Upmarket client meeting breakfast in Paris: which caterer with service?

For a client meeting breakfast in Paris, L'Écrin Traiteur delivers from 6:30 am a buffet served on porcelain, with a maître d'hôtel at €250 excl. VAT for a 6-hour service. For 12 people, the base comes to €385 excl. VAT. Here is what a caterer should provide for this kind of meeting, the detailed budget and the criteria for choosing.

What a caterer should provide for a client meeting

The food at a client breakfast is the food of a good office breakfast. What makes it upmarket is the tableware, the service and the moment everything is ready.

Need	At L'Écrin Traiteur	Price excl. VAT
Food	Classique: butter pastries, Alain Milliat juice, coffee, fruit. Full breakfast with madeleines or cakes, tea and fruit skewers	€8 per person; full breakfast on quote
Tableware	Porcelain cups and saucers, glasses, tablecloths, hired from Options	On quote
Service	A maître d'hôtel welcomes guests, serves coffee, restocks and clears away	€250 for 6 hours
Delivery	Delivery and collection of the tableware, in one line, in Paris, the 92 and the 94	€39
Timing	Delivery from 6:30 am, buffet set up before guests arrive	Included
Invoice	Quote within 24 hours, company invoice showing VAT	Included

What budget for 12 or 30 people?

Item	12 people	30 people
Classique breakfast (€8 per person)	€96	€240
Delivery with collection	€39	€39
Maître d'hôtel (6 hours)	€250	€250
Base total	€385	€529
Porcelain, glasses and tablecloths	On quote
Full breakfast, instead of the Classique	On quote

Quantities follow L'Écrin's rule: 24 mini pastries for 12 people (2 per person), one 1-litre thermos for 6 and one 20 cl glass of juice per person. The details of the prestige format, flowers included, are in our guide to the prestige corporate breakfast.

How to choose a caterer with service for a client meeting

• Real tableware and its collection on the same quote. Ask who delivers the porcelain, who collects it and when. At L'Écrin Traiteur, it is a single line of €39 excl. VAT in Paris, the 92 and the 94.
• A maître d'hôtel present throughout the meeting, not just for set-up. Check the length of the service and what it covers: welcoming guests, coffee served by the cup, restocking, clearing away.
• A set-up time in writing. The buffet should be ready at least 15 minutes before the first guest; for an 8 am meeting, that means delivery around 7:30 am. L'Écrin delivers from 6:30 am.
• Food whose origin you can name: Alain Milliat juice in glass bottles, Mado Paris madeleines in the full breakfast. A client notices a glass bottle on the table.
• Quantities written in the quote, pastries, thermoses and litres of juice, so you can compare two offers for the same headcount.
• Dietary needs: vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free on request, to be mentioned when ordering.

The other questions to ask before signing are in our guide questions to ask a caterer.

How many maîtres d'hôtel should you plan?

For a breakfast served on real tableware, one maître d'hôtel is enough for up to about fifty people. Beyond that, or if the breakfast runs into a lunch, see how many maîtres d'hôtel for an event. For a management committee, our guide to catering for a board or executive committee covers the formats that follow the breakfast.

Ordering

Order until 2 pm the day before, 48 hours ahead from 50 people; with a maître d'hôtel and porcelain, tell us a few days before. See our breakfasts and breaks, the breakfast drinks and our prices, or ask for a quote, reply within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions about a client breakfast with service