WHAT MAKES A GOOD CATERER?

Catering, like any career is a balance of hard work, proper training and failures and successes that help to hone the skills necessary to succeed. Caterers, while required to often have the skills of a chef, face additional challenges. Caterers run a business and that means bookkeeping, accounting, customer relations, employees, marketing and the ability to balance all of them.

Many full service caterers also offer event planning taking the spotlight off just the food and creating an entire set that will stage their talents. Caterers have an audience. One that wants to be stimulated via sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.

01. COOKING

There’s no doubt catering is about the food. Beautiful decorations, carefully placed settings and good music won’t make up for poor quality, ill prepared food. Caterers need food preparation experience to be able to plan menus, safely prepare, reheat and transport large amount of food and to make recipe substitutions on the fly if things go wrong.

As a cook/caterer you should be aware of and comply with all good safety laws in your area. That often means taking courses on food safety and culinary upgrades. Ensuring that taste satisfaction goes hand in hand with food safety is paramount. It only takes one slip land reputation can be lost forever.

02. CUSTOMER CARE

Having excellent customer care can garner loyalty from clients. The caterer should be polite, diplomatic and thoughtful while dealing with clientele. The language and how you handle the client is crucial to keeping the client comfortable and coming back again and recommending you. Outline your menu clear to the customer so that they can understand you better. If there will be any changes in the process, it’s important to let the client know promptly. Good communication is the key to a successful business.

03. LEADERSHIP

Being a good caterer means having essential abilities and skills. A caterer should be able to supervise cooks, cleaners, servers, and dishwashers in the right manner. That’s why leadership is very important to keep the business running. This doesn’t mean ordering the staff around, but rather leading by example. You should have the knowledge of how to manage everyone around you including the clients. A good caterer should also be able to address a concerning matter and take quick actions where required.

04. GOOD DRINKS

In catering services, drinks are just as important as food. The meal becomes greater if accompanied with the right beverages. A good caterer should not only serve the client with drinks but provide high-quality beverages. Safety for the guests is paramount!

05. FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility is an important trait that a successful caterer should have. You should be able to change with the needs of the client. Every client is unique, and no event will be like the other. That’s why you need to be as flexible as possible to help. There might be a change of the menu due to particular dietary requirements of the client, and you should attend to such requirements at any given time without any hesitation.

06. ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Be Aware – It’s All in The Details

If you’re full in, that means you might be looking after more than the food. Caterers are now tackling the decor and presentation of the food as well as creating magnificent tables to stage the food on. Remember, every guest is a potential client so make sure they are treated that way from the moment they enter the door to the time they leave. Interacting with guests to ensure their satisfaction is a good choice but you are there to make their experience a better one so don’t take up their time talking about you, talk about them. And don’t waste their time, they are there to enjoy the event.

Pay attention to little details, clean flatware, its layout, lighting at the tables, fresh and crispness of the linens all help to enhance the meal and the perception of its quality. You want every detail to compliment the next. Organize the event to fit the venue. Is it right for the size of group, does the table decor reflect the theme of the event is it inside or outside and does the food fit the temperature such as outdoor and serving all hot foods compared to the proper fare. The menu has to fit the occasion and taste of the crowd.

Are the guests comfortable with your decor? Formally attired guests should not be in a kiddie decorated party room or beach themed event. Pay attention to what the overall feel for the evening will be and your decor, ambiance and food should reflect the expectations of those in attendance.

07. CREATIVITY

Creativity is key in this business. A good caterer should not only make good food and drinks but also come up with recipes that make you unique. He/she should be ready to try wild ideas in their cooking. This should also include entertainments, decorations and other small touches which might make the event great.

08. WATCH YOUR BUSINESS

The goal is to be profitable but accounting, taxes, employee management, food purchase, storage and organization can often seem like you need a business and accounting and human resources degree all rolled into one. The good news is, dealing with these administrative tasks keeps you on top of your business needs, where you may be failing or losing money and where you can improve and after all it is about the bottom line.

09. BE YOUR OWN MARKETER

The phone won’t ring without marketing. Getting noticed can be tricky. A network of contacts, satisfied clients, paid on time vendors and relationships with florists, venue organizers and other event planners goes a long way in the industry to get your name out there. Word of mouth advertising is still the best way to get your name out there and making sure when anyone uses your name it’s in a positive light with a high recommendation will help you see your business grow.

Appreciate your suppliers and your clients. Go the extra mile and do the extra things that make you stand out.

10. BE SURE, BE SUCCESSFUL

If you’re not certain catering is the career path of you, why not work with another catering company before jumping in and starting their own business. This will help you determine if catering is the business you really want to be in. If you are working for someone else and constantly thinking of what you could do to improve things it might be time to put down the food prep tools are server’s cloth and step up to the management table.