Food, Drink and Alcohol

The Union catering team can provide catering for small events (fewer than 100 people) on the Bloomsbury campus.

The form to request this is the Catering Services Booking Form.

We can provide any of the items which are regularly available for sale in our cafes. This includes: 

• Tea & coffee (includes sugar, stirrers, napkins, milk)
• Soft drinks
• Cakes, traybakes, muffins, pastries
• Crisps, snacks & fresh fruits
• Individual sandwiches, sandwich platters (an extra 5 working days notice is required for platters)
• Afternoon Tea ( order requirements minimum 10 people with 7 working days notice)
• Salads and finger food ( large bookings only) 

Please note, we no longer provide disposable cups for our catering events. You can choose between asking your attendees to bring their own mugs, or we can provide a limited number of reusable mugs.

Any UCL or Union staff member or a club/society president or treasurer can complete this form.

If you have any questions, please email su.foodandbeverage@ucl.ac.uk.

UCL has teamed up with Gather&Gather to provide hospitality and catering services. Fresh food and drinks are available for your event at UCL, from a set or bespoke menu.

More information can be found on the UCL Catering and Hospitality Services webpage. To arrange catering from Gather&Gather, clubs and societies should follow the below process:

• Contact Gather&Gather and agree order by emailing uclhospitality@gatherandgather.com.
• Gather&Gather will send the quote for the confirmed, final order to the club/society via email, copying in the Activities Finance Coordinator on su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk.
• The Activities Finance Coordinator will check that the club/society has enough funds to cover the expenditure and that the event has been authorised - make sure that any Activity Registration Forms, Risk Assessments and Ticket Requests have all been sent in and approved.
• The Activities Finance Coordinator will return the order confirmation email sent by Gather&Gather to UCL Room bookings, copying in uclhospitality@gatherandgather.com and the club/society, stating that the order has been approved by the Union, the number of the purchase order to be used in all correspondence and on any invoices.
• Invoices arising from the purchase order must be emailed to the Activities Finance Coordinator at su.finance-activities@ucl.ac.uk or mailed to Finance Department, 4th Floor, 25 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AY.
• The club/society will be contacted to authorise the invoice for payment and the invoice will then be paid.

• Canapés: people will eat an average of 4 canapés each (if they are going on to dinner). If it is just canapés, you will want 8 – 10 bites each.
• Drink: At a sit down dinner, people will drink ½ a bottle of wine with the meal, and an average of 4 drinks afterwards (including soft).  With canapés, expect people to want 3 glasses of wine.
• Food: if you are on a tight budget, and doing it yourself, £10 per head will give you a decent 3 courses. If you are asking external caterers to supply dinner, it can range from £20 per head for a very basic buffet, to £100 per head for a lavish 3 course meal with coffee, cheese and table decorations etc.
• Equipment: UCL has a lot of equipment you can use, but many caterers will be able to supply round tables, cutlery, napkins etc. If you want to source stuff yourself, we recommend Jones Hire for the very pretty and decorative equipment or Rayners for more basic equipment.
• Extra charges: most companies will charge you VAT (20%) on top of the basic costs, so add that into your budget. They will also charge you for delivery, staff, and washing up, van hire/petrol costs, so ask for a full quote before you order anything.

If you are not sure how many people will be attending your event, you should always overestimate with the catering, rather than underestimate. Remember that larger number means costs will go down per head (as they are spread over more people). Don’t be afraid to ask for discounts and use any contacts you may have – name dropping will sometimes bring down the price.

If you need further support with this please contact us on su.activities@ucl.ac.uk.

If you are bringing along pre-packaged, precooked food which will not need to be reheated you do not need to let us know in advance. However, please ensure you:

• Purchase from a reputable supplier.
• Keep the original packaging.
• Prominently display allergen information.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions about safe storage of product.
• Keep and serve food in a clean environment.
• Avoid cross contamination – e.g. ensure different foods are not stored together.
• Acknowledge that the Union does not accept liability for food/drink consumed from the event/activity.
• Avoid serving hot drinks during busy events without prior approval and a risk assessment in place.

