How to compare Bali catering quotes with different inclusions
Fill-in worksheet for comparing Bali catering quotes when inclusions differ, plus one illustrative worked example. Not a price list.
Two Bali catering quotes can show different headline numbers and still describe different jobs. One PDF prices food only. Another includes a chef, servers, setup and cleanup, then adds ++ at the end. A third looks cheap until glassware, a bar and a travel line appear on the invoice. This guide is a way to compare those quotes. It is not a price list, and it does not replace the live pricing page or the catering formats.
Use it when you already have two or more proposals for the same sitting: a villa dinner, a BBQ night, a buffet, a plated meal or a drop-off. If you are still choosing between a full-day stay chef and one catering night, start with stay chef or catering. Wedding weekends have their own planning owner at the wedding private chef planning guide. BBQ-only cost stacks live on the BBQ catering cost breakdown.
What you are comparing
A useful comparison holds four things still:
- The same occasion. One dinner for 18 is not the same product as three meals a day for a week, and not the same as a wedding reception.
- The same guest count. Adults and children counted the same way on every quote. Kids’ portions, when offered, should be a separate line, not hidden inside the adult price.
- The same window. A four-hour dinner is not a ten-hour party. Ask what happens if the timeline runs long.
- The same place. A Seminyak villa and an Uluwatu cliff estate can change travel, power and what the team must bring.
myCHEF catering for one lunch, dinner or party is quoted as an itemised proposal with food included in the package. A stay chef is different: the published full-day staff fee starts at IDR 2,700,000++ (IDR 3,267,000 all-in for that staff fee), and groceries are extra at cost with receipts. Do not drop a stay-chef day rate into a catering comparison as if it were a per-guest dinner. Current package anchors stay on pricing.
Inclusion worksheet
Copy this table into a note. Fill one column per quote. Leave a cell blank when the PDF does not say. A blank is information: it means you still have to ask, or you may have to buy that line yourself.
| Line | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occasion, date, villa area | |||
| Guest count used in the price | |||
| Headline number and unit (total, or per guest) | |||
| Is the headline ++ or already all-in? | |||
| If ++, what does the vendor add, and on which base? | |||
| Food included? Which menu level? | |||
| Chef included? How many? | |||
| Servers / waiters included? How many, for how long? | |||
| Setup and cleanup included? | |||
| Crockery, glassware, tables, linen | |||
| Bar, drinks, ice, glass hire | |||
| Travel or out-of-area fee | |||
| Minimum guests or minimum spend | |||
| What is explicitly excluded? | |||
| Deposit and when the balance is due | |||
| Your like-for-like all-in total |
Formats change which rows matter. A drop-off quote should not be punished for lacking waiters if you planned to serve yourselves. A plated dinner usually needs service staff. A buffet and a BBQ often need a station, replenishment and cleanup. Villa catering still depends on the kitchen, power and access at that property. Read the format page for what the product is, then use this worksheet to see whether the quote matches it.
How to turn headlines into one total
- Put every quote on the same guest count. If one vendor assumed 20 guests and another assumed 18, recompute before you compare.
- Convert per-guest prices to a group total, or the reverse. Write the unit next to the number so a total and a per-guest figure never sit in the same cell.
- Apply only the tax basis that quote actually states. On many Bali hospitality quotes, ++ means 10% service charge and 11% government tax on the same base, which is a ×1.21 multiplier. That is how myCHEF shows ++ on published staff fees. It is not a law that every vendor uses the same base. If a quote is silent, ask before you multiply.
- Add the lines the quote excludes and you still need. Waiters, cleanup, glassware, a bar package, cake and travel are real costs even when they are not in the PDF.
- Then compare menu level. A lower total that is snacks and satay is not “better value” than a seafood grill. Note the menu in words, not only in rupiah.
Service charge on an invoice is not a personal tip. If you want the grocery, receipt and tipping side of a stay-chef booking, that lives on the groceries, tax and tipping guide. Total stay-chef cost framing lives on how much a private chef costs in Bali.
Illustrative worked example
These figures are made up to show the method. They are not a myCHEF quote, not a published package, and not a promise of what your villa will cost. Assumptions for the illustration only:
- One dinner, 18 adult guests, a villa in Seminyak.
- The host wants a seated dinner of about four hours, with someone to serve and someone to reset the kitchen.
