New Delhi: An LPG supply crunch in the city during the wedding season has left catering services grappling with soaring costs, disrupted operations and declining business, with many forced to turn to firewood and coal for large-scale bookings.Several caterers TOI spoke to said the crisis had significantly squeezed margins, especially as most bookings were made in advance and commitments must be honoured despite rising input costs. For large weddings, requiring seven-eight cylinders, the fuel expense alone has become “unsustainable”.“At times, a single cylinder is costing us as much as Rs 6,000 in the black market, and for a big event, we need at least seven-eight cylinders. We cannot deny services, so we are absorbing the cost and delivering on commitments, but margins have become extremely slim,” said Rajesh, a manager at Get Your Menu catering services. “We have increased prices slightly to offset costs, but that is deterring customers. Overall, business has taken a hit. It’s not that supply doesn’t exist — middlemen are taking advantage of the situation to make money.”

The uncertainty over cylinder supply has led several caterers to stop accepting fresh bookings, resulting in loss of business during the peak season. Manoj Mahendru, founder of Chaykala Caterers, said, “Due to the disruption in distribution, we have had to cancel or avoid taking up new bookings and are restricting ourselves to smaller events requiring less gas. We had to let go of at least two large catering assignments, each of which could have brought in Rs 3-4 lakh.”Others said they had been compelled to increase service charges for new clients to offset rising costs, but higher prices are deterring customers. Some are even relying on household LPG cylinders to manage pre-booked events, raising concerns over safety and compliance.Priyanka, founder of Ena’s Kitchen, said, “For bigger events, we are being forced to use firewood and coal because LPG is either unavailable or too expensive. The situation is especially tense during the wedding season. There is no regulatory or representative body for caterers to raise concerns, which makes it harder to deal with such crises.”Industry players pointed out that restrictions on commercial LPG distribution, coupled with supply disruptions linked to global factors, have thrown many small and mid-scale catering businesses out of gear. While some have explored alternatives, they remain limited in scope.Damini Luthra, founder of Fossetta Catering, said, “We shifted to alternative arrangements like electric setups when the supply disruptions began, but a lot of cooking simply cannot be done that way. Gas remains essential. Our costs have increased significantly, while margins have shrunk.”With peak wedding demand continuing, caterers don’t have any immediate relief in sight.