Catering

Requests for catering services must be made through KSU Hospitality Services or one of the three contracted companies. Please follow the steps outlined below to plan your event. 

1. Please visit the KSU Reservations Portal to book your event space on campus through the 25Live Reservation Portal. If access to the reservation portal is unavailable  please contact Event Management Services at events@kennesaw.edu.

2. Catering requests for services by KSU Catering should be submitted via the CaterTrax platform.

3. In the rare event that assess to CaterTrax is unavailable,  clients may  submit orders using the Hospitality Services Catering Request Form after reviewing the Hospitality Services Menu.  Upon review of your request, a quote for services will be forwarded to the requestor. 

4. A KSU Reservations Portal number is required for all food services on campus.

5. Approval and confirmation of the services communicated is required no less than seven (7) business days prior to your event. Contracted caterers may have a different confirmation policy. Please verify confirmation policy with you chosen caterer.

6. The requestor will be responsible for processing all invoices and ensuring timely payment to the caterer.  

We recommend that you book your event at least two (2) weeks in advance. Menu and service details must be submitted seven (7) business days prior to the date of the event. All cancellations must be received no less than five (5) business days prior to the event. Cancellations received three (3) days or less will incur a penalty of 50% of the subtotal. Cancellations received 24 hours or less will incur a penalty of 100% of the subtotal.  Cancelations due to University closures will not incur a penalty.

Should Hospitality Services or the three contracted caterers be unavailable to perform the services you request due to high volume of confirmed KSU bookings or if they are unable to accommodate a specific menu for cultural or dietary requirement, you may submit the External Caterer Request Form to request a caterer of your choosing via external caterer exemption process. 

To ensure appropriate safety and sanitation practices are followed, the use of external catering providers requires University Dining approval prior to confirming services with the requested caterer.  When submitting the External Catering Request Form, please ensure a copy of the catering quote and the supporting documents are submitted 10 business days before the scheduled event. If you are unable to upload supporting documents to the form, please forward these to ksucatering@kennesaw.edu. All requests are based on the approval or denial of the University Dining Director and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Licensing and insurance are required by law, and it’s our responsibility to do our due diligence to ensure that food is safe for our guests to consume. Even if external caterers have previously provided service on KSU premises, that does not legitimize a legal precedent for food safety on repeat business.

Due to health regulations, leftovers cannot be removed from any event space, for any reason. While onsite, all contracted caterers ensure that food is temperature-controlled and served in safe conditions. When guests take food, the shift in the environment puts guests at risk of foodborne illnesses. This policy is strictly enforced. 

When departments, Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) or guests order and pay for food delivery or pick-up, and the food is delivered for consumption within one (1) hour of delivery time, without temperature maintenance, per Department of Health guidelines, it is considered drop‐off service.

Food that requires temperature maintenance cannot be served as a delivery or pickup service; full catering must be acquired. Food must not require set up and/or on‐site service (e.g., chafers, heating sources, banquet attendants, servers, etc. and must be temperature controlled) to qualify as meal delivery or pick-up.

An example of acceptable items would be pizza or sandwich delivery, food from a fast-food vendor and prepackaged snacks, baked goods or bottled beverages. An approval request is not necessary for food delivery or pick-up; however, submission of the Catering Services Confirmation Form, including quotes or order forms, is required.

Additionally, food trucks are exempt from the “first right of refusal” requirement per the catering contract, however the External Catering Request Form must be completed and pre-approved by University Dining.