be turned into us up until two weeks prior to your date.  

2 Weeks prior to the event date. We will always schedule a call with you two weeks prior to go through a list of questions pertaining to all event details. After this call is completed, we will send updated notes, and the final invoice.  

Not automatically. These items are not included in your pricing, and can be added based on your preferences.  

We do offer China for parties of 50 or lower from our collection, which includes appetizer, salad, dinner, and dessert plates; and silverware. For larger parties, we recommend you to local China rental companies, and we can also obtain the quote for you for these items, and add them in with your catering quote. 

We can supply black tablecloths for food service tables, but we do not provide guest tablecloths. We can help you obtain these through a rental company or give suggestions on websites to get them from.

We provide Virginia ABC trained Bartenders, along with the needed equipment for tending bar. We can also supply mixers, bar ice, and house made mixers for signature drinks. We do not supply the alcohol. All alcohol must be obtained by the clients, along with a “Day of Banquet” License from ABC. We will also give you recommendations on alcohol quantities and varieties to purchase.  

● We do not supply tents, except for cases where a 10x10 tent is needed for outdoor coverage of the buffet service area. 

● Your venue will most likely have what is needed for food service 

tables. If not, we can provide 6 foot folding tables for the following stations: buffet, non-alcoholic drinks, bar back table, desserts, and appetizers.  

Yes!  A copy of our insurance will also be emailed to your venue. 

● Our staff will cut your wedding cake, and/or set up your desserts if applicable. 

● If you do not already have desserts covered, we will offer suggestions for local bakeries and/or add a cake sampling with your catering tasting through our in house bakery “Peace of Cake Confectionary”.  

Setting tables, setting up all food stations, replenishing stations, bussing tables, taking out trash, packing up leftovers, setting up desserts, replenishing food, serving the 

buffet, stocking and re-stocking the bar, bar breakdown, and much more. Please refer to our complete list of services.  

● Our team serves the buffet. It is not recommended to have a self-serve line. Having our team serve will actually help to move the line along faster, help with portion control, ease of flipping pans, and to answer any dietary questions guests may have.  

● Keep in mind that if you want to have two lines, we will need to know this in advance when preparing your quote as you will need additional staffing and equipment.

We do have a trash removal service that can be added if needed. If your venue has a dumpster, this will not be needed, and our staff will take all trash collected during the event to the dumpsters. 

Yes! We highly recommend scheduling a tasting with us! You may bring up to a total of 6 guests, and you will be able to try a wide variety of menu items, and talk through your event details with our Catering Director, and Chef.  

Yes. This is typically taken care of by your venue staff, but we understand in some cases it is required by the caterer. There is an additional fee for this service as a different set of staff is typically sent to the venue prior to, and after the event as it does not pertain to food services.

Yes! For children 12 and under, you may count them as half a guest in your final count, and they will receive the menu you have chosen. The other alternative is to not include 

them in your menu count, but to add on “x” amount of chicken tender meals at a lower cost than your menu pricing. 

● Yes! Your leftovers will be packaged in a mix of pint & quart containers, ziploc bags, and foil pans depending on the items.  

● In addition to the bulk leftovers, we will also make sure that the couple has two to-go boxes packaged especially for them for their get away meal! The same goes for appetizers and desserts.  

● Yes! Our Catering Director will speak to you about your color scheme and theme, and make the buffet menu (which will denote dairy free, gluten free, etc, for items that it applies to), appetizer labels, dessert labels, and bar menus. 

● Some clients prefer to bring their own signage, and that is completely fine! But if this service is needed, keep in mind that it's included for you.  

● This is determined by the timeline, and the overall details of the event. Typically the rule of thumb is 1 caterer per 50 people, but we will discuss the simplicities and extremities of your event to determine the number needed on our side.  

● Keep in mind if you are budgeting, buffet service will always be the more feasible way to go as you will not need as many staff members as opposed to stations, plated, and family style services.  

● There will also be additional staffing fees for the following: China services, wine service at tables, double buffet lines, bars in two locations, etc.  

Absolutely! Most of our menu items are already gluten free, and we offer various vegetarian/vegan dishes, and can also box meals separately for guests with celiac disease, as well as particular allergies.  

Cash, check, and credit card. There is a transaction fee added to use the online portal for your payment. 

● All of our food is prepared in our catering kitchen, and then transported in thermal boxes to your event. It is then transferred into the chafing dishes at dinner service time. Food is not cooked on site at your venue unless you have chosen an appetizer that requires baking on site such as brie bites. If your venue does not have an oven, then you would need to choose another item.  

● Your dinner food will also be delivered by our Chef or team member closer to the time of dinner service to ensure maximum freshness.  

We have a large menu consisting of a wide range of crowd pleasing items, but the favorites are: Tuscan chicken, garlic white wine chicken, Rustic Chicken, Beef Medallions, Filet 

Mignon, and our Baked Salmon. 

● Yes! We offer specialty menus such as: taco and fajita bars, brunch menus, soup-sandwich-salad-potato bars,  “Around the World” Menus, and will also accommodate custom menus.  

● If you have custom menu ideas in mind, please send them to us with your inquiry, and we will discuss them with our Chef. If they are good to go, then we will schedule a tasting with you and prepare these items for you to try. 

● Not typically, but we can always discuss. Dayton Catering is not able to handle another caterers food, but we can offer rentals for chafing dish equipment, etc if you are providing your own food, and just need the actual equipment, and need it set up.  

● Bartending services must also have a food order attached, and bartenders will not be allowed to handle any outside food. For example, if you have a caterer for your wedding dinner that does not tend bar, you may hire us for bartending services and also order cocktail appetizers and/or late night bar snacks. 

● Yes! Any of our appetizer items can be ordered and set up for late night snacks. The most popular items are nacho boats, pretzels with beer cheese dip, or sliders and house made chips.  

● We can also utilize any of your remaining appetizers that were not used during cocktail hour, and simply set these up later in the evening for snacks rather than packing them up for you to take home. *It is not always guaranteed that you will have leftover 

appetizers from cocktail hour. 

● The non-alcoholic beverages will remain in place until the end of the evening until the last call for the bar.  

● If you do not have bartending services through us, then the drink dispensers are taken away at the conclusion of food services. Your beverages will be transferred into gallon jug containers for you to keep. You are welcome to borrow the decanters for the remainder of the evening, and they would need to be brought back to our catering kitchen 

Call us at 540-908-0029 or email daytoncateringco@gmail.com and someone from our team will be in touch with you within 48 hours.