Catering means working on location: a wedding in a party venue, a reception after an opening, a staff party in a warehouse. The caterer brings the food and the equipment, you help set up, serve and clear down. As a student, those hours count towards your 650 hours a year; as a flexi-jobber, you work alongside your regular job. Caterers in Flanders list their events by date in the app.
Part of Hospitality
A wedding with the caterer
On a wedding day you start setting up in the afternoon and you're not done until after midnight. In between come the reception, the dinner in courses and the dessert buffet. Click a moment to see what you do.
Your team meets at the caterer's kitchen. Together you load crates of plates, glasses and table linen into the van and drive to the venue. Sometimes you meet at the location instead, and the shift will say so.
You set out round tables and chairs following the seating plan, lay the tablecloths and polish glasses until there's not a smudge left. Then you build the buffet and the bar for the reception. Everything has to be ready before the couple arrives with the guests.
The guests arrive and you go round with trays of nibbles and bubbly. You keep an eye out for empty glasses and take them back to the washing-up area. If someone asks about allergies, you check with the chef.
Each course is served at every table at the same time. In the mobile kitchen you help plate up in a long row, then all the waiters walk into the room together. Between courses you clear the tables and lay the cutlery for the next one.
After the dessert buffet and coffee, the clear-down starts. Glasses go back into crates, tables are folded and the van is loaded again. You're usually done after midnight and the team drives back to the kitchen together.
Common roles: Catering assistant (friday and saturday), Buffet attendant (lunch and evening), Reception server (after 5 pm), Driver and set-up crew (early in the day), Mobile dishwasher (until after dessert), Plating assistant (before dinner).
You help set up the venue, serve during the reception and dinner and help clear down after the party. You work at a different location each time, together with the caterer's regular team.
No experience needed, but sturdy shoesYou keep the hot dishes at temperature, refill what runs out and tell guests what is on the buffet. If someone asks about allergens, you check with the chef.
Friendly and tidy workYou walk among the guests with trays of canapés and bubbles and collect empty glasses. You keep moving, because a reception has no fixed tables.
You learn to carry a tray at your first eventYou drive the caterer's van to the venue, unload crates and set out tables and chairs according to the seating plan. After the party you load everything back in.
Driving licence BWith a caterer you work per event, each time at a different location. That has a few advantages you won't get in a regular restaurant.
A castle today, a warehouse or a garden next week. You get into places you'd otherwise never see.
You take on an event, not a fixed rota. Exams or a busy week? Then you simply skip it.
You travel to the venue together, set up together and clear down together. After a few parties you know the caterer's regular crew.
Weddings run from May to September, receptions and staff parties fill December. That's when you can take lots of shifts in a row.
There is no fixed amount here, because it depends on the joint committee, your age and indexation. This is how pay at a caterer works.
Many caterers and banqueting companies fall under PC 302, the hospitality committee. A caterer that also runs a butcher's or bakery sometimes falls under another committee. Your contract states which one applies.
As a student worker aged 15, 16 or 17, your minimum can be lower than that of an adult colleague.
You get at least the minimum flexi wage of the sector the caterer falls under, plus flexi holiday pay. The caterer may pay more.
A wedding often runs past midnight, and you work from set-up to clear-down. You see the hourly wage of the shift in the app beforehand.
| Student worker | Flexi-jobber | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can start? | Students from 16, or from 15 after the first two years of secondary school. | Anyone working at least 4/5 elsewhere or retired. |
| How many events? | As many as you like within 650 hours a year at reduced contributions. | No hours limit. Your flexi pay is tax-free up to 18,440 euros a year, unlimited for pensioners. |
| What is deducted? | 2.71 percent solidarity contribution. | No social contributions on your side. |
| Flexi at a caterer | Not applicable. | Since 2015 if the caterer falls under PC 302, and since 1 July 2026 in almost all other sectors. |
| Wedding party past midnight | Under 18? Then you in principle do not work after 8 pm. At a caterer in hospitality your shift ends at 11 pm at the latest if you are 16 or 17, at 8 pm if you are 15. From 18 you stay until the end. | You stay until the last crate is back in the van. |
All the rules for 2026Rules checked on 7 October 2026.
Pick a shift in the app and tap apply.
The business picks you and your contract is ready.
Arrive on time and clock in through the app.
You work and break when it's allowed.
Clock out, your pay follows within days.
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