Restaurant catering and events manager job description
A restaurant group's catering and events manager sells and runs private dining, buyouts and off-site catering for all of its restaurants. They answer leads, write proposals and event orders, plan menus with the chefs, collect deposits and final counts, and make sure each event goes the way the client was told it would.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, full-service restaurants · BLS, May 2025
We're hiring a Catering and Events Manager to sell and run private dining and off-site catering for all of our restaurants. You'll answer inquiries, write proposals and banquet event orders, set menus with the chefs, collect deposits, and deliver each event the way the client was promised.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Answer event and catering inquiries within [time frame] and turn them into signed contracts with deposits.
Write banquet event orders (BEOs) with headcount, menu, timeline, room setup, allergies and bar package.
Build event menus and pricing with the Executive Chef, within group food cost targets.
Book private dining rooms and full buyouts across [six to eight] restaurants.
Reach out to companies, wedding planners and venues for repeat business.
Plan off-site catering: food transport, hot and cold holding, rentals, staffing, and any alcohol permit the event needs under your state's rules.
Collect final counts and balances on time, and handle changes and disputes.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Answer leads from the website, phone and [your event management software].
Give tours of private dining rooms to prospective clients.
Send final BEOs to the GM, chef and bar [number] days before each event.
Work events on site: greet the host, check setup and timing, and fix problems on the spot.
Follow up after each event for feedback, reviews and the next booking.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Event and catering sales versus budget: [your target].
Inquiry to booking conversion: [your target].
Average spend per event: [your target].
Event food and beverage cost: [your target].
Repeat client bookings: [your target].
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
[3+] years selling or managing private events, banquets or catering for restaurants, hotels or caterers.
Has written BEOs and contracts and collected deposits.
Can price food, staffing, rentals and bar service into one clear proposal.
Food protection manager certification or a food handler card, as your state or county requires for event staff.
Valid driver's license for off-site events and client meetings.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience with [Tripleseat or a similar event management system].
Off-site catering experience, including transporting and holding hot and cold food.
Responsible alcohol service certification for events with a bar.
Existing relationships with local companies, planners or venues.
7. Physical Requirements
Stand and walk through long event days, including setup and breakdown.
Lift and carry chafing dishes, cases and rental equipment up to [40] pounds.
With or without reasonable accommodation.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Weekday office hours for sales, plus evening and weekend event shifts.
Travel between restaurants and to off-site events in [area].
Busiest during the holiday season and [your local wedding and graduation season].
9. Compensation and Benefits
Pay: [range and hourly or salary basis].
Additional pay: [overtime, bonus or incentive terms, or none].
Benefits: [health, dental, vision, retirement, paid time off, and when they start].
10. Company Culture and Overview
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, the area you serve, and the support a new catering and events manager gets in the first 90 days.]
11. How to Apply
[Apply link or email]. Our process: [phone interview, in-person interview, and next steps]. Contact [hiring contact] if you need an accommodation during the application process.
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What makes restaurant catering and events different
Hotels and banquet halls have rooms built for events. A restaurant group sells rooms and kitchens that also have a full dining room to feed that night, across six to eight locations with their own chefs and GMs.
Every booking competes with the dining room
A private room or a full buyout on a Saturday takes seats away from walk-ins and reservations. So each room carries a food and drink minimum that changes by day and season. The goal is an event that brings in at least what the dining room would have. The catering manager also checks with the GM before holding a big date.
The BEO is what the kitchen and floor work from
The chef orders and preps from the banquet event order, and the GM staffs from it. A missed allergy, a wrong headcount or a timeline that serves dessert during the toasts becomes the restaurant's problem on the night. Late changes go to the chef and GM by name, not buried in a long email thread.
Service charges and tips follow different rules
Under federal wage rules, a service charge the client must pay isn't a tip, even when staff get a share. The rule's own example is a banquet price with money built in for staff. State law can differ. New York presumes an added charge is the servers' gratuity, unless the contract and any priced menu or bill say it pays for running the event and won't go to staff. Each proposal should say what every charge covers and who gets it. Source: 29 CFR 531.55: Amounts not received as tips (Cornell LII).
Off-site food follows the county's catering rules
Food for an off-site event has to stay safe from your kitchen to the last plate. San Diego County, for one, has caterers prep at a permitted kitchen or commissary, with only limited prep at the event. Food that needs temperature control for safety stays at 41°F or below or 135°F or above, and staff at the event need a stocked handwashing station. Check your own health department before you quote a menu. Source: County of San Diego: Operating safely as a caterer.
