Our Services

Walter Burke Catering is a full service catering business and can supply the necessary planning, equipment, services and cuisine to make your event a success. From tables, chairs, china, glassware, flatware and linen to staging, dance floors, tents, carpeting, lights, heaters and generators. We can help you with making arrangements for florists, entertainers, cake designers, photographers, audio visual personnel, valet and security. These are just a few of the considerations involved in planning an event and we know that it can be overwhelming. Our seasoned event planners are available to walk you through the process, make recommendations, and visit the event site to go over logistics and set-up requirements.

Staffing

Making your event a success takes knowledgeable and experienced staff. Walter Burke Catering recognizes that attention to detail and anticipating needs and desires are vital to quality service and we have professional staff available to make your event as special as you imagined it could be. From the front office personnel, event planners, chefs, delivery drivers, waiters, bartenders and event captains, the entire organization is committed to making your event a success.  Once you have gone through the planning process with your event planner, the event planner will send you a contract along with an estimate for your event. The estimate includes pick-up, set-up and arrival times; as well as your menu, rentals, bar set-up, paper and plastic, service estimate, deposits and payment requirements. The event planner then reviews your event with the chef and the event captain. The person who manages your event is called a Captain. The Captain starts working for you when he or she arrives at Walter Burke Catering's office to pick-up your food, rentals and supplies. He or she will meet you at the site of your event and work with you throughout the party. The Captain oversees the waitstaff, the preparation of food and the flow of the party. After the event is over and the site has been thoroughly cleaned, the Captain then returns to the office and unloads. The Captain's time is over when everything has been unloaded and a detailed report of the event is completed.  The servers time begins upon arrival at the site and ends at the completion of clean-up. If the event is 30 minutes or more from the Walter Burke kitchen in Santa Fe, traveling time will be added to their hours. Captains are always guaranteed 6 hours of work, and the Servers are guaranteed 5 hours of work. This is considered the minimum, and if your event goes over these allotted times, you are then charged by the hour for each server. Gratuity is at your discretion.

Equipment

Having the necessary equipment is essential to creating the perfect event. To have an event free from stress, you may rent from our extensive stockroom of party rentals. We can supply china, flatware, glassware, tables and linens. We can also supply you with tents, lights, heaters, dance floors, coat racks, specialty china & glassware, high chairs for toddlers, torches and decorative accents. We will handle the ordering, delivery, set-up, tear down, retrieval, and cleaning of all our rented equipment.
If the china, silverware and glassware are too formal for the kind of party you are planning, we can supply you with paper & plastic products for a fraction of the cost. For $2.00 per person we can equip you with paper dinner & dessert plates, plastic glasses, forks, knives and spoons, and paper napkins. If you want paper cups and stirrers for hot beverages, add 50 cents per person.

Food and Beverage Planning

Our event planners will work to meet your needs and budget to create the event that you have envisioned. We have a large selection of menus to choose from and can customize menus specific to your event. We can cater to dietary restrictions, replicate mom's recipes or create the newest in haute cuisine. Our event planners are also knowledgeable in arranging beverage requirements. Once your food and beverage needs are determined, we can consult with you on the necessary equipment needed and the amount of staff that will be required.