Booking & FAQ

How booking, payment, and guest counts work, plus answers to common questions.

This page is a summary. The terms in your proposal and signed agreement are the ones that apply to your booking.

CONSULTATIONS

A consultation is a focused conversation about community meals, private culinary experiences, household and family food service, virtual and private lessons, institutional culinary work, menu development, foodways programming, or organizational collaboration.

Booking a consultation does not book a service. Afterward you may receive a proposal, a service recommendation, menu options, pricing, booking instructions, or an institutional scope of work.

WHEN YOUR BOOKING IS CONFIRMED

Submitting an inquiry, consultation request, proposal, purchase order, or date request does not reserve an event date. A booking is confirmed only after:

1. Wadulisi's has approved the proposal;
2. the required deposit or agreed-upon advance payment has been received;
3. the required agreement or contract has been signed; and
4. Wadulisi's has confirmed the booking in writing.

DEPOSITS

Standard community and private events generally require a 30% deposit.

Large, custom, peak-season, holiday, wedding, and other high-commitment events generally require a 50% deposit.

Your exact deposit is identified in your proposal and contract. Additional advance payment may be required when significant commitments are necessary. Deposits allow us to purchase food and supplies and to commit staffing, travel, and equipment for your event.

PEAK SEASON AND HOLIDAY PRICING

Our primary peak season is August 1 through November 30. Peak-season bookings generally require a 50% deposit.

Holiday Pricing may apply to bookings on or around major holidays and holiday weekends. It reflects increased demand, staffing, food and supply costs, transportation and logistics, and the additional commitment required to work during holidays. Exact holiday pricing is included in your proposal.

HOW TO PAY

Our preferred payment method is Square invoicing. Your Square invoice identifies your deposit, payment schedule, final balance, payment deadlines, and applicable charges.

Checks are accepted for contracts or invoices totaling more than $1,000. A check must be received with the signed contract and required deposit by the applicable deadline. Mailing or intending to mail a check does not reserve the event. A booking is not confirmed until the required payment has been received and, when applicable, cleared.

For standard events, final payment is generally due 7 days before the event.

INSTITUTIONS AND POST-EVENT PAYMENT

Universities, schools, government agencies, nonprofits, and other institutions may have procurement policies that require payment after services are completed. Wadulisi's can accommodate these policies when they are agreed to in advance and documented in a signed contract or service agreement. PO, ACH, check, or other approved payment methods may be used when agreed to in the applicable contract or service agreement.

Institutional payment procedures do not automatically waive deposit requirements. An institution may have written terms that allow the remaining balance to be paid after the event. A post-event payment arrangement is a contractual payment obligation. Wadulisi's may still require a deposit or advance payment sufficient to cover food, supplies, staffing, travel, equipment, rentals, and other significant pre-event costs.

GUEST COUNTS

Standard community and private events

About 14 days before the event, you give us an updated planning estimate. This is not your final billable count.

7 days before the event, your final guaranteed guest count is due. You may increase or decrease your count until this deadline. Once submitted, it becomes your minimum billable guest count.

Large and complex events

For weddings, large events, and highly customized, intricate, or high-production events, the final guaranteed guest count is generally due 14 calendar days before the event. This also applies to events involving substantial specialty sourcing, culturally significant ingredients, ingredients shipped from outside the local area or gathered through community and cultural relationships, extensive staffing, multiple service components, rentals, equipment, significant travel, large-volume advance purchasing, or specialized and traditional food preparation. An earlier deadline may be specified in your contract if necessary.

Why we ask for your count ahead of time

We are not simply counting plates. Your guest count shapes food purchasing, specialty and culturally significant sourcing, shipping, community relationships, staffing, equipment, transportation, preparation, production, and menu planning.

The goal is not to charge you for food you do not need. The goal is to give you enough time to make a realistic final decision, and to give us enough time to responsibly source, prepare, staff, and serve your event.

CHANGES AFTER YOUR FINAL COUNT

More guests: We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate additional guests, subject to food availability, staffing, equipment, venue capacity, and service capacity. Additional guests are billed at your contracted per-person rate. Last-minute additions may require a rush or production charge.

Fewer guests: After the final-count deadline, reductions do not reduce the contracted balance, because purchasing, sourcing, staffing, preparation, and production commitments have already been made.

Other changes: Changes to the menu, service style, location, timing, staffing, rentals, equipment, or other major details after the final deadline may result in additional charges or may not be possible.

CANCELLATION

Cancellations must be submitted in writing.

31 or more days before the event: the deposit is retained, and you are responsible for documented non-refundable event-specific costs already incurred.
15 to 30 days before: 50% of the contracted total is due.
8 to 14 days before: 75% of the contracted total is due.
7 days or less: 100% of the contracted total is due.

RESCHEDULING

When rescheduling is feasible, submit your request in writing. A new date is subject to availability. Your deposit may transfer to one new date within 12 months. Increases in food, labor, travel, rental, or equipment costs are reflected in a revised agreement. Additional restrictions may apply to peak-season, holiday, and high-production events.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What does Wadulisi's offer?
Community meals, selective private culinary experiences, household and family food services, private lessons, digital culinary education, and culinary work with institutions and organizations.

Where do you serve?
The Kansas City metropolitan area. Travel outside the standard service area may be available and may incur additional travel costs.

What is the minimum guest count and price for a community meal?
Community Meals have a 32-person minimum and start at $15 per person. See Community Meals.

Can I completely customize a menu?
Our menus are seasonal and created for each event from what is available and appropriate for the setting. We work with you on the menu during your consultation, but we do not offer unlimited customization.

Why do menus change seasonally?
Menus are subject to ingredient availability, responsible sourcing, and applicable requirements. Traditional ingredients can be affected by season, location, land access, traditional harvesting practices, and the requirements of public or commercial food service.

Are all of your dishes traditional?
No. Some are foods we grew up with or learned through family and community. Some are contemporary dishes inspired by Indigenous foodways. See Our Foodways.

What does "contemporary Indigenous" mean?
Food rooted in our foodways and created for today. There is no single Indigenous cuisine, and we do not claim to represent every Indigenous Nation or foodway.

Can you accommodate vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free needs?
Vegetarian options: yes. Vegan options: yes, when requested in advance. Select gluten-free options may be available when requested in advance. Discuss other dietary restrictions and allergies during your consultation. We cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment.

Can you work with my university's existing caterer?
Yes. Wadulisi's can provide menu concepts, recipe development, staff workshops, and culinary guidance to your approved food-service provider. See Institutions & Organizations.

Can you provide education without catering the event?
Yes. Foodways education, staff training, and consulting are available on their own.

Can institutions pay after the event?
Yes, when the terms are agreed to in advance and written into a signed agreement. A deposit or advance payment may still be required.

Do you offer virtual cooking classes?
Yes. Private and small-group virtual lessons are available now. Recorded classes, digital meal plans, and a Three Sisters course are coming soon. See Learn.

Do you offer family meal preparation?
Yes, as a limited, consultation-based service. See Private Table.

What is The Hive?
The Hive: The Indigenous Collective is a separate nonprofit organization focused on food sovereignty, cultural education, and community programming. Visit The Hive's website.

How do I contact you?
Email wadulisisllc@gmail.com or book a consultation.