• Meat, vegetables, and a starch
• Salad & Dressing
• Bread or Dinner Rolls
• A Vegetarian alternative
• Cake, cookies, or fruit

*Our crew have very plebian tasks in food. Menus including exotic fare such as curry have resulted in shock/horror reactions from the crew. Stick to the basics. See suggestions further on.

Craft Service usually consists of:

• Coffee
• Hot Water
• Tea & Hot Chocolate
• Ice
• Milk, sugar, Half & Half, sweetener, creamer
• Iced Water – in a cooler dispenser
• Lemonade (or Gatorade) - in a cooler dispenser
• Sodas: 

• canned

• can be generic brands

• must include Coke type, Mountain Dew type, Caffeine free, and Diet

• Mini bags of assorted chips
• Mini carrot sticks
• Raw veg. and dips
• Mini filled cracker packs
• Goldfish
• Bread, peanut butter, and jelly
• Fruit
• Snack packs & candy

On a low budget film, it is important to keep the food costs low. As a general rule of thumb, it will cost $150/ day to feed a crew of 40 people. In order to keep to that estimate you must follow the suggestions in this book. It is very easy to go WAY over budget on food.

In order to stay on budget we suggest the following:

1. Calculate how many people you will be serving each day

2. Make a menu for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the entire shoot ahead of time.

3. Compare prices on the ingredients of each meal ahead of time at low cost super stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club, and Wal-Mart. If a meal costs too much, substitute something with cheaper ingredients.

4. Purchase all the food for the shoot the day before the shoot begins. Don’t shop daily; you will end up spending too much money.

5. Hold back a small amount of cash for daily expenses such as ice.

6. Don’t succumb to crew whining about brand name sodas. Stand firm!

1. Logistics

1. Equipment

1. We own a bunch of equipment, which is listed on the Craft Service Rental Sheet – see Appendix A Page 8. For an independent production, most of it is available at a low cost at thrift stores and used restuarant equipment stores, or it can be rented.

2. Have the crew member in charge sign out the equipment prior to the shoot. They are responsible for that equipment and in signing the rental agreement, they agree to replace any items that are lost or stolen during the shoot.

3. The equipment must be checked back in the day after the end of the shoot. Everything must be clean.

 2. Set Up

1. 1. The craft service crew must be on set one hour before crew call time. Breakfast must be ready to serve 30 minutes before call time. Make sure the location manager or 2^nd AD can provide early access to the location.

   2. The first thing to start is the coffee pot and the hot water pot as coffee takes a while to brew. There is an extension chord with the craft service equipment that has multiple sockets. Make sure to arrange for power on location ahead of time.

   3. In coordination with the Key PA, set up two awnings (on exterior locations only). One will be for craft service and lunch. The other will be for actor holding and lunch overflow.

   4. Set up two of the longest tables along one side of the Craft awning to use as a serving counter. Take all the craft service equipment out of the van and stash it under the tables. The van may have to leave set during the shoot.

   5. Set up the rest of the tables under the awnings with chairs around them.

   6. Lay out breakfast in a serving line – cups, creamer, sugar, and stirrers next to the coffee pot- you get the idea.

   7. If there is hot food to be served at breakfast, use one of the chafing dishes. Hot water must be poured in the lower pan before lighting the sterno. The sterno will keep water warm but it cannot heat it from cold.

7. Menu

   1. Create a menu

      1. Consider such factors as where the shoot will be. On location, you usually won’t have access to a stove or cook top. Hot lunch food will have to be carried to the set hot and kept warm in chafing dishes. Otherwise, serve cold food on location. Make sure there is a stove, refrigerator, and freezer at the studio/production base.

      2. Consider the eating habits of the crew. Vegetarians must be fed, with a hot entrée if everyone else is having a hot entrée.

2. Have the menu approved by the production manager (he/she will post it for comments).

Sample Menu

• Quesadillas served with Yellow Rice and Salad w/tomatoes
• -Sour Cream
• -Salsa
• -Ranch Dressing
• -Italian
• -Caesar

• Cold Cuts served on Bread, Rolls, Tortilla Shells with Chips served in a sack
• -Lettuce
• -Tomatoes
• -Mustard
• -Mayonnaise
• -Pickles
• -Olives

• Spaghetti & Sauce served with Green Beans/Corn and Garlic Bread/Rolls
• -Parmesan Cheese
• -Butter
• -Salt
• -Pepper

• Quiche served with Caesar Salad
• -Artichokes
• -Crutons
• -Parmesan Cheese
• -Olives
• -Tomatoes
• -Caesar Dressing
• -Ranch Dressing
• --Italian Dressing

• Lasagna served with Salad/Tomatoes, and Garlic Bread/Rolls
• -Caesar
• -Ranch
• -Italian
• -Parmesan Cheese

• Hot Dogs served with Corn Ears and Chips
• -Mustard
• -Relish
• -Ketchup

8. Cost Comparison

   1. If you are introducing new menu items, it is important to calculate the cost to make them. Even for meals we have served before, we cost compare for the ingredients before buying. We always cost compare at several different stores – usually Costco or Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart or Super Kmart, and Food Lion or another regular chain. As you can see from the attached chart, much money can be saved this way.

   2. We rarely spend more than $3 per person per day for catering and craft service.

9. Scheduling

1. Make sure you are in the communication loop and get a call time for the following shoot day. Call time can change day to day. Ask the 2^nd AD.

2. Make sure you have directions to the shoot location. That can also change day to day.

3. Lunch is due 6 hours after the start of the shoot day.

4. Lunch is still lunch even if it is served in the middle of the night.

5.  

6.  

10. Sanitation
You won't have the health department breathing down your neck like a street vendor     or     restuarant    might, but you should adhere to the same standards of cleanliness. The whole purpose of catering for a crew is voided if the crew becomes sick from bad food prep and unsanitary conditions:  

1. All serving dishes and utensils must be washed (at the studio or production base) in hot water with dish soap.
2. All perishable foods must be stored in a refrigerator in the studio/production office or in a cooler of ice on-set. Check creamers, milk, and juice daily. 
3. Cover food on the table with fly screens or in plastic bags.
4. Do not re-heat and serve leftover food that has been sitting in a chafing dish.        

GOOD LUCK!!!

APPENDIX A

Name: Position:                                     Date of Request:

Production:                                             Date Out:

Phone Number:                                     Date of Return: