Catering Services Agreement
This agreement is made on 7 November 2026 between:
- Olive & Thyme Catering Co., of 9 Market Lane, Cape Town 8001, South Africa ("the Caterer"); and
- Thandi Mokoena, of 31 Protea Avenue, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa ("the Client").
The Client wishes to hire the Caterer to provide food and drink service for the event below, and the Caterer agrees. They agree as follows.
1. The event
1.1 The Caterer will provide catering for a wedding reception ("the Event") at Vergelegen Estate, Lourensford Road, Somerset West 7130, South Africa ("the Venue"), on Saturday 20 March 2027.
1.2 The times of service are: set-up from 12.00, drinks from 16.00, dinner at 18.30 and the end of service at 23.00.
1.3 The expected number of guests is 120.
2. Guest numbers
2.1 The Client will tell the Caterer the final number of guests, and the final dietary needs of each guest, in writing at least 14 days before the Event. This is "the Final Number".
2.2 The Client will pay for the Final Number, or for the number of guests actually served if that is higher. The Final Number can be increased up to 3 days before the Event if the Caterer can supply it, at the same price per guest. It cannot be lowered after the date in section 2.1.
2.3 If the Client does not give a Final Number on time, the expected number in section 1.3 is the Final Number.
3. Menu and drinks
3.1 The Caterer will provide this menu and these drinks:
- Canapes: smoked trout blinis, mushroom arancini and beef carpaccio spoons
- Main course: slow-cooked lamb shoulder or roast cauliflower steak, with seasonal vegetables and potatoes
- Dessert: malva pudding with cream
- Drinks: sparkling water, soft drinks, and tea and coffee
3.2 Changes to the menu need the agreement of both parties in writing. The Caterer may replace an ingredient or a dish with a similar one of equal or better quality if a supplier cannot deliver it, and will tell the Client as soon as it knows of it.
3.3 The Caterer will serve the wine and beer that the Client supplies, and holds the licence needed to do so at the Venue
3.4 The Caterer may refuse to serve alcohol to anyone who is under the legal age, who is drunk, or whose behaviour is a risk to others, and may stop serving alcohol if the law or the rules of the Venue require it. The Client will make sure that the guests follow these limits.
4. Dietary needs and allergens
4.1 The Client has told the Caterer about these dietary needs: 8 vegetarian guests, 3 vegan guests, 2 guests with a gluten allergy and 1 guest with a severe peanut allergy.
4.2 The Caterer will make the dishes for those needs as agreed in writing, and will label or tell the guests of the 14 main allergens or those that the law of the place requires in each dish. It will keep the ingredient information for each dish available to the Client and guests.
4.3 The Client will tell the Caterer in writing of every allergy and dietary need of a guest, with the details, in the Final Number notice. The Caterer is not responsible for a need it was not told about in time.
4.4 The Caterer will take reasonable care to avoid cross-contact, but the food is prepared in a kitchen that handles several allergens. The Caterer gives no promise that any dish is entirely free of an allergen, unless it states in writing how it will keep that dish apart, and has the means to do so.
5. Staff, equipment and set-up
5.1 The Caterer will provide these staff: 1 event manager, 2 chefs, 8 waiting staff and 2 bar staff. They will be trained, suitably dressed and, where the law requires, registered for work with food.
5.2 The Caterer will provide this equipment and set-up: crockery, cutlery, glasses and linen for 120 guests, 12 round tables for 10 guests and 120 chairs, with set-up and clearing included. Anything not named is the Client's duty to provide or arrange with the Venue.
5.3 The Client will make sure that the Caterer can reach the Venue at the times it needs for set-up and clearing, and that the Venue has the power, water, working space, cold storage and parking that the Caterer has said that it needs. Extra costs from a delay or limits at the Venue that the Client did not tell the Caterer about are charged to the Client at the Caterer's reasonable rates.
5.4 The Caterer will follow the rules and instructions of the Venue, including its rules on noise, fire safety, waste and use of outside caterers, and the Client will give the Caterer a copy of the rules in good time.
6. Food safety, licences and law
6.1 The Caterer will hold, and keep in force, every registration, permit and licence the law requires to provide the food and drink service at the Venue, and will give a copy to the Client or the Venue on request.
6.2 The Caterer will prepare, store, transport, serve and clear food following the food hygiene and safety laws that apply and good practice, including temperature control, clean working, and careful handling of raw and cooked food.
6.3 The Caterer may, for food safety reasons, remove or refuse to serve food that has been left out of temperature control for longer than is safe, and will not be responsible for the loss.
6.4 Each party will follow the law that applies to it in connection with the Event, including laws on alcohol, health and safety, employment of staff and the protection of children.
7. Price
7.1 The price is ZAR 780 per guest, for the Final Number, in South African rand. The price covers the menu, staff, equipment and set-up named in this agreement.
7.2 The following extras are charged in addition, if the Client asks for them:
- Late-night snack: ZAR 95 per guest
- Each extra hour of service after 23.00: ZAR 2,400
7.3 Other changes that the Client asks for after signing, such as extra staff, a longer service or a changed menu, are priced by the Caterer at its fair rates, and are agreed in writing in advance.
