1. Safe Food Handling from Kitchen to Table. While restaurant delivered food is prepared following safe food handling guidelines, once the food leaves a restaurant, the oversight of that food most likely ends. In most cases, the food is just packed up in bags and aluminum pans and dropped off at whatever temperature the food then is after traveling the distance from the restaurant to you. Catering companies, on the other hand, have to maintain the food at safe food holding temperatures for the entire trip to its final destination.

2. Better Quality Food. Restaurants specialize in you coming to them. Packing containers trap the heat, which can cause food to overcook or to become soggy during transport and holding times. You rarely get the same quality you would enjoy ordering food fresh at the restaurant location. On the other hand, professional caterers specialize in coming to your site. Caterers will typically begin the preparation of their food at their commercial kitchen location, then complete preparation at your event site, resulting in fresher and better looking cuisine.

3. Event Planning Services. Restaurants can provide food and beverage, but you will need to arrange some or all of the other details for you event: dishware, linens, table and chair rentals, center pieces and site decoration, serving staff from a staffing company, a valet parking service (if needed), and things the restaurant doesn’t make like a wedding cake. Caterers are experienced in planning the details of events of all types and sizes. They can be a one-stop shop for all of your needs. If you want to do some of the work yourself, they can guide you and connect you with product and service providers that are reliable and may offer discounts to you as customers of the caterer.