We’ve reviewed a lot of catering contracts over the years. Some of them are solid — clear terms, fair to both sides, well-structured. Most of them? They’re vague in the places that matter and specific in the places that don’t. A twelve-page document that spells out the garnish on every plate but says nothing about what happens when the caterer shows up 45 minutes late three Tuesdays in a row.
This checklist exists because the problems we see in catering relationships almost always trace back to something that should have been in the contract but wasn’t. Not because anyone was acting in bad faith. Just because nobody thought to address it until it became a problem.
If you’re a procurement manager, contracts officer, or operations director in Riyadh evaluating a catering agreement — whether for a long-term corporate contract or a shorter flexible arrangement — run through these fifteen points before signing.
1. Daily production capacity — with evidence
The contract should state the provider’s maximum daily meal production capacity. Not a sales claim. A documented number backed by facility specifications and historical output data. If they say 5,000 meals a day, ask for a month of production logs that proves it. Proposals are aspirational. Logs are factual.
2. SFDA and HACCP documentation
Current SFDA registration. Valid HACCP certification. And — this is the part people skip — a commitment in the contract that these will be maintained throughout the agreement term with copies provided to you upon renewal. Certifications expire. A caterer who was compliant when they signed might not be eighteen months in.
3. Menu rotation schedule
How often does the menu rotate? Four weeks is the minimum for daily service before people start getting bored. The contract should specify the rotation cycle length, the process for seasonal adjustments, and who approves menu changes. We’ve seen contracts where the caterer has unilateral control over the menu with no client input mechanism. That’s a recipe for complaints.
4. Dietary management process
Not “we accommodate dietary needs.” That’s meaningless. The contract should describe the actual system — how halal compliance is maintained (should be the baseline), how vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and allergen-sensitive meals are segregated during preparation, how individual requests are tracked, and what happens when someone has a severe allergy that requires dedicated equipment.
5. Pricing model and transparency
Per-head pricing or fixed monthly? Either works, but the structure should be clear. What’s included in the per-head rate? Are beverages separate? Is setup included? What about disposable packaging for boxed meal days? We’ve seen contracts where the base rate looked competitive until the add-ons turned up on the first invoice.
The contract should also address price adjustment mechanisms. Ingredient costs fluctuate. A multi-year contract that doesn’t account for this either has padded pricing from the start or will lead to quality compromises when costs rise and the caterer tries to maintain margins.
6. Headcount flexibility clauses
Your headcount will change. Guaranteed. New hires, departures, seasonal projects, office moves, Ramadan attendance drops. The contract needs to specify how much headcount can fluctuate — up and down — without triggering a renegotiation. And what notice period is required for adjustments.
A rigid contract that charges for 500 meals daily when your office dropped to 380 after a restructuring isn’t a partnership. It’s a penalty.
7. Delivery SLAs with actual consequences
Delivery window. Temperature on arrival. Portion accuracy. Menu adherence. These should be measurable SLA commitments with defined penalties for repeated non-compliance. Not “we aim to deliver on time.” What is “on time”? Within 10 minutes? 30? And what happens when they miss it three times in a month?
We’ve written about this in more detail in our guide on catering SLAs and KPIs — worth reading alongside this checklist if you’re drafting performance terms.
8. Complaint resolution process
When an employee complains about food quality — and they will, it’s the nature of feeding hundreds of people daily — how does the escalation work? Is there a dedicated contact? What’s the response time commitment? How are repeated complaints about the same issue tracked and addressed?
A caterer without a documented complaint process will handle issues reactively, which means inconsistently. Today’s complaint gets fixed. Tomorrow’s gets lost.
9. Quality reporting frequency
Monthly at minimum. Covering: delivery performance metrics, meal uptake data, waste percentages, satisfaction survey results (if applicable), and any food safety incidents or near-misses. You shouldn’t have to ask for this information. It should arrive on a schedule, in a format you agreed on upfront.
10. Equipment and infrastructure responsibilities
Who provides what? If the caterer operates on-site at your facility, who owns the kitchen equipment? Who maintains it? Who replaces the dishwasher when it breaks? If it’s a delivery model, who provides serving stations, chafing dishes, or refrigerators at the receiving end?
This sounds mundane until a piece of equipment fails and nobody’s sure whose budget covers the repair. Define it in the contract. Save yourself the argument later.
11. Insurance and liability
The caterer should carry public liability insurance and product liability insurance at minimum. The contract should specify coverage amounts and require proof of insurance to be provided annually. If someone gets sick from the food — even if the caterer did everything right — the liability question needs to be answered before it happens, not during the incident response.
12. Trial period provisions
Especially for new relationships. A 30 to 90 day trial period with specific performance benchmarks and an exit clause if benchmarks aren’t met gives both sides a safety net. The caterer gets to prove themselves under real conditions. You get to evaluate without a multi-year commitment hanging over the decision.
If a caterer refuses to include a trial period, ask yourself why they aren’t confident in their own performance.
13. Account manager assignment
The contract should name — or at least guarantee — a dedicated account manager who is your single point of contact for day-to-day operations. Not a call centre. Not a rotating team of people who don’t know your site. One person who understands your headcount patterns, your building access quirks, your CEO’s thing about the soup being too salty that one time.
This is the difference between a managed catering relationship and a food delivery transaction. We covered this distinction in our guide on managed catering services in Riyadh.
14. Termination terms and exit clauses
How do you end the contract if it’s not working? What notice period is required? Are there early termination fees? Under what circumstances can you exit without penalty — repeated SLA failures, food safety incidents, material breach?
The exit clause is the part of the contract nobody wants to talk about during the honeymoon phase of a new partnership. But it’s the part you’ll be most grateful for if things go wrong at month eight. Read it carefully. Negotiate it firmly.
15. Contingency and business continuity plans
What happens when things go sideways? The caterer’s kitchen has a fire. A key supplier’s shipment gets delayed at customs. There’s a citywide traffic disruption because of a national event. The driver who knows your building’s loading bay schedule calls in sick.
A professional caterer should have documented contingency plans for supply chain disruptions, production facility failures, and delivery disruptions. Ask to see them. If they don’t exist, you’re relying on improvisation, and improvisation at scale doesn’t end well.
Using this checklist
Not every point carries equal weight for every organisation. A 200-person office has different priorities than a government ministry feeding 3,000 daily. But every point on this list has, at some point, been the reason a catering contract went from working to not working.
If you haven’t already, read our guide on how to choose a corporate catering company in Saudi Arabia — it covers the broader vendor evaluation process that precedes the contract stage.
Avala Catering provides transparent, itemised proposals with clear SLA terms across all contract types. We’ve been operating under Leylaty Hospitality Group since 1948 — 77 years of contracts, renewals, and the occasional tough conversation when something needed fixing. We prefer clients who read the fine print.