An off-site bar needs its own permission
Pouring drinks at a client's office or a wedding venue can take more than the restaurant's own liquor license. In California, a restaurant licensed to serve on site needs a Type 58 caterer's permit and the state's okay for each catered event. Check with your own state's liquor agency before any proposal promises a bar. Source: California ABC: Caterer's permit (Type 58).
How much restaurant catering and events managers make
The closest BLS group for restaurant catering and events managers is meeting, convention, and event planners. Meeting, convention, and event planners who work for full-service restaurants earned a median of $60,780 a year ($29.22 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $61,160 median for meeting, convention, and event planners in all industries. About 4,880 of the 142,860 meeting, convention, and event planners in that survey work for full-service restaurants.
Often a salary plus commission on event sales, or a bonus against the event sales budget. Count only collected revenue in the plan, so canceled events and unpaid balances don't earn a payout.
Full-service restaurants
$60,780$60,780 median Middle half $46,340–$77,730 10th–90th $36,650–$87,060
All industries
$61,160$61,160 median Middle half $46,970–$78,790 10th–90th $36,830–$101,700
$0k$25k$50k$75k$100k$125k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Full-service restaurants
$36,650
$46,340
$60,780
$77,730
$87,060
All industries
$36,830
$46,970
$61,160
$78,790
$101,700
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Has sold private events or catering and closed them with signed contracts and deposits
Writes a BEO a chef can cook from without picking up the phone
Prices food, staff, rentals and bar into one proposal that still hits food cost
Answers inquiries the same day and follows up until there's a yes or a no
Stays calm when the host changes the headcount at the door
Teach these on the job
Your event software, room diagrams and BEO format
Each restaurant's rooms, minimums and blackout dates
Your catering menus, pricing and rental vendors
Your procedures for moving and holding food off site
Your contract, deposit and cancellation terms
Many restaurant groups book events in a system such as Tripleseat or Perfect Venue, which holds the leads, BEOs, contracts and deposits, and close the event check in the POS. If you still run events from email and spreadsheets, say so; some candidates will see a project, others a warning.
Restaurant catering and events manager interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Set the sales budget by restaurant and by month. A December full of holiday parties and a quiet February shouldn't share a number.
Event and catering sales versus budget
Compare event revenue each month with the budget, by restaurant and for off-site catering. Count an event in the month it happens, not the month the contract was signed.
Inquiry to booking conversion
Signed contracts with deposits divided by qualified inquiries, from your event software. Break it down by lead source and by how fast the first reply went out.
Average spend per event
Food, beverage, room and service revenue for each event, averaged by room and event type. Look at plated dinners, receptions and off-site drop-offs on their own.
Event food and beverage cost
Cost of the food and drinks used for events divided by event food and beverage sales, worked out with each chef from BEO counts and the restaurant's invoices.
Repeat client bookings
Events booked by clients who have held an event with you before. Tag repeat clients in your event software and pull the count each quarter.
How is a restaurant catering manager different from an event planner?
An event planner usually works for the client and shops for venues and vendors. A restaurant catering and events manager works for your restaurants. They sell your rooms and food, write the event order, and make sure your teams deliver. They often work with outside planners on weddings and company parties, so ask which local planners already know them.
How much does a restaurant catering and events manager make?
Meeting, convention, and event planners who work for full-service restaurants earned a median of $60,780 a year ($29.22 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $46,340 and $77,730 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should a restaurant group hire a catering manager or let each GM sell events?
GMs can sell a room now and then, but they answer leads between shifts, often days late. A dedicated manager replies fast, prices the same way at every location and steers a party to the room that fits it. Once private events and catering bring in steady sales at several restaurants, the job is usually worth a full-time hire.
What goes in a banquet event order?
The headcount and the date the final count is due. The menu, with allergy notes. A timeline from arrival to last call, the room setup and a diagram, the bar package, rentals and staff. Deposits, the balance due, and who on the client's side can approve changes. Have the client sign the final version, so any dispute starts from paper.
Who runs a private event on the night: the catering manager or the GM?
Both, with clear lines. The GM owns the restaurant that night: staffing, the kitchen and every other guest. The catering manager owns the client: greets the host, checks setup and timing, and handles changes. Agree before the event who can approve add-ons, like an extra hour of bar, and how they get added to the bill.
