24/07/2026
Something prompted me to think about this again tonight, when there was a thread complaining about the cost of high-end fish and chips.
I will pre-empt this with something anybody who knows me knows: it’s not all about the money. However, running at a constant loss gets you into a very sticky place. Again, if you know me, you’ll already know this.
I was asked recently to tender for a local ongoing contract. A regular job, so a favourable situation. I priced up the compulsory costs of hiring the venue’s kitchen, hiring linen tablecloths, paying staff to serve/clear/wash up, then added cost of ingredients. It totalled £14 per person.
Now ok, I buy decent produce, try to be ethical, pay the living wage. All these things go against budget, as if you buy sh*tty meat and pay minimum wage (which is naff all if you’re young), you can save money. I won’t go against certain principles, so more fool me.
However, their target price was … £13-14 pp. So effectively, I would do this job for nothing if I wanted to win the contract. No profit. At. All. Note that any wage for me isn’t included in the above.
I regularly quote for parties and other events. It’s rare that I don’t get asked to ‘just charge less’. Like the numbers work out differently for us or something.
Rant over.
