How to choose a production caterer
They should plan around the call sheet
Production food runs on call times, not the clock. A 6am call means breakfast is ready when the first department walks in. On union shows the meal break generally comes due about six hours after call, so the hot meal has to land on time even when the day shifts. Ask any caterer how they handle a late meal break and when they need the next day's count.
Crafty, hot meals, or both
Crafty is the all-day spread: coffee, snacks, fruit, drinks and small bites between meals. Hot meals are the scheduled breakfast, lunch, and second meal on long days. Some companies do one, some do both. On smaller shoots and commercials, a drop-off crafty setup plus a delivered hot meal often does the job of a full catering truck at a lower cost.
Stages, practicals and company moves
Stages are simple. Practical locations need more planning: residential parking limits, canyon and desert sets, and company moves in the middle of the day. Give the caterer the set address, basecamp or crew parking, the load-in contact, and what is on site, such as tables, power, water and shade.
Get quotes your line producer can compare
Ask each caterer to quote breakfast, lunch and crafty per person, with delivery and equipment as separate lines. That shows where the money goes when the count jumps from 30 to 80 for a big day, and it lines up against a per-person, per-day budget.
Food that holds up over a long day
Crews work long, physical days. Look for proteins that stay good in a chafer, salads that are still fresh at second meal, and real vegetarian and vegan mains rather than extra sides. Send the crew's dietary list with the request, and a separate count if background eats at a different time.
How we rank
We own Marbled LA, and we list it first. This guide is published by MEDZ, the parent company of Marbled LA, so Marbled LA is number 1 on every list here.
For this list we looked for Los Angeles companies whose websites describe catering or craft services for film, television, commercial or photo productions, including hot meals, crafty tables and catering trucks.
After Marbled LA, every caterer is listed in alphabetical order. The order is not a judgment of quality, and we do not give anyone a score. Each listing uses facts from the caterer's own website, checked on October 26, 2026. We show a Google or Yelp rating only when we checked the exact number on a public page, with the date. Menus, prices and service areas change, so confirm details with each caterer.
Run one of these businesses and see something out of date? Email info@marbled.la and we will fix it.