Film production catering checklist for Toronto shoots

Begin with the moment each group must have usable access to food. Work backward through meal release, final checks, setup, location entry, unloading, travel, kitchen dispatch, and preparation. Repeat that sequence for every scheduled meal, craft station, unit, and company move; a single daily delivery time is rarely a complete production plan.

Treat times as operational fields, not assumptions. Mark whether each time is a planning target, a locked handoff, or an agreement-dependent deadline. The production contact responsible for labour or business affairs must identify which agreement applies and provide the approved service windows; the caterer should not infer legal meal timing from a generic call sheet.

Do not publish one universal 'six-hour rule' for every person on every production. Performer, technician, craft-service, driver and other groups can be covered by different current agreements, side letters, exceptions and production arrangements. The production—not LunchLink—must identify the applicable documents and turn them into approved service requirements.

For example, Article A1401 of the 2025–2027 ACTRA Independent Production Agreement contains detailed performer meal-period rules and exceptions. Current IATSE 411 documents separately govern represented craft-service work. The checklist therefore records the agreement owner, groups covered, service deadline, meal duration, staggered release, second-meal trigger and person authorized to change the plan without presenting this page as legal advice.

Use a count matrix rather than one daily total. The same person should not be counted twice because they appear in both a crew total and a department list, while background, guardians, visitors, drivers, vendors, clients, production-office staff or a second unit must not disappear because they are outside the main call.

Name one production contact as count owner. Record the initial count, final-count deadline, approved contingency, protected meals and process for later additions. On the day, the receiver should reconcile individual meals, shared containers, dietary labels, serviceware and station allocation before distribution begins.

Rotate cuisine, protein, plant-based choices, temperature, texture and service format across the production while keeping each meal practical for the schedule and location. Consider how quickly the group must eat, whether there is seating, the effect of weather, travel or wardrobe, and whether late plates need safe holding.

Tie every approved menu to a date, meal, count, unit, dietary version and service format. A change to an ingredient, supplier or substitution can affect dietary suitability and labels even when the dish name stays the same, so material substitutions must return through written confirmation.

Ontario's Food Premises regulation requires potentially hazardous food being transported, stored or displayed to be kept at an internal temperature of 4°C or lower or 60°C or higher. The selected partner and production plan should identify who controls transport, hot or cold holding, thermometers, handwashing, warewashing, sanitation, protection from weather and the decision on leftovers.

The City of Toronto describes craft service as making food and beverages safely available and says craft-service providers must hold a current accredited food-handler certificate. For a LunchLink production request, the selected partner supplies the applicable COI, WSIB information, food-handler documentation and vendor forms. Documents, named entity, expiry and required coverage should be checked against the production's onboarding process before service.

LunchLink's owner-approved production range is CAD $12–$75 per person for food and menus, with a 10-person minimum and network capacity for 1,000+ people. Standard delivery is $40 for each location or drop. A disposable plate, cutlery and napkin set is $0.50 per person, staffing and cleanup are $20 per hour per person, and rentals, special equipment and waste removal are quoted separately.

There is no overnight surcharge, deposit or credit check. Credit card, EFT or bank transfer, cheque and approved invoicing are accepted. These facts do not make every request an accepted order: current partner capacity, menu, route, equipment, staffing, documents, tax and the full final total must be confirmed in writing.

The day-before summary should fit on one operational screen even when the full planning file is longer. Use one row per service and location. The receiver should not need to search a call sheet, menu email, quote and text thread to determine where the order goes or which meals require protected handoff.

Before arrival, confirm the receiver is onsite and has access authority, the designated area is ready, tables and utilities are available, and production contacts will answer. On receipt, count before distribution, isolate any issue, protect confidential information in photos, and keep packaging until the handoff is reconciled.

Use the fields below to request current options. Do not paste a full confidential call sheet, personal health information, talent details or unrelated production material. Submitting a brief is an inquiry, not an accepted order; LunchLink must confirm the selected partner, menu, route, capacity, documents, timing and final quote in writing.