# Pilotiko for caterers

> For Quebec caterers: tastings, event crews, December weekends and MAPAQ food-handling certificates on one virtual office. What Pilotiko already does today.

Updated on October 15, 2026 · https://app.pilotiko.com/en/solutions/caterers

Pilotiko helps a caterer plan events and crews: tasting appointments booked online, every event recorded with its address and length, cooks and service staff proposed based on their calendars and skills, and workload reports. Anything sent to a client waits for your approval, and automatic reminders aren't live yet.

## In short
- In Quebec, preparing meals for sale, including from a home kitchen, counts as a restaurant activity that requires a permit [1].
- Operating without a valid permit posted on the premises is prohibited [1].
- The food establishment manager certificate takes 12 hours of training; the food handler certificate, 6 hours [2], [3].
- Pilotiko doesn't manage permits or recipes: it organizes people, dates and appointments.

## What rules apply to a caterer in Quebec?

The Quebec government explains that restaurant activities aren't limited to restaurants: they cover preparing meals, snacks and drinks to eat on site or take away, and preparing meals for sale from a home kitchen counts as a restaurant activity [1]. An online tool helps determine the permit a catering service needs, and operating without a valid permit posted on the premises is prohibited [1].

Staff need the right certificates too. Food establishment manager training lasts 12 hours and food handler training 6 hours; in both cases the certificate is issued to the person, not the employer, and it's valid for life [2], [3]. When you build a crew for an event, who holds which certificate becomes scheduling data.

| Appointment | Who | Where | Plan for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasting with an engaged couple | Chef or sales lead | Kitchen or tasting room | Weekday slots, often evenings |
| Venue walk-through | Event lead | Event venue | Address and loading dock access |
| Kitchen production | Cooks | Kitchen | Kitchen declared as a resource |
| On-site service | Servers and service captain | Event venue | Set-up, service, tear-down |
| Boxed lunch delivery | Driver | Client's office | Truck declared as a resource |

## Why are June Saturdays and December Fridays so risky?

A caterer doesn't sell hours, it sells dates. Weddings bunch up on a few summer weekends, office parties on December Fridays and Saturdays. On those dates every server and cook is double-booked in somebody's head, and the conflict surfaces on Thursday night.

The rest of the year the problem flips: filling quiet weeks with business lunches, funeral receptions and tastings for next year's weddings.

## How many people do three events on the same night need?

**Calculation: service staff needed on a December Friday**

- Event A, plated dinner, 150 guests, 1 server per 15 guests : 10 servers
- Event B, cocktail reception, 80 guests, 1 server per 25 guests : 4 servers
- Event C, buffet, 60 guests, 1 server per 30 guests : 2 servers
- Service captains (1 per event) : 3
- Total service staff to book : 19 people
- Regular service staff available that night : 14 people
- **= You're 5 people short, and it's better to know in October than on a Thursday in December.**

## How does Pilotiko organize a catering business?

The [virtual office](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/product/virtual-office) shows the business as rooms: sales and tastings, kitchen, service, delivery. Every regular employee has a desk and a calendar, and an event that's short-staffed shows up as a task in the service room.

Prospective clients book a tasting online into the chef's genuinely open times. Each event carries its address and length, set-up and tear-down included.

To build an event crew, Pilotiko proposes people who are free that night, weighing their workload and declared skills: service captain, bartender, food handler certificate. A mismatch is refused unless someone explicitly overrides it.

- In October, an [AI agent](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/product/ai-agents) can list the corporate clients you served last December with an invitation to book; nothing goes out without your approval.
- Content agents draft posts about your holiday or wedding menus; you approve before publishing.
- Reports show events per week, hours scheduled per employee and booked revenue.

## What doesn't Pilotiko offer yet?

> Automatic tasting reminders and delivery-time confirmations are being commissioned: the code exists, but no SMS or automatic email goes out yet. Delivery route optimization and holiday demand forecasting are planned for later, with no date promised.

## What client and guest information should you keep?

For an event, keep the client's name, contact details, the address, the guest count and declared dietary restrictions without guest names. A named list of every guest's allergies is rarely needed for planning. Under Quebec's private-sector privacy act, the business is responsible for protecting the personal information it holds [4].

The same wedding Saturday often involves a [photographer](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/solutions/photographers) and sometimes a [security agency](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/solutions/security-agencies), each with its own puzzle of staff to place on a single date.

While you set up the room, the [hair salon](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/solutions/hair-salons) and the [esthetics studio](https://app.pilotiko.com/en/solutions/esthetics-studios) are getting the bride ready: three schedules hanging on the same ceremony time.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does Pilotiko manage my MAPAQ permit?

No. Permits and certificates are MAPAQ matters. You can note in Pilotiko who holds a certificate so you can account for it when building crews.

### Can clients book a tasting online?

Yes. They choose a genuinely open slot on the chef's or sales lead's calendar. You decide which days and times are offered.

### Does Pilotiko stop a server being booked at two events the same night?

Yes. A person can't hold two overlapping bookings; the calendar refuses the conflict and you can pick someone else who's free.

### Are automatic client reminders live?

Not yet. They're being commissioned: the confirmation and reminder code is ready, but the sending provider isn't connected.

### Does Pilotiko work out food quantities?

No. Pilotiko isn't recipe or food-costing software. It organizes people, dates, appointments and reports.

### Can we schedule on-call staff?

Yes, if each person has a desk and availability in Pilotiko. Proposed assignment accounts for their calendars, and you confirm each one.

## Sources

1. Gouvernement du Québec (MAPAQ), « Permis pour préparation d'aliments, restauration ou vente au détail », https://www.quebec.ca/entreprises-et-travailleurs-autonomes/industrie-bioalimentaire/permis-alimentaires/permis-restauration-vente-detail (accessed on 2026-10-15)
2. Gouvernement du Québec (MAPAQ), « Formation de gestionnaire d'établissement alimentaire », https://www.quebec.ca/sante/alimentation/salubrite-aliments-prevention-risques/etablissements-alimentaires/hygiene-nettoyage/formation-obligatoire-hygiene-salubrite-alimentaires/gestionnaire-etablissement-alimentaire (accessed on 2026-10-15)
3. Gouvernement du Québec (MAPAQ), « Formation de manipulateur d'aliments », https://www.quebec.ca/sante/alimentation/salubrite-aliments-prevention-risques/etablissements-alimentaires/hygiene-nettoyage/formation-obligatoire-hygiene-salubrite-alimentaires/manipulateur-aliments (accessed on 2026-10-15)
4. LégisQuébec, « Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector (CQLR, c. P-39.1) », https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/document/lc/P-39.1?langCont=en (accessed on 2026-10-15)