Holiday catering in Chișinău: home-cooked food to order, cakes and prices per person (2026)

How much does catering in Chișinău cost for the holidays in 2026?

The price depends on the format: a full menu, a fourchette (small bites eaten standing), ready-made boxes, or dishes by the kilogram that you serve yourself. Published prices are “from” prices; Morărița promises a final quote within 24 hours of getting the date, venue and number of guests.

Services cost extra. At Morărița, a waiter costs 1,500 lei for 2–5 hours and 2,000 lei for 5–8 hours, a chafing dish 300 lei, a chair 150 lei, coffee 35 lei per person. BoxCatering rents round tables for 12–18 people at 500–700 lei and ceramic tableware at 50–75 lei per person, for 24 hours.

Delivery is free at BoxCatering above 500 lei (otherwise 60 lei). Morărița charges 60–100 lei within Chișinău, depending on distance, and 10 lei/km outside the city, with an 80 lei minimum.

How much does home-cooked food to order cost: sarmale, salads, plăcinte?

Dishes by the kilogram cost less than a full menu, and two Chișinău lists cover almost the whole festive table. Sarmale are cabbage or vine-leaf rolls; plăcinte and învârtite are filled pies; colivă is the boiled-wheat dish served at memorials.

For răcituri and cozonac, ask for a price with the weight. Franzeluța takes orders for cakes and colaci (braided ritual breads), including for christenings, but does not publish prices. On 999.md, the “Servicii culinărie” section has subsections for banquets, traditional dishes, colaci and cakes, and on Crelto you can search for catering providers.

How much do cakes to order cost, and how much cake do you need?

Cake makers sell by the kilogram, usually from 2 kg, and price the decoration separately: Miller’s Cake agrees it with you through its operator, while Cookies.md lets you add decoration after choosing the filling and weight.

How much cake: BoxCatering gives its 1.3 kg Napoleon for 8–10 people, or 130–160 g each, so 1 kg serves 6–8 guests. For 20 people, order 2.5–3 kg: a 3 kg Medovik costs 2,100 lei at Cookies.md, and 3 kg at Miller’s Cake 1,740–2,460 lei, plus decoration. Get the weight, filling and decoration price in writing before any deposit.

Miller’s Cake lists the allergens for each flavour, and Cookies.md asks you to mention allergies when ordering and warns that its desserts may contain traces. A cream cake keeps in the fridge, at +2…+6 °C, for 48 hours at most.

Worked example: what does a Christmas meal for 20 people cost?

We priced a Christmas meal with meat for 20 adults from a single supplier, so that you pay for one delivery. The weights are our estimate: about 1 kg of food per guest, without bread or drinks.

With delivery, the meal costs 5,980–6,020 lei, or ≈300 lei per person; above 5,000 lei, Morărița asks for a deposit. A waiter for 2–5 hours brings it to ≈375 lei per guest. The firm’s cheapest full menu with meat, from 490 lei per person, would cost 9,800 lei, with 12 dishes chosen for you.

With ready-made boxes from BoxCatering (two 5.6 kg “Boieresc Big Box”, one “Boieresc Smart Box”, two 3.4 kg holiday salad boxes and two Napoleons) you pay 8,807 lei, ≈440 lei per person, with free delivery. The difference comes from the presentation and the pork ribs, which cost 650 lei/kg at Morărița.

The fasting version

With dishes Morărița marks “Produs de post” (fasting): 5 kg of fasting sarmale (1,000 lei), 1 kg each of bean spread and zacuscă (450 lei), 2 kg of vinegret (360 lei), 1 kg of beetroot salad (140 lei), 3 kg of potatoes (450 lei), 2 kg of mămăligă (140 lei), 2 kg of mini învârtite with potato and mushrooms and 1 kg with cherries (800 lei): 3,340 lei for 18 kg, ≈170 lei per person with delivery.

How many grams of food per guest should you order?

A public benchmark: the specification of a state procurement in Chișinău, from July 2026, asks for 300–350 ml of soup, 120–150 g of main course, 150–200 g of side dish, 100 g of salad and 80–100 g of bread per person for a lunch. For a festive table with several courses, plan as follows (our estimate):

• Salads and cold starters: 200–250 g in total.
• Sarmale: 200–250 g alongside another hot dish, 300 g if they are the main course.
• Hot meat dish: 120–150 g, plus 150 g of side dish.
• Plăcinte: 100 g; cake and pastries: 100–150 g.
• Fourchette instead of a meal: 8–12 pieces per person.

