Film & Production Set Catering

Film and production catering serves movie sets, TV productions, commercial shoots, and photo productions that need on-location food service throughout long shooting days.

You provide breakfast, lunch, dinner, and craft services (snacks and beverages) for crews of 10-150+ people, often 12-16 hour days, meeting union requirements and production standards.

Unlike event catering, production work is daily multi-meal service for weeks or months during production.

Day rates run $1,500-$8,000 depending on crew size and service level, or per-person rates of $40-$75 per day.

Revenue potential reaches $200,000-$600,000 annually with 25-35% margins on production contracts.

Target clients include independent film productions, commercial production companies, TV series shooting locally, corporate video productions, and photo shoots for major brands.

Success requires ability to serve multiple meals daily with variety, understanding union requirements and production protocols, working extremely long hours during productions, providing craft services throughout the day, and managing the logistics of serving at various locations.

Leading production caterers build relationships with production coordinators and line producers for recurring work, maintain proper insurance and certifications, understand dietary needs of diverse crews, provide professional service without disrupting productions, and handle the unpredictable nature of production work.

The work is demanding but well-paid, concentrated during production periods.

Markets with active film and commercial production (Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, etc.) offer most opportunity.