Weddingbee boards

So we have our venue,photogs,dress,dj anddd I think thats it for now. Our venue says it would be best to use the recommended caterer but I was not impressed on Open House night back in Aug. I think... the food was ok. FI has been a cook since he was 15 and will be 28 this July. Cooked for 5 yrs in the Navy and also at alot of resorts. To get to the point, we love gooood food!! He isnt a "food snob" but expects good food especially for the wedding. If I do not go through this vendor, I have to rent tableware seperately through someone else. I want to keep under $1500 total for 50 guests. About 7 kids and then the rest adults plus us and my 2 photogs.... does this sound reasonable? Should I stick with the ones they say to or go find someone else? I want to say it was gonna be like $30/pp and thats a bit high for me. I dont know where to begin?? We had alot already booked bc we pushed our date back and I am glad we didnt rush into catering last yr!! Sometimes I just dont want to deal with all this:/