For restaurant owners · Front desk and inquiries
Answer a catering inquiry from your own menu
A same-day first reply to a catering inquiry that names what your menu can do and asks for the details you need before you set the quote.
The prompt
Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and fill in each part in [BRACKETS]. Restaurant owners and whoever checks the catering inbox.
I run a restaurant. A catering inquiry came in and I want to answer it today, not after the weekend. I set every catering quote myself, so this reply should show what we can do and get the details I need to price it. What I have: - The inquiry, word for word: [CATERING INQUIRY] - My catering menu and rules, such as pickup or delivery, how much notice we need and the group sizes we take: [CATERING MENU AND RULES] - How I sound with guests: [MY TONE] What I want: 1. Pull out what they told me: the date, the headcount, the kind of event, pickup or delivery, and anything else they asked. 2. List what they did not tell me that I need before I can quote, using my rules as the guide. 3. Write a short reply in my tone that thanks them, names the items on my catering menu that fit what they described, and asks for the missing details in one short list. 4. Close by saying I will send the quote myself once I have their answers. Rules: - Write a draft for me to read. Do not send anything. - Use only what I gave you. If something is missing, ask me instead of guessing. - Never quote a price, a minimum or a deposit, and never confirm the date. I do that. - If they ask about allergies or what is in a dish, do not answer. Say someone from the kitchen will reply, and flag it for me. - Leave out guests' card details and anything about their health. Give me back: - The reply, ready for me to edit - The details I still need before I can price it - Anything in the inquiry I need to answer myself
When to use it
Someone asks if you can cater an office lunch, a graduation party or a shower, usually by email or web form, and usually while you are in the middle of service.
When not to
Do not use it to set the price, to confirm a date you have not checked, or to answer an allergy or dietary question. Those go to you or to someone who knows the kitchen.
What to paste in
- [CATERING INQUIRY]: The message as it came in, without the person's phone number or email address.
- [CATERING MENU AND RULES]: Your catering items with the prices taken off, plus pickup, delivery, notice and group size rules in plain words.
- [MY TONE]: Three or four words for how you sound, or a reply you have sent before that you liked.
Never paste
- The guest's phone number, email address or card details
- Anything a guest told you about an allergy or their health
A filled-in example
Sample. Fictional business, fictional client.
CATERING INQUIRY: Hi, I'm planning a retirement lunch for our office on Friday the 14th, about 30 people. Can you do sandwiches or something like that? We're downtown near the courthouse. CATERING MENU AND RULES: Boxed lunches (turkey club, veggie wrap, chicken salad), garden salad trays, cookie trays; pickup, or delivery within five miles; four days' notice; groups of 15 to 80. MY TONE: Friendly, quick, neighborly.
What you should get back
- A short reply in your tone that names the catering items that fit
- One short list of questions to answer before you price it
- No price, no minimum and no promise about the date
- A note on anything you need to answer yourself
What stays with you
The prompt writes a draft. You decide what happens to it, and nothing should reach a guest until you have read it. Decisions about money stay with a person every time, and so do health questions and complaints. When KeenHand builds a routine like this, every message carries the same four decisions: Automate, Approve, Revise, Reject.
Related
- Follow up on a private dining quote gone quiet. A short, friendly follow-up for a private dining or event quote that got no answer, pointing back to the quote you sent without changing a number.
- Reply to a large-party reservation request. A reply to a big-table request that offers only the times your large-party rules allow and says what the guest needs to do to hold the table.
- Answer hours, parking and menu questions. Replies to the everyday guest questions about hours, parking, walk-ins and tonight's menu, written only from the answers you paste in.
More: every prompt for restaurants, front desk and inquiries, and AI for restaurants.
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