Catering

Sodexo offers two catering guides:

• Flavours is our full-service catering guide. It includes delivery and all items needed for your event.
• Square Tomato is our economic catering guide available for pick-up only. Only the food items are included, but you can order paper products and service items as needed.

Catering arrangements and menu selections should be ordered within 10 days of your event. While we can sometimes accommodate your needs with less lead time, sufficient notice allows us to schedule production and staffing. Please confirm your orders and guest counts within 5 business days of your event. Please allow 2 weeks for any custom menus to be completed and priced.

When entering an order, have all required information read:

• Food items needed (quantities)
• Event location (building and room number)
• Times for set-up, start, and clean-up
• How many tables have been reserved for food/beverage
• Single- or double-sided buffet
• Account number to charge
• Approver’s email: this is the person who signs off on the account only. The approver then needs to approve as soon as possible to not delay the order. The approver will receive an email after the order is placed. Sodexo does not start to process until approved
• Do you want these items served with a server present? There is an additional cost for this service. If able, provide us with floor plans for the event and include where the food and beverage tables are located.
• Consider ordering extra garbage cans for plates, cups, etc.
• You will need to open the door to the room 30 minutes before drop-off time. Sodexo does not have room keys, so you will need to contact COD Police to request the room to be opened.

Sodexo only provides catering for weekend events with prior approval. Scheduling is not guaranteed. To be considered, please contact us no less than 20 days in advance. A minimum of $1,000 must be met and additional staff costs will be incurred. If approval is given, please follow the previous checklist to order. Note: for weekend events, additional time is needed to order products and scheduling staff.

• Do not order from both guides for the same event.
• If you have missed the order cut-off for your event date, do not place an order for a different day with a request to change the date without prior approval from Sodexo.
• Do not place the entire order in custom item box when the items are available within the guide.

Changes/Guarantees/Cancellations

All cancellations and/or changes relating to the menu, count, and event arrangements must be confirmed 5 business days prior to the event. Functions canceled with less than 5 business days’ notice may incur a charge. We will prepare for the estimated number and charge accordingly should a final count not be confirmed.

Payment

All catered events must have authorized account numbers before they occur. College Fund Accounts and Checks are valid methods of payment. Non-College groups are subject to the Village of Glen Ellyn County and state taxes for all food events. Tax exempt organizations are required to submit a copy of their exemption certificate prior to the event.

Booking a Room

It is your responsibility to take care of booking your room for the event. At this time it is also important to order tables for the food to be placed on, and any additional materials you may need; i.e. garbage cans.

SoGo Cards

SoGo Gift Cards can be used at all Sodexo locations on campus, with the exception of Mr. Beast in SRC Dining Hall. These can be purchased with a College account and ordered through the Flavours guide under custom item.  

Food Waivers

No groups or events are allowed to bring your outside food into College of DuPage without a signed event waiver and Sodexo's approval.

China Charges

We offer high quality plastic products unless otherwise requested or noted. We also offer china service for any event at an additional charge.

Catering Equipment

As the host of the catering event, you are responsible for the equipment we have provided for the service of your catering event. Any missing or damaged catering equipment or supplies will be charged to your account at replacement cost. For very large events, specialty equipment may need to be rented at an additional charge.

Floral Charges

We will be happy to order, receive and handle specific floral and decorative requests for an additional fee determined in accordance with your specific needs.

Food Safety

Due to food safety liability, guests may not remove food from the function site.

You can include dietary restriction information in the “Additional Services > Allergen” portion of our menu. If your guest has an allergen that is not listed, simply include that allergen or dietary preference in the “special instructions” box.

Flavours is our full-service catering menu. It has a variety of menu options from continental breakfasts to boxed lunches to hot and cold buffets. The Flavours menu is priced to include delivery, all required serviceware, equipment, set up and breakdown of your event.

Square Tomato is specifically for groups who want to enjoy community around food but don’t have robust budget.

Menus are affordably priced with á la carte options that range from $1 to $5 per serving. Selections include breakfast items, sandwiches, drinks, snacks, and desserts. Square Tomato is available for pick-up only and has limited hours of availability. 

To ensure quick service times and smooth service flow for your guests, we recommend the following:

Standard Number of Buffets

As the number of tables we require per buffet changes, we recommend that each event has 3-6’ tables for food and 1-6’ table for beverages.

We include linens for all food and beverage tables. If you need linens for guest seating tables, registration tables, hi-boy tables or any other tables, those can be added to your order for an additional cost. Linens can be found under the “additional services” menu tile.

Linen sizes

• 52x114-covers the top of a 6’ or 8’ table
• 88x88-covers the top of a 60” round, 72” round and a 6’ table
• 120” Round-covers and goes to the floor on a 60” round table
• 132” Round-covers and goes to the floor on a 72” round table

Tables and recommended linen sizes

• 6’ table-52x114" or 2-88x88"
• 60” round-88x88" or 120” round
• 72” round-120” or 132” round
• Hi-Boy-120” round or 132” round with a tie

Listed are recommendations for staffing a successful catered event:

• Buffet Meal with Disposables: 1 per 40 guests
• Buffet Meal with China: 1 per 30 guests
• Reception (No Passing) with Disposables: 1 per 75 guests
• Reception (No Passing) with China: 1 per 40 guests
• Served Plated Meal: 1 per 20 guests
• Attendant totals may be adjusted to meet the staffing requirements for your event.

Costs for attendants are:

• 1-2 hours $100 per attendant
• 3 hours-$125 per attendant
• 4 hours-$150 per attendant
• 5 hours-$175 per attendant

Catering Hours

• Monday through Thursday: 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Friday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Weekends: by prior approval

Spring and Winter Break: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Summer: Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Due to food safety restrictions, we allow buffets to be available to guests for up to 2 hours.

For the safety and well-being of all our guests, we kindly request that food not be taken home from the event. Our food safety protocols ensure proper temperature control during the event, but we cannot guarantee its safety once it leaves our care.

Catering arrangements and menu selections should be ordered within 10 days of your event. While we can sometimes accommodate your needs with less lead time, sufficient notice allows us to schedule production and staffing. Please confirm your orders and guest counts within 3 business days of your event.

You can request changes to your order right through Catertrax. Log in to your account, go to your profile and select the event you need to change. You then select the “request change” button and request as needed. All change requests should be made no less than 3 business days prior to your event.

If you need to cancel your order, you can request a change following the instructions above and indicate that you need the order cancelled. Cancellations should be requested no less than 3 business days prior to your event.