Catering the Shoot: Brown Bag It & Free Bagels
Catering is the last thing I want to deal with on set. But people got to eat. Here are a few problems you’ll have to ponder:
- How much food should you get?
- How can you make sure everyone’s specific dietary needs are met?
- How do you ensure the food arrives and is ready in time for lunch?
Here’s your simple answer: Tell everyone to bring their own lunch.
This is a great way to keep everyone fed without spending any money. Office shoots are a bonus because everyone gets access to soda & vending machines and kitchen appliances like refrigerators & microwaves. Plus, we all take our lunch together. This is crucial. Everyone eats at the same time to avoid lunch becoming a 3-hour ordeal. And in the Chicago loop on a Sunday, most places aren’t open, causing a never-ending meal scavenger hunt.
Brown bagging it causes everyone to bring what they like (duh). You don’t have to be on top of everyone’s specific dietary needs. And if their lunch sucks, they’ll blame it on themselves. Ha! Head games…
If you must provide food for a cast, prepare to be a bagel millionaire. Several of my shoots have been catered by Panera bread, and more recently Einstein Bros.
Fellow filmmaker Mike Petrik says:
Don’t go to Panera, they don’t give bagels away anymore because some asshole ate a donated bagel he was allergic to and sued them.
Einstein Bagels will give you everything they have. They are very generous. Just go in like a week ahead of time, and they will write your name on a list. The only thing is they close at 3 pm, so you have to pick up at like 2:50.
Bagel places make a ton in the morning to anticipate a morning rush. What they don’t sell they toss. Simply go into a local bagel place a week before the shoot (the corporate ones tend to be more generous because their employees could care less about giving you their garbage) and ask if they would like to “donate” some bagels to a “student” film shoot. They’ll hook you up. If they say no? On to the next place. Occasionally you can talk them into free smears and coffee too.
