I have not hired a caterer in the past. But instead of potluck for a 40-50 person parent gathering as we usually do, I am considering hiring a catering service for ease and convenience.
Some choices I can think of:
Any pros and cons for each option? What are some of the considerations that I must consider? Thanks in advance!
I know folks who had cool food trucks arrive at meal time for a backyard party, but if the weather isn’t right for outdoors, would not do that.
The rest depends on budget and how much space you have, if indoors, for chefs and people to circulate and sit with their food. Do you mean to just have the food prepared, or also served by catering staff? The chef route would allow you to choose recipe faves you have, and save you on the cost of the food if you supply ingredients.
A private chef might require extra service people, which may increase the cost factor. Also, does the chef have a kitchen that they work out of or do they expect to cook at the venue?
Local restaurants who cater- you’ll have to pay attention to service and delivery fees.
I’ve never dealt with a food truck before but for an ultra casual affair, it sounds like a good deal- kitchen on wheels, they already have their service team. I’m not sure what the wait times for food for that many people might be like though?
Thank you- these are helpful info to get me started. We are probably leaning towards local restaurants option at this point since we don’t need to have the food served to us. The weather is a bit unpredictable these days so it may not be a good idea to take the chance. We are too old to wait for food in the rain 
