How far ahead should I order?

Far enough that a courier delay isn't your problem. We quote live rates at checkout including next-day, but for a job with a fixed date, ordering a week out costs the same and removes the risk.

Do I need a permit for an outdoor catering setup?

It depends on the venue and what you're bringing. Open flames are the usual sticking point — town councils and building managements differ, and that's worth a call rather than an assumption. Flameless equipment sidesteps the question.

Self-heating trays have lids and cope. The people and the table do not, so confirm there's shelter before committing to an outdoor line — that's a conversation with the host, not an equipment problem.

Outdoor Event Catering Kit: What to Bring

Outdoor jobs in Singapore punish you for forgetting things. There's no kitchen to run back to, usually no power, and the weather is doing one of two unhelpful things. This is the list we see experienced caterers pack, roughly in the order the night runs.

Getting it there

Insulated bags, enough for everything hot. The Thermal Delivery Bag · 50L is $5.00 each from 3 and lasts years. Work out the volume, then add one — you'll use it.
Something flat to carry trays on. Stacked trays in a car boot slide, and the lids are not load-bearing.

Holding it hot on site

No power point means the heat has to come with you. Self-heating trays handle that — two 90g heat pads and a water pack per tray, hot food in 10–15 minutes, nothing to plug in and no flame for anyone to object to.

Count them off dish count and not headcount, which is the mistake that ruins the arithmetic. Each tray covers 8–10 pax of one dish.

Bring spare heat pads. They're $1.80 each from 10, they weigh nothing, and the one time you need them is the one time you didn't bring them.

Drinks

An Insulated Drink Dispenser · 3000ml is $6.50 each from 3. Two is usually right — one cold, one for whatever the host has asked for — and they hold temperature long enough to leave unattended, which an open jug does not.

Serving

Tongs and spoons, one set per dish and then two spare. Tongs are $1.90 each from 10. They disappear.
Disposable tablecloths. A void deck table is not a surface you want food on, and they cover a multitude of sins.
Bin bags. Nobody lists these and everybody needs them.

The things people forget

Table length. Fifteen trays at 40.5 × 28 cm each is more than four metres once you leave room to serve. Measure before you promise a five-dish spread.
Lift access and the walk from the carpark. A full 50L bag is heavy and void decks are rarely close.
Shade. Self-heating trays work fine in the heat; the people serving do not.
Water for the heat packs is in the pack — but confirm it before you leave, because a tray without its water pack is a plastic box.

What not to bother with

You don't need a tray for every dish on the menu if some are served cold — salads, cut fruit and desserts are better off cold and cost you nothing to hold. And skip the chafing dishes entirely for outdoor work unless you've confirmed the venue allows a flame, because carrying them there and being told no is a wasted trip.

Standard delivery is free from $500.00 if you're ordering the kit ahead, and collection at Ubi is free if you'd rather pick it up on the way.

What to bring to an outdoor catering job