7.4 Prices do not include sales tax, value added tax or a service charge unless this agreement says so. If the law adds such a tax, the Client will pay it in addition.
8. Deposit and payment
8.1 The Client will pay a deposit of ZAR 25,000 on signing this agreement. The Caterer holds the date for the Client only when it has received the deposit. The deposit counts toward the price.
8.2 The Caterer will invoice the balance, based on the Final Number and any extras, and the Client will pay it 14 days before the event.
8.3 Any extras added on the day or after the Event are invoiced after the Event and are payable within 14 days of the invoice.
8.4 A sum not paid on time carries interest at 4% a year above the base rate of the central bank of the country of the currency of payment, to the extent the law allows. The Caterer may refuse to serve if the balance has not been paid when due.
9. Cancellation and changes by the Client
9.1 The Client may cancel this agreement by written notice to the Caterer. If it does, the Client will pay the following charge, which is calculated on the estimated total, that is, the price per guest multiplied by the expected number of guests in section 1.3 or the Final Number if one has been given:
| Notice before the event | Client pays |
|---|---|
| More than 90 days | The deposit is kept |
| 90 to 30 days | 50% of the estimated total |
| 29 to 8 days | 80% of the estimated total |
| 7 days or less | The full estimated total |
9.2 The parties agree that these charges are a fair estimate of the Caterer's loss, because it buys food, books staff and turns away other bookings. Money paid as a deposit counts toward the charge, and the Caterer will refund any amount above it. The Caterer will use reasonable efforts to reduce its loss, for example by using the food for other events and, if it finds another booking for the date, it will reduce the charge by the profit from it.
9.3 If the Client wants to move the date of the Event, the Caterer will try to agree. If it can supply the new date, no cancellation charge applies for a change made at least 30 days ahead, and the Caterer may charge any increase in cost.
10. Cancellation by the Caterer and events beyond control
10.1 If the Caterer cancels the Event, or cannot provide the food and drink service as agreed except because of a cause under section 10.2, it will refund all money paid and will use reasonable efforts to find a replacement caterer of equal standard. It will also pay the extra reasonable cost to the Client of getting a replacement, to a limit of the price in this agreement.
10.2 Neither party is liable for failing to perform because of a cause outside its control that could not be avoided, such as a natural disaster, a fire, an emergency, an order of a public authority, a serious illness of the head chef with no replacement, a strike, a general loss of power or the closing of the Venue. The parties will talk about a new date. If the Event cannot take place, the Caterer will refund the money paid, less its costs already spent that it cannot recover, such as food that was ordered or made to order.
11. Leftovers
The Caterer will not leave cooked food with the Client, for food safety reasons, but will pack unopened packaged items and desserts that the Client asks to keep.
12. Damage and conduct
12.1 The Client is responsible for damage to the Caterer's equipment, tableware and property caused by the Client, its guests, its other suppliers and anyone else at the Event, except normal wear and use, and will pay the cost to repair or replace it. The Caterer will tell the Client about it within 7 days after the Event.
12.2 The Caterer is responsible for damage to the Venue or to the Client's property caused by its staff, and will repair it or pay the cost of repair.
12.3 The Caterer may stop the service, after warning the Client, if a guest or the Client abuses or threatens its staff or acts in a way that puts people at risk.
13. Insurance
13.1 The Caterer will keep the following insurance during the Event: public liability insurance of at least ZAR 10,000,000 for each claim. It will give the Client a certificate on request.
13.2 The Client should consider insurance for the cancellation of the Event, and for damage to the Venue.
14. Liability
14.1 Nothing in this agreement limits liability for fraud, for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for anything else the law does not allow to be limited.
14.2 Subject to section 14.1, and to the sections on refund and damage in this agreement, each party's total liability to the other for all claims arising from this agreement is limited to the total price of the catering in this agreement. Neither party is liable for loss of profit or loss of enjoyment of the Event, or for indirect loss.
14.3 The Caterer is not responsible for the loss of or damage to the Client's or guests' property brought to the Event, except to the extent that its staff caused it.
14.4 The Client is responsible for the conduct of its guests, and will compensate the Caterer against claims by a third party that arise from the guests' conduct, other than caused by the Caterer.
15. General
- This agreement is the whole agreement between the parties about the Event. It replaces everything said or written earlier, and may be changed only in writing signed by both parties.
- Neither party may transfer this agreement without the other's written consent. The Caterer may use subcontractors for parts of the service, and is responsible for them.
- If any part of this agreement cannot be enforced, the rest remains in effect.
- A party that does not use a right straight away has not given it up.
- This agreement may be signed in separate copies and electronically, and together they form one agreement.
16. Governing law and disputes
This agreement, and any dispute that arises from it, is governed by the laws of South Africa. The parties will first try to settle any dispute by discussing it in good faith for 30 days after one of them gives written notice of it.
The place for deciding any dispute under this agreement is Cape Town. How disputes are decided
Signatures
For the Caterer: Olive & Thyme Catering Co.
Name and title: ______________
Signature: ______________
Date: ______________
The Client: Thandi Mokoena
Name and title: ______________
Signature: ______________
Date: ______________