Terms of Service

Terms of Service

Accepting These Terms

These terms apply to your use of chefsprepmeals.com and to the catering services provided by ChefsPrep Catering ("ChefsPrep," "we," "us," "our"). By using our website or engaging our services, you agree to them.

If you book an event with us, you will also receive a written proposal and event agreement. That agreement covers the specifics of your event, including your menu, pricing, deposit, payment schedule, staffing, and deadlines. Where your signed event agreement and these terms differ, your event agreement governs.

Please also read our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle information.

Our Services and Service Area

ChefsPrep provides full-service event catering, including wedding catering, corporate and special event catering, private chef services, drop-off catering, and bar service. Service levels range from delivery and setup through fully staffed plated service.

We are based in Louisville, Kentucky, and we travel. We regularly serve Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Nashville, Tennessee. Events outside our regular area are welcome and may carry travel, lodging, or minimum spend requirements, which we will state in your proposal before you commit to anything.

We reserve the right to decline any event, including for reasons of date availability, staffing, venue conditions, or safety.

Using Our Website

You may use our website to learn about our services and contact us. You may not use it to send unlawful or abusive content, attempt to gain unauthorized access, interfere with its operation, scrape or harvest it for commercial purposes, or misrepresent who you are.

Everything on this site, including our text, photographs, menus, logo, and name, belongs to ChefsPrep or is used with permission, and is protected by copyright and trademark law. You may not copy or reuse it for commercial purposes without our written permission.

Our menus, dishes, and prices shown on this site are examples of what we do, not a fixed catalog or a price list. Every menu we build is custom, seasonal availability changes what we can source, and pricing depends on your guest count, service level, and venue. Nothing on this website is an offer that can be accepted to form a contract.

Inquiries, Quotes, and Proposals

Submitting our inquiry form or contacting us does not book a date or create a contract. It starts a conversation.

After we understand your event, we will send a written proposal with your menu, service level, and pricing. Proposals are valid for the period stated on them. Prices are subject to change until a proposal is accepted and a deposit is received, because food costs move.

Booking Your Event

Your date is reserved when we have received both your signed event agreement and your deposit. Until then, the date remains available to others, even if we have discussed it with you.

Deposit amount, payment schedule, accepted payment methods, service charges, and applicable Kentucky sales tax are stated in your proposal and event agreement. Late payments may delay or suspend our work on your event. If final payment is not received by the date stated in your agreement, we may decline to perform.

A service charge, where applied, covers the cost of staffing and operations. It is not a gratuity and is not distributed as one. Gratuity for your service team is at your discretion unless your agreement states otherwise.

Guest Counts and Menu Deadlines

We purchase food, schedule staff, and reserve equipment based on the guest count and menu you confirm. Your event agreement states the date by which your final guest count and menu selections are due.

After that deadline, your confirmed count becomes the minimum you are billed for, even if fewer guests attend. Increases after the deadline are accommodated when we can, and may carry additional cost or a limited menu, because some items require lead time to source.

Changes, Cancellations, and Rescheduling

Life changes plans, and we would rather work with you than hold you to something rigid. Talk to us as early as you can.

The specific cancellation and rescheduling terms for your event, including which payments are refundable and by when, are stated in your event agreement. As a general matter, deposits secure your date and the staffing we set aside for it, and costs we have already committed on your behalf, such as specialty food orders and rental reservations, cannot always be recovered.

If we must cancel for a reason within our control, we will refund what you have paid for services we did not deliver.

Allergies and Dietary Restrictions

Please read this section carefully.

We take allergies seriously and will work to accommodate them. You must tell us in writing about any allergy or dietary restriction by the deadline in your event agreement, and you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of what you tell us.

Our kitchen and our service equipment handle major allergens, including milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame. We prepare food in shared spaces and cannot guarantee that any dish is free of trace allergens or free from cross-contact. If a guest has a severe or life-threatening allergy, that guest should make their own judgment about what to eat, and we recommend they carry whatever medication they rely on.

We are glad to identify ingredients in any dish so your guests can decide for themselves.

Food Safety and Leftover Food

We prepare and transport food in accordance with Kentucky and local health regulations, and we hold the licenses and inspections our work requires.

Food safety depends on time and temperature. Once we have delivered or set out food, and once the service window in your agreement has ended, food safety passes to you. Perishable food should not be left at room temperature, and we cannot be responsible for food that is held, handled, reheated, or served by others, or consumed after our service window.

