The short answer
A warm buffet with setup runs between 16.36 € and 24.32 € per person including VAT, depending on guest numbers, with warming, delivery and collection included. Food delivery without setup is below that, around 11.66 € per person. Live cooking with a chef on site is about 42.37 €, full service with staff around 56.99 €.
These figures are neither rounded nor estimated. They come from the same calculation the price page uses, and they move when our prices move.
A real invoice, not an example
On 24 August 2026 we catered a private garden party in Berlin-Biesdorf: 20 guests, warm buffet, chafing dishes, delivery and collection of the equipment the following day. The invoice came to 486.30 € including VAT, which is 24.32 € per guest.
It contains the split most German catering invoices get wrong: food and the ancillary services that belong to it — delivery, setup, collection — are taxed at 7%, while the rental of the chafing dishes is 19%. Anyone billing all of it at one rate is billing it incorrectly.
Four things move the price, and no more
First, the guest count. The per-head price falls sharply because travel, setup and staff spread across more guests: with us from 24.32 € at 20 guests to 16.36 € at 100.
Second, the service format. Delivery only is cheapest. Setting up and keeping food hot costs equipment. A chef working a station on site costs a working day. Full service costs staff for the whole evening.
Third, distance. We bill in three zones from Köpenick rather than per kilometre, so the figure is known in advance.
Fourth, drinks. They are not inside our buffet price and carry 19% VAT, because they are not ancillary to the food.
How to spot a quote that will not hold
A per-person price with no guest count beside it tells you nothing. A quote that does not itemise delivery, setup and collection has usually buried them somewhere. And a quote with no 7% / 19% VAT split is either incomplete or wrong.
Ask for a written fixed price before you commit. With us that arrives within 24 hours on business days, worked out by hand for your event. For a first idea, the calculator on the price page answers immediately.