- Alcohol, cake and decor are out of scope for both quotes.
- Where a quote says ++, this example assumes the common reading: 10% service and 11% tax on that quote’s stated base (×1.21). A real vendor may use a different basis. Ask them.
| Quote North (illustration) | Quote South (illustration) | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | IDR 16,200,000 total | IDR 980,000++ per guest |
| What the headline buys | Food and one chef | Food, chef, two servers, setup and cleanup |
| Tax note on the PDF | None | ++ shown |
| Servers | Not included | Two included |
| Setup and cleanup | Not included | Included |
| Glassware hire | Not included | Included |
Quote South, if ++ means ×1.21 on IDR 980,000: 18 × 980,000 = IDR 17,640,000 before tax and service. IDR 17,640,000 × 1.21 = IDR 21,344,400 all-in for the lines it includes.
Quote North’s IDR 16,200,000 looks lower until the host adds what the brief still needs. Illustration add-ons, also made up: two servers IDR 1,600,000, setup and cleanup IDR 1,200,000, glassware hire IDR 750,000. Those extras are IDR 3,550,000. Food-and-chef plus extras = IDR 19,750,000, and that total still has no tax note.
If North later applies the same ++ reading to the IDR 16,200,000 food-and-chef base, that base becomes IDR 19,602,000, and the extras still sit on top: IDR 19,602,000 + IDR 3,550,000 = IDR 23,152,000. Under these stated assumptions, South’s higher headline is the smaller like-for-like bill, because the missing service lines on North cost more than the gap in the headline. Change the menu, the guest count or the tax basis and the winner can change. That is the point of the worksheet.
Equivalent per-guest reading of North’s food-and-chef headline, before extras and before any tax: IDR 16,200,000 / 18 = IDR 900,000 per guest. Do not compare that IDR 900,000 with South’s IDR 980,000++ until both sides list the same inclusions and the same tax treatment.
Questions that change the winner
- Is food included, or is this a staff fee with groceries at cost? Stay-chef groceries are a different model. Catering packages on this site are itemised with food in the quote.
- Are children priced as adults? A kids’ line should be visible. See children’s menu options when the brief includes younger guests.
- Does “staff included” mean a chef only, or chef plus servers for the hours you need?
- Who brings plates, glassware, a grill or chafing dishes? Some villas have them. Many do not.
- Is travel inside the headline? Areas outside a vendor’s usual zone are often a separate line. Confirm it before you compare totals.
- What is the minimum guest count? A low per-guest number that only applies from 30 guests does not describe a table of 12.
- Is a bar included? Cocktail service is its own package. See bar packages rather than assuming a dinner quote covers drinks.
What this comparison excludes
- Published rate cards. Live anchors for stay chef, dinners and packages are on pricing. This page does not own “catering Bali” or “private chef Bali prices”.
- Which booking model to choose for a whole trip: stay chef or catering.
- Wedding production, timelines and vendor lists. Use the wedding planning guide, wedding catering guide and wedding catering.
- A BBQ menu price ladder. That intent stays on the BBQ cost breakdown and villa BBQ catering.
- Birthday or villa-party creative direction. Occasion pages such as birthday catering and villa parties own the event. This page only helps you read the quotes.
FAQ
Should I pick the lowest headline?
Only after you have rebuilt each quote to the same guest count, the same inclusions and a stated tax basis. The illustrative example above is a case where the lower headline was not the lower like-for-like total.
What does ++ usually mean?
On myCHEF published fees, ++ means 10% service charge and 11% government tax on the stated base (×1.21). Another caterer’s quote may use a different base or may already be all-in. Ask which number you will pay.
Are groceries extra on catering?
On myCHEF catering for one sitting, food is included in the itemised quote. On a stay chef, groceries are billed separately at cost with receipts. Do not mix those two sentences when you compare vendors.
Where do I see real myCHEF numbers?
Current prices and inclusions. Send the filled worksheet if you want a proposal built to the same lines.
Related reading
- Catering options in Bali
- Plated catering, buffet menus and grazing tables
- Stay chef or catering
- Private chef cost in Bali for total-cost framing of a stay
When you are ready for a myCHEF proposal, open pricing for the published anchors, then send the date, villa, guest count and which worksheet lines you need included. A written quote should show the base, the tax treatment and the exclusions before you pay a deposit.