If you are planning to provide or sell baked goods (cakes, muffins, cookies, shortbread etc.) at any club or society event, please inform us at least 5 working days in advance by emailing su.activities@ucl.ac.uk.

When dealing with baked goods please bear in mind the following guidelines:

• You need to ensure that all those preparing or serving food will follow appropriate Health & Safety guidelines in the preparation, transporting and serving of the baked goods.
• Ensure that all allergens contained within the food are recorded and prominently displayed - this chart may help you.
• Ensure no cross contamination takes place at any stage of preparation, transportation or serving of the baked goods.
• Follow sensible food preparation and storage guidelines (see some tips from Food Standards Agency below).
• Acknowledge that the Union does not accept liability for any food/drink consumed at the event/activity.

At home, people making cakes should follow these general tips:

• Always wash your hands before preparing food
• Make sure that surfaces, bowls, utensils and any other equipment are clean.
• Don’t use raw eggs in anything that won’t be thoroughly cooked, such as icing or mousse.
• Keep cheesecakes and any cakes or desserts containing fresh cream in the fridge.
• Store cakes in a clean, sealable container away from raw foods.

On the day, people bringing in cakes from home or running the stall should follow these tips:

• Transport cakes in a clean sealable container.
• Make sure that cheese cake and any cakes or desserts containing fresh cream are left out of the fridge for the shortest time possible, ideally not longer than four hours.
• When handling cakes use tongs, or a cake slice instead.

For any food that does not fit into the pre-packaged goods or baked goods categories, please contact us as at least 4 weeks before the event by emailing su.activities@ucl.ac.uk.

This might include:

• Large scale events.
• Events involving hot food.
• Food from an external catering provider (e.g. restaurant).
• Any form of cooking on UCL or Students’ Union UCL property.

If you would like to use an external caterer, please be aware we will require the following details at least 4 weeks before your event:

• Public Liability Insurance.
• Company Risk Assessment.
• Gas or Electrical Safety certificates depending on appliances.
• Method Statement for Food Preparation.
• Food Hygiene Certificates.

We need this extra time to work with you to ensure these more complex events are safe and successful.

Once you have let us know what you’d like to do, we will talk you through the process and support you in coming up with a plan to comply with relevant health, safety, and food hygiene regulations.

As the premises licence is held by UCL, clubs and societies need permission from UCL to provide their own alcohol. 

Money cannot be involved for this event in any way, i.e. no money can exchange hands for the purchase of alcohol or through ticket sales. 

A personal licence holder (PLH) must be present:

• You can arranged your own PLH to attend, but you must email us (su.activities@ucl.ac.uk) their name and a copy of their PLH certificate in advance of the event.
• A PLH can be provided at a cost by Gather&Gather. Please contact uclhospitality@gatherandgather.com for more information.

This is classified as Sales of Alcohol, i.e. money exchanging hands; therefore you will need to use Gather&Gather to provide and serve your alcohol, or provide the alcohol yourselves.

A personal licence holder (PLH) must be present:

• You can arranged your own PLH to attend, but you must email us (su.activities@ucl.ac.uk) their name and a copy of their PLH certificate in advance of the event.
• A PLH can be provided at a cost by Gather&Gather. Please contact uclhospitality@gatherandgather.com for more information.

This is classified as Sales of Alcohol. You will need to use Gather&Gather to provide and serve your alcohol, or provide the alcohol yourselves.

A personal licence holder (PLH) must be present:

• You can arranged your own PLH to attend, but you must email us (su.activities@ucl.ac.uk) their name and a copy of their PLH certificate in advance of the event.
• A PLH can be provided at a cost by Gather&Gather. Please contact uclhospitality@gatherandgather.com for more information.