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You will always have more than enough food when you order from our Hot Buffet menu. Our customers are always telling us about how much food their guests took home with them after the party, or that their family was eating leftovers for days!

If, however, you are thinking about adding to your menu, we can offer you a vast selection of "a la carte" items which you may wish to consider.

In addition to our Hot Buffet Menu, you may opt for a selection of appetizers and hors d'oeuvres to entice your guests. Give us a call and ask about our various appetizer menus, such as our Appetizer Stations, our individual Party Starter Platters, our selection of truly Gourmet hors d'oeuvres, and our Cocktail Hour selections.

You can also order whole roasts from our Carving Board Menu, as well as a selection of fresh Home-Made Salads!

If you are going with a buffet format, but would like something a little different, consider the Summer Menu, a gourmet version of our standard menu. We also offer a Brunch Buffet for a lighter, earlier celebration. And there is always our Italian Buffet Menu, featuring the finest home-style Italian recipes.

If you are planning a theme for your party, check out our Theme Menus and Holiday Menus. You're sure to get some ideas from our selections.

Also, if you desire the complete package, finish off your party with our Coffee and Tea service, and our Finishing Touch dessert menu! Just surf through this web-site and you're sure to come up with plenty of great ideas for your party.

And don't forget to hire a waitress. Let someone else do the work! If you hire a bartender, we can also provide a bar set-up.
Note: Waitress/Bartender Service and Bar Set-up are only offered to our neighbors in the Rockaways.

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After your driver delivers and sets up my buffet, what do I have to do?

When we leave your location, your party is ready to go!

Our staff will usually leave you completely set up for your party, so all you have to do is wait for your guests to arrive and have a great time!

However, sometimes we will have to leave some of the work to you. If your guests won't be eating for several hours, we will leave instructions for you to light the sternos and get the buffet prepared.

We will set everything up . . . the racks, plates, napkins, rolls etc.

You, or a waitress, if you hired one, might have to light the sterno, which will be in place under the water pans, two hours before you plan to feed your guests. That's all you have to do . . . light the fire and wait for your party to begin! Click here to view Sterno instructions.

Some don'ts:
- Don't remove the lids. Don't Peek. Don't check. Don't mix.
- Don't remove the plastic liner until the food has reached serving temperature.
- You don't have to stir anything, just let the food sit on the heat for the entire two hours, after which it will be perfectly heated through.

After two hours, replace the used sternos with the fresh replacements which we provide, and your food will be kept hot for several hours!

When it is time to open the buffet, carefully remove the entire aluminum lid and the entire plastic liner. Be very careful of the escaping steam! The food will be very hot. Place the serving spoons in the dish and dig in!

Our delivery staff is very competent, and they will never leave you unsure of what to expect. They will explain everything that you need to know, and can answer any questions that you might have. They will also provide you with a cell-phone number where you will be able to reach them after they leave your location.

Relax and enjoy yourself!

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Delivery Rates

Delivery charges will be applied on all deliveries. This nominal fee goes directly to the delivery person to cover the cost of their fuel, tolls, auto insurance, wear & tear on their vehicles, and their time. Delivery fees are as follows:

Belle Harbor, Neponsit, Rockaway Beach: $10.
Breezy Point, Rockaway Point, Roxbury: $15.
Broad Channel, Far Rockaway: $15.
Howard Beach: $20.
Marine Park, Sheepshead Bay, Mill Basin, Bergen Bch: $20.
Other areas: $45 and up

Of course, there is no delivery charge if you pick up your order instead of having it delivered.

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Payment Terms

Full payment is due on delivery. We accept cash, checks or Amex.

Please make checks payable to Ludwig's Catering.

New York State law requires us to collect sales tax, without exception.
If your organization is tax-exempt, please submit a valid tax-exempt form with payment.
If you do not have a tax-exempt form, we are required to collect sales tax.

Please note:
Our Hot Buffet Menu is priced at $16.95 per person for a minimum of thirty people.
If you are ordering for less than thirty people, most items are available "a la carte".

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Deposits

We require a minimum 10% deposit at booking.
Your order is not considered booked until a deposit is received.

An additional 50% payment is required 72 hours before your event.
This payment is applied to our purchases of supplies for your party.

If, for any reason, you have to cancel your party before the 72 hour deadline,
all of your money will be gladly refunded, no questions asked.
We don't want your money if we didn't provide you with any
goods or services - - - That just isn't right!

However, if you don't cancel by the 72 hour deadline, we will assume that the party is on, and we will go ahead and start purchasing whatever we need to complete your order.
If you cancel after the 72 hour deadline, then we must charge you for any expenses related to preparing for your party, as well as any labor that went into preparing your event. All other money will be returned to you.

Seventy-two hours. Three days before your party.
By then you should know whether or not your guests are coming.
You'll have heard the weather forecast, so if there's going to be a snow-storm, please CANCEL!
We won't take it personally. We just need to know within 72 hours, so we don't have to spend your money needlessly.

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How about heating instructions?

Click here for heating instructions.

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Do I have to return the equipment?
Is there a deposit on catering equipment?

