How labour catering is priced per person per day in Saudi Arabia

Why catering is priced per person per day

Camp and site catering in Saudi Arabia is almost always quoted as one rate per person per day for an agreed number of meals. It matches how clients budget, it scales with headcount, and it makes two quotations comparable, provided both include the same things. The rate is not a food cost; it is a food, labour, kitchen, hygiene and logistics cost divided by the people fed.

What drives the rate

• Headcount and its stability. A thousand-person camp with a steady occupancy costs less per head than a two-hundred-person site whose numbers swing every week.
• Meals per day and service times. Three meals with packed lunches for night crews cost more than two, and split shifts add service hours.
• Menu cycle and nationalities. A South Asian, Arabic, Filipino and Western line on the same day means more dishes and more cooks than a single menu.
• Who owns the kitchen. Cooking in your existing kitchen is cheaper than the provider setting one up; a central kitchen with transport to site sits in between.
• Site distance and supply chain. Remote sites pay for cold-chain transport, fuel and stock held on site.
• Dining hall operation. Service staff, dish-washing, cleaning and waste handling are often included, but not always.
• Water, disposables and consumables. Drinking water, cutlery and packaging are either ticked into the rate or invoiced separately.
• Hygiene requirements. ISO 22000 and HACCP records, supplier approvals, medical certificates and monthly audits cost money and should be in every quotation.
• Contract length and Ramadan. Twelve-month contracts carry lower rates than three-month ones; suhoor and iftar schedules should be priced in, not added later.

What should be included before you compare

Questions that separate the quotations

1. Are the cooks and stewards your employees under your sponsorship, or sub-contracted?
2. Which kitchen will the food come from, and can we inspect it this week?
3. Who approves the suppliers, and can we see the approval list and the last audit?
4. How are meal counts taken, and how are they reconciled to our headcount before invoicing?
5. What happens to the rate if the headcount halves for two months?
6. What is the menu cycle, and how often is it reviewed with us?
7. What is included for Ramadan, Eid and shutdown night shifts?

How BICC prices catering

BICC runs ISO 22000 kitchens with its own cooks, stewards and supervisors, and approves its own suppliers. Camp catering is quoted per person per day for the agreed meals, with the menu cycle agreed with the client and reviewed monthly, meal counts reconciled weekly against headcount, and the hygiene records available to any inspector. Where BICC also runs the camp, catering is bundled into the accommodation rate, so the client compares one number.