For the same reason, we do not package hot food for guests to take home, and we may decline to leave leftover food behind. Where leftovers are released to you, you accept them at your own risk and agree to refrigerate or discard them promptly. Any food we leave is provided as-is, without warranty.

Bar Service and Alcohol

Bar service is available for events we cater. It includes trained bartending staff along with bar setup, ice, mixers, garnishes, glassware coordination, and service through your event. Open bar, consumption bar, and cash bar arrangements can all be accommodated.

The structure of your bar is decided during the proposal and contract process and is set out in your event agreement. That includes which service arrangement applies, who supplies the alcohol, and how the bar is billed. Bar service is also subject to Kentucky law and to your venue's own licensing and house rules, and we will work through those with you as we build your proposal.

Our bartenders will refuse service to any guest who appears intoxicated or who cannot produce valid identification showing they are 21 or older, and they may close the bar early if guest behavior makes continued service unsafe. This is not negotiable and it protects everyone, including you as the host. You are responsible for your guests' conduct and for arranging safe transportation.

Venue Access and Site Conditions

To do our work well, we need the venue to be ready for us. You are responsible for arranging, at no cost to us:

• Access to the venue at the load-in time in your agreement, including keys, codes, or an on-site contact
• A safe and reasonably direct path for carrying in food and equipment
• Parking for our vehicles near the load-in point
• Adequate working space, along with electricity and potable water where your menu and service level require them
• Shelter and level ground for outdoor events, including a tent or an indoor backup plan
• Any permits, insurance certificates, or vendor approvals your venue requires

If conditions on arrival differ materially from what was described, or if access is delayed, we will do our best to adapt. We are not responsible for delays, reduced service, or added cost that results from site conditions, venue restrictions, or delays outside our control.

Equipment and Rentals

Equipment, linens, china, and other items we bring or rent on your behalf remain the property of ChefsPrep or the rental company. You are responsible for items that are lost, damaged, or not returned while in your or your guests' care, at replacement cost.

Where we arrange rentals for you, we do so as a convenience. Rental items are subject to the rental company's own terms and availability.

Your Responsibilities

To keep your event on track, you agree to:

• Give us accurate information about your event, your venue, and your guests' needs
• Meet the deadlines in your event agreement for counts, selections, and payments
• Designate someone who can make decisions on your behalf on the day
• Communicate our load-in, setup, and service requirements to your venue and your other vendors
• Be responsible for your guests' conduct, including their treatment of our staff

Our staff are entitled to a safe and respectful working environment. We may remove our team from an event, without refund, if they are subjected to threats, harassment, or unsafe conditions.

Photography and Testimonials

We sometimes photograph the food and tables we have prepared, before guests are seated, to show our work. We do not photograph your guests for marketing purposes.

If you would prefer we take no photographs at your event, tell us and we will not. If you send us a review or a kind note, we may quote it along with your first name and the type and month of your event, unless you ask us not to.

Circumstances Beyond Our Control

Neither of us is responsible for failing to perform because of events outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, fire, flood, power or water loss, an epidemic or public health order, a government restriction, a labor disruption, a supply failure, an accident, or a venue closure.

If something like this prevents your event, we will work with you in good faith to reschedule, and we will refund amounts we have not already spent or committed on your behalf. We are not liable for other costs you may incur, such as venue or vendor deposits held by others.

Limits on Our Liability

We carry the liability insurance our work requires, and we will give your venue a certificate on request.

To the fullest extent the law allows, our total liability arising from your event or your use of this website will not exceed the amount you paid us for the services in question. We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost opportunities, or emotional distress, even if we were told they were possible.

Our website is provided as-is. We work to keep it accurate and available, but we do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under Kentucky law, including liability for our own gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Indemnification

You agree to defend and indemnify ChefsPrep, along with our owners, staff, and contractors, against claims, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees, arising from your breach of these terms or your event agreement, from information you gave us that was inaccurate or incomplete, from the conduct of your guests, or from conditions at a venue you selected. This does not apply to claims caused by our own negligence or misconduct.

Governing Law and Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any dispute that we cannot resolve between ourselves will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Jefferson County, Kentucky, and we each consent to those courts.

Before filing anything, please contact us. Most misunderstandings are resolved with a phone call, and we would rather have that call than a lawsuit.

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms as our business changes. The date at the top of this page shows the current version. Changes apply going forward and do not alter an event agreement you have already signed.

How to Reach Us

ChefsPrep Catering
105 W Oak Street
Louisville, KY 40203
marcus@chefsprepmeals.com
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