Question 1

What types of events does Chef Skills Catering service?

Accepted Answer

Chef Skills Catering specialises in catering for school camps, school excursions, educational tours, university social group camps, sporting group events, and social club outings. The company has experience feeding groups of varying ages and sizes, from small school parties to large multi-day educational tours across Victoria and beyond.

Question 2

How does school camp catering work with Chef Skills Catering?

Accepted Answer

Our professional chefs travel to your camp or venue, bring all the food and equipment, and cook every meal for your group. The process starts with a consultation to understand your group's size, dietary needs, schedule and budget. We then build a custom menu, source all ingredients through trusted suppliers, travel on-site and handle all cooking, dietary management and service throughout the program. Teachers don't need to cook anything.

Question 3

Does Chef Skills bring everything, or do we need to supply anything?

Accepted Answer

We bring everything. Chef Skills provides all food, ingredients, cooking equipment, serving equipment, plates, bowls, cutlery, cups, napkins, foil trays, cling wrap, cleaning chemicals, sanitiser, disposable gloves and garbage bags. Your group needs to bring nothing for catering. This is a fully managed, all-inclusive service.

Question 4

Is there an evening supper or campfire component included?

Accepted Answer

Yes. As a standard part of every camp dinner service, Chef Skills includes a supper station with tea, coffee, Milo and hot chocolate available throughout the evening. Icy poles and marshmallows are also provided each camp night — perfect for campfire evenings. These are included in the standard package at no extra cost.

Question 5

Do you cater for all dietary requirements?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Chef Skills Catering designs every menu to accommodate all major dietary requirements, including gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, egg-free, fructose-free / low fructose, no pork, no red meat and no seafood. Every dietary requirement gets a purpose-built meal — not just the sides. Dietary management cards are provided for every meal so our chefs know exactly what to prepare for each named student.

Question 6

Do you cater for fructose intolerance or low fructose diets?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Low fructose is one of the dietary categories tracked in our system. Fructose-free and low fructose meals are prepared separately with simplified ingredients — typically removing high-fructose items like fruit, jam, honey and sweet sauces. There is a $5 per person per day surcharge for fructose-free / low fructose meals, the same as gluten-free and dairy-free.

Question 7

How do you handle severe food allergies like anaphylaxis?

Accepted Answer

Severe allergies including anaphylaxis are captured in the initial consultation and menu planning phase. Our chefs prepare and serve dietary meals separately on-site. Separate preparation instructions and named dietary cards are provided for affected students. We strongly recommend you also have your school's own allergy management protocols in place. For specific allergy concerns, discuss directly with the Chef Skills team before booking.

Question 8

What vegan protein options do you use?

Accepted Answer

Chef Skills uses high-quality vegan proteins across the menu — not just salad. Our primary vegan dinner protein is Bean and Buckwheat Tempeh, which is used as a direct substitute across most meat-based dinner mains. We also use Smokey Black Bean Sausages, GF/Vegan Vege Burgers, BBQ Jackfruit, Quorn Schnitzel, and STREAT FEAST specialist vegan sauces (Vegetable Bolognese, Vegetable Curry, Vegetable Con Carne). Vegan guests eat real, filling meals.

Question 9

What areas does Chef Skills Catering service?

Accepted Answer

Chef Skills Catering is based in Springvale, Victoria and primarily services school camps and events across Victoria. For educational tours and extended school excursions, the company operates Australia Wide — our chefs travel with your group.

Question 10

Do you offer a supply-only option for outback tours or self-cook groups?

Accepted Answer

Yes. While our primary service is chef on-site, we also offer a supply-and-support model for outback tours, budget-focused programs, or groups that prefer to cook themselves. We design the menu, source all ingredients and deliver pre-prepped food with detailed recipe cards (scaled for 1 / 10 / 25 / 50 pax) and dietary management cards. Ask the team about this option when you enquire.

Question 11

How much does school camp catering cost?

Accepted Answer

Pricing depends on group size, menu complexity, number of meals, whether you need a chef on-site and delivery location. Chef Skills Catering works within school budgets to create cost-effective solutions without compromising on nutrition. Connect with us at (03) 9108 4831 for a customised quote.

Question 12

How far in advance should I book?

Accepted Answer

It is recommended to contact Chef Skills Catering at least 4–6 weeks before your camp date to allow time for menu creation, dietary planning, food sourcing and logistics. For large groups or complex tours, earlier is better.

Question 13

Do your chefs come on-site, or does the camp cook the food?

Accepted Answer

Our chefs come to you. Chef Skills Catering's primary service is a fully managed, chef on-site model — our professional chefs travel to your camp or venue, bring all the food and equipment, and cook every meal from breakfast to dinner. Teachers do not need to cook, prepare or plate anything. For outback tours or budget programs, we also offer a supply-and-deliver option with recipe cards for self-cook groups.

Question 14

Is Chef Skills Catering suitable for both primary and secondary school camps?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Chef Skills Catering has experience catering for school groups of all ages — from Year 4 primary school camps through to Year 12 leadership tours and beyond. Menus are adapted to suit the age group and activity level of the students.

Our Catering Services

Professional chefs on-site at your camp

From brief to last meal in five steps

Consultation

Custom menu design

Our chefs arrive on-site

We cook every meal

Pack down & on-call support

What We Specialise In

School camp catering

Educational tour catering

University social group catering

Sporting group camps

Social clubs & charities

Corporate group events

Supply-and-support for self-cook groups

All major dietary requirements covered as standard

Common questions

Ready to brief your next camp?