What is Express Catering

Express Catering is your source for quality, budget-friendly, drop and go catering service.
Delivered in smart eco-friendly packaging, Express Catering is ideal for simple events and last minute catering requests.
Whether you are looking for catering for your office meeting, a working lunch or a celebration cake, there is something for every occasion.
Our online ordering system is designed to make ordering food and beverages for delivery to the campus location of your choice as easy as possible.

The following features are available to you when ordering:

  • You can browse our menus 24 hours a day, 7 day a week which means that you can order at your convenience.
  • You can view pictures and descriptions of all items so you know exactly what you are ordering.
  • You can filter items to take into account special dietary requests, which means that you can easily identify suitable items for your guests.
  • Your shopping cart totals as you add an item which means that you know how much your order is going to be before checking out.
  • You can check the status of your order so you know that it has been received.
  • You can view all your previous orders which means that you can re-order quickly, saving you time.

Hours of Operation

Express Catering is available from 08.30 am to 06.00 pm Monday to Friday.
To use this service outside these hours and days, please contact us to discuss. After-hours deliveries are possible and a reduced menu is available on Saturday and Sunday. Note deliveries outside of normal operational hours will incur a delivery charge, the rate dependent on the size of the delivery. The drop and go service is available to University of Otago departments and external parties on request.

Ordering Deadline

Order by 01.00 pm two days prior to your required delivery date, Monday to Friday.
You are welcome to order in advance.
The online system is accessible on the weekends for your convenience.
You will not be able to place an order on Saturday or Sunday for the immediately following Monday ie one or two days time.

Delivery

Express Catering is a ‘drop and go’ only. The delivery personnel do not set up or clean up your event.
Delivery is available to all central campus locations with the exception of the University of Otago Staff Club.
We make every effort to deliver your order in full, as close as possible to the scheduled delivery time.  However, due to multiple deliveries, as well as weather and traffic conditions, we reserve a period of 15 minutes before the stated time to complete your catering drop off.

Packaging

Express Catering is delivered in 100% recyclable New Zealand-made packaging.
The eco-friendly cardboard boxes are printed with an attractive black paisley design and have a matching cover to eliminate the use of plastic wrap and aluminium foil.
Our cups, plates, cutlery, sauce and salad containers (including the lids) are derived from naturally renewable sources such as PLA bioplastic, corn starch, sugar cane and bamboo.

Equipment

Your catering will come with napkins, wooden forks for salads and plates and forks for the celebration cakes. Hot beverages will come with crockery cups and Bioware cups are available for purchase with cold beverages. 
Additional plates and cups can be ordered online for delivery with your catering.

Cancellations

Orders may be cancelled up to 01.00 pm two business days (Monday to Friday) prior to the scheduled delivery without any penalty. This includes reducing quantities of pre-ordered items. Any order cancelled after this time will be subject to full charges for all items in production.

Products

We reserve the right to substitute items on rare occasions when unavailable, with comparable products, at no additional cost to you.

Payment

A full GL or PL account code is required to submit an order.
Payment for your catering will be via a monthly journal transaction in Finance One.
All transactions with us are debited to the 7756 dissections as we a University department, not an external vendor.

Fully Serviced Catering

For the occasions where you need more than a self-service catering delivery, the University offers a fully managed catering event service.

Events Catering

About Express Catering

Express Catering is a service brand of the University Union.
The University Union is proud to be an in-house service and department of the University of Otago.
We’re the people behind the Residential Colleges’ catering, cafes and retail outlets on campus and University Event Catering.
Using us enables the University to retain funds under the University of Otago Sensitive Expenditure Policy, that had previously been spent with outside vendors.