Customers are responsible for returning the equipment within one week of their event.

We do require a nominal security deposit. The amount of security is based on the actual amount of equipment used. Security deposits are returned in full upon the customers timely return of all equipment.

the security deposit may be in the form of a separate check which will be returned to you un-cashed when you return the equipment to us. Naturally, if you pay cash, you will receive a cash refund.

Delivery rates stated above will apply if you request that our drivers pick up the equipment.

Please make checks payable to "Ludwigs Catering".

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Where can I find Waiters/Waitresses/Bartenders to work at my event?

If your party is here in Rockaway, we can refer excellent waiters, waitresses, bus-persons, bartenders, or any service personnel, for that matter. Our referrals all live and work here in the community. They are prompt, neat, courteous and experienced. They are a pleasure to work with!

There are also many waiter/waitress agencies in the Yellow Pages, and most local restaurants usually have personnel available for hire. If you have a favorite waiter or bartender at a restaurant that you frequent, consider asking him/her to work your event. It's always nice when you know the people who are working for you.

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What about renting Linens/China/Silverware/Tables?

There are many options available if you need equipment or supplies
for your event - - - plates, silverware, glassware, tables, chairs, linens, even tents. We work with several reliable rental companies, and we would be happy to help you with any equipment needs.

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Can I get Balloon/Floral Centerpieces?

We do not provide decorations, other than the beautiful presentation of our delicious food!

We always recommend Carol at Creations4Celebrations for her fantastic latex and Mylar balloon creations!

We also recommend Danielle's Rockaway Florist for her inspiring floral arrangements.

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If I am going to have 80 people at my party, how many should I order for?

80! Always order for the number of people that you are expecting.

We guarantee that you will have enough food for the number of guests that you order for. (The food that we send you might actually feed more than that number, but that is not guaranteed.)

There is always more than enough food at each of our catered events! But why risk the embarrassment of running out of food. If you are having 50 guests, order for 50. If you are having 250 guests, order for 250. That way you are assured of having more than enough food for your guests. If you order for less, you are risking a disaster. Is saving a couple of dollars worth ruining your party? We don't think so.

If you have any questions about ordering, please feel free to Contact at any time. We would be happy to help!

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What about ordering for children?

Unless the party that you are planning is a "children's party", we suggest that you not build your menu around the children who might be at the party, but build it around the adults.

Treat your guest list as two separate lists, one being the adults, the other being the children.

Order for the adults as you normally would. In other words, if there will be 80 adults and 22 children, decide on a menu for the 80 adults first, then you can deal with the children separately.

After you have decided on a menu for the adults, the best option is to order a few individual trays for the youngsters, such as:

chicken tenders with honey-mustard or BBQ sauce ($65. per tray)
wagon wheels and mini-meatballs ($65. per tray)
macaroni and cheese ($65. per tray)
baked ham with pineapple ($65 per tray)
mashed potatoes ($55. per tray)

This will end up costing less than if you tried to use a formula such
as "3 children = 1 adult", etc. It also gives the children their own "little buffet", with their own menu. Their food can be opened earlier than the adults buffet, too, so the kids don't have to wait to eat!

Make sure that the other parents are aware of this setup, so they don't have to worry about serving the children from the adult buffet (and to make sure the adults don't eat the kid's food!)

On the other hand, if you are planning a "Children's Party", check out our Children's Party Menu. You'll get some helpful ideas here, whether we cater the party for you, or even if you do it yourself!

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Why isn't the food delivered hot? Is it frozen?

There is a very important reason for this. It's the food-safety law!

Once food is fully cooked, it must either be served immediately, or quickly brought down to a much lower temperature. This is because bacteria thrives and spreads rapidly at warm temperatures.

When you eat in a restaurant, the food that you are served has been thoroughly cooked and heated through, and served to you immediately, thereby eliminating the threat of bacteria.

If the food cannot be served immediately, then it must be quickly chilled, and kept refrigerated, which is another way of eliminating bacteria.

This is the method that we use. The food for your party is perfectly prepared, then quickly chilled (never frozen!), and the cooking is finished by re-heating at your location.

This method is designed to bring you the safest and most delicious food available!

And, no, our food is never frozen. We begin with the freshest, highest quality ingredients, and we prepare and cook your selections at the last possible moment, and deliver to your location as quickly as possible. Our food is always fresh and, we believe, the finest that you can buy. Our customers agree!

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Please read our Privacy Promise . . .

Please be assured that any information which we receive from our customers will be kept completely confidential. It will not be shared with anyone, anywhere, at any time.

WE WILL NOT SELL THIS INFORMATION TO OTHER COMPANIES.

We value our own right to privacy, and we respect yours.

That's why any communication between us and our customers will be used only to better understand our customers needs and to improve our service.

Also, we will never contact you to make a sales pitch.

That is a promise.

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30 - 49 people, select 4 items

50 - 64 people, select 5 items

65 - 79 people, select 6 items

over 80 people, select 7 items

30 - 49 people,
select 4 items

50 - 64 people,
select 5 items

65 - 79 people,
select 6 items

over 80 people,
select 7 items