Wedding catering is the one supplier decision your guests experience for three hours straight. These are the questions that separate a caterer who will cope with your venue from one who will discover the problems on the day.
Sourcing and certification
Ask where the meat comes from, and ask whether the business itself is certified. Our meat and poultry come from trusted suppliers providing halal-certified products; Jaflong is not independently HMC-certified. If a family member or imam requires a specific standard, raise it at the shortlist stage rather than after the deposit. Also ask whether the kitchen handles pork and whether alcohol is used in cooking — for us the answer is no on both counts.
Venue logistics — the questions that actually cause problems
- What time can we load in? Many Richmond and South West London venues give a two-hour window before guests arrive. That decides how much can be finished on site.
- Is there kitchen access, or none at all? No kitchen is fine — we work from professional warm holding in silver or copper chafing units — but it must be known in advance.
- Who clears down, and by when? Late-finish clear-down is a staffing cost, not a favour.
- Is there parking for unloading? A five-minute carry across a car park changes service timings for 250 covers.
- Does the venue charge for external caterers? Some do. It is not part of our quote.
Our Richmond wedding catering page covers venue access in more detail.
Numbers, tiers and what is included
Our per-head tiers are Bronze £25, Silver £35, Gold £45 and Platinum £60. What changes between them is dish count, not quality: Bronze includes 1 starter, 2 mains and 1 side; Silver 2/3/2; Gold 3/4/3; Platinum 4/5/4. Go beyond the allowance and the event becomes a bespoke quote — priced and shown to you before you commit, never added silently.
Ask any caterer what sits outside the per-head figure. For us that is: delivery beyond 10 miles (free inside 10, quoted fee for 10–20), any bespoke dish selections above your tier, and venue-imposed charges. Payment is 50% deposit to secure the date and 50% balance — no credit accounts.
Multi-day weddings
Mehndi, Nikah and Walima are three different catering briefs, not one booking repeated three times. Guest counts, timings and appetite all differ across the three. We break the costs down on our Nikah, Mehndi and Walima cost page.
Tastings and menu confirmation
A tasting menu is available by arrangement. Tastings are chargeable — we do not offer free tastings, and any caterer promising unlimited free tastings for a large event is pricing that cost somewhere else. Book yours through book a tasting once you have a shortlist and a rough guest count.
Dietary requirements
Ask how vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free guests are handled — not whether they are. Indian and Bangladeshi menus carry a full plant-based section naturally; ours is on the vegetarian and vegan page, with gluten-free options set out here. Allergen information is available on request, and our kitchen handles multiple allergens, so we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment.
Proof you can check yourself
Our Food Standards Agency hygiene rating is 5, inspected 25 March 2025 at 16 Ashburnham Road — verifiable on the FSA site. We have been family-run in Richmond since 2008 and have catered around 500 events, from school fairs to 400-guest weddings. Public liability documentation is available on request for venue paperwork.
Written by the Jaflong Tandoori catering team, family-run in Richmond since 2008 and led by owner Syed Bashar. Last reviewed September 2026.