That adds up to 0.9–1.1 kg per guest. Boxes are more generous because they replace several courses: BoxCatering’s 3.3 kg holiday salads are meant for 8–10 people. Order for the real number of adults: the WHO advises against keeping cooked food long, even in the fridge.

How early should you book Christmas and New Year catering?

Published lead times are short: 4–24 hours for Morărița dishes, 50 minutes to 24 hours for BoxCatering products, 36–72 hours for Miller’s Cake and at least 3 working days at Cookies.md. Before the holidays, what matters is how busy they already are: book the date 1–2 weeks ahead and confirm the menu 2–3 days before (our advice).

Morărița delivers daily, public holidays included, 11:00–19:00, except on days announced on social media; prepared orders can no longer be cancelled. BoxCatering takes card payment when you order, and delivered goods are not returnable except where the law provides.

Which fasting dishes can you order during the Nativity Fast?

The Nativity Fast lasts 40 days, from 15 November to 24 December in the church calendar. The Metropolis of Chișinău and the Metropolis of Bessarabia both keep the old style, so the fast falls between 28 November and 6 January and Christmas on 7 January; communities on the revised Julian calendar celebrate on 25 December.

During the fast there is no meat, dairy or eggs, and fish is allowed on Saturdays, Sundays and feast days under the stricter practice Azbuka describes. Ask for the ingredients of each dish, not just the category name on the website. At Morărița, bean spread costs 150 lei/kg, zacuscă 300 lei/kg, vinegret 180 lei/kg and fasting învârtite 100–150 lei each; lunch.md also has a fasting lunch.

How do you order for a christening, a memorial meal or an office gathering?

Christening (cumetrie). Morărița and BoxCatering cater christenings (fourchette, served menu, coffee break, candy bar), and Délice d’Ange and Franzeluța have separate sections for christening cakes. If the christening falls in a fast, ask for the fasting menu from the start.

Memorial meal (pomană). Pomana.md arranges memorial meals after the funeral, at 9 and 40 days and at one year, in venues across several districts of Chișinău. Morărița sells colivă at 200 lei/kg and has its meat-free menu from 264 lei per person; during a fast, check that every dish is a fasting one.

Office. lunch.md charges 63–75 lei per lunch (440 lei minimum order), and Cafea și Carne 55–75 lei from 5 portions, with free delivery from 20. For a short reception, a fourchette is enough.

What should you ask before paying a deposit?

Put the agreement in writing, even just in messages. A model agreement is in our guide to contracts and deposits, and how to check reviews is in our guide to reliable providers.

How do you check food safety, with firms and with home cooks?

Law no. 306/2018 on food safety (opens in a new tab) requires food businesses to work in compliant premises with a sanitary-veterinary operating authorisation or a food safety registration certificate (Article 7), and their staff to pass medical checks and hygiene training (Article 23). Ask the firm for the number of its document from ANSA, the National Food Safety Agency, which publishes lists of authorised establishments (opens in a new tab) for meat, milk and eggs; we found no public search for catering units. The law is being amended: the draft was under public consultation on 20–27 October 2026.

People who cook at home can also work legally: on 15 January 2025 the Government approved simplified requirements for small producers (opens in a new tab), who register with ANSA, may work in a single room and may sell directly to consumers. So ask a home cook or baker whether they are registered.

What changes in Bălți, Cahul and in villages?

Chișinău firms deliver outside the city, but you pay for the road: at Morărița’s 10 lei/km, delivery to Bălți or Cahul, both more than 100 km away, exceeds 1,000 lei. Cream cakes travel badly: Cookies.md ships only products without cream across Moldova.

In Bălți, Cahul or a district town, ask for local quotes: the “Servicii culinărie” section on 999.md filters by district, and on Crelto you add your locality to the request. In a village, compare a local cook with a firm from the district town, including travel, tableware and serving.

What to write in your request: a template

“Looking for catering for a Christmas meal on 7 January, 20 adults, Chișinău, Botanica. I would like dishes by the kilogram: meat sarmale, a roast with a side, two salads, plăcinte and a 2–3 kg cake, no nuts (allergy). Delivery on 7 January, 11:00–13:00. Please send the menu with weights, the total with delivery, the deposit and the cancellation terms.”

Cleaning before the holidays too? See our guide to apartment cleaning.