Things You Need to Know About Food Catering Services

Everyone loves to eat, however not everyone can cook for a horde of people. Food catering services is the most practical option whenever the need ari...

 

Everyone loves to eat, however not everyone can cook for a horde of people. Food catering services is the most practical option whenever the need arises that you as a host needs to feed a slew of guests. You need this because you want to focus on other things such as entertaining guests rather than cooking and busying yourself in the kitchen. But selecting a food catering service is an intricate matter. If you have an understanding of the basics of food catering services then it will surely help decide which food catering service is best for the occasion at hand.

A food catering service is the business of providing food and food-related services in an event or gathering. An individual pays the caterer to either bring food to the function or to prepare the food directly at the function site. Catering may include the supply of other food related equipment such as dining tables, silverware, decorations, etc.

Simply providing the food in an event is not the sole purpose of a food catering service. These businesses strive to satisfy guests at the event. Thus it is the mission of the food catering service providers to make sure that all guests are well fed and that the food they serve are matching the ambiance of both the event and the tastes of the host and the guests. Caterers must meet with the hosts beforehand in order to determine the needs and wants of the client.

Food catering services offer a wide variety of food choices. But not all events and function site are similar. A formal dinner party for a wedding or corporate event will need more elaborate silverwares and food selection than a more casual reunions of a high school or college alumni. Most caterers offer a wide variety of options in terms of menu choices and equipment. Therefore the caterer must inquire about the date and time, the number of people, and the theme of the event before they can put together a selection of food choices for the event.

After the caterer has taken note of the client’s needs and wants, then that is the time wherein they can make proposals about a potential menu and what wares to use.

Food catering services now host food tasting events. This is usually done at food events or catering conventions. This is a chance for them to showcase the selections that they have for any type of event. Aside from the traditional food selection, food catering services also include ethnic and comfort foods in their menu to attract more client base.

How You Can Calculate for a Catering Job?

 

In order to operate a successful catering business, you have to know how to price your catering job accordingly. In order to do that, you have If you intend to run a successful catering business, it is important to know how to price catering jobs correctly. In order to calculate a catering job, you must calculate all catering costs and make sure that you are pricing them competitively. Different catering jobs have different pricing considerations, but there are basics on how you can calculate for a catering job that applies to almost all catering businesses.

Before starting on a catering job, you need to calculate first the total overhead costs. These will include equipment, utilities, transportation, and rental spaces. You need to include them into your calculation of a catering job.

The next thing that you need to include in your calculations will be the associated costs. List all the possible food costs, utilities, staff wages, disposable goods, and others. The more you do the calculations the better you will get at approximating the costs for your next catering job.

This is perhaps one of the most important considerations that you must make in calculating for your catering job: head count. You must set a minimum and maximum number of people you are willing to cater for. Also before accepting a catering job ask your client how many possible people they are expecting for the event so you can make the necessary adjustments and calculate accordingly.

Another important consideration for calculating a catering job is the type of food that you will be serving. Calculate the cost of ingredients and the cost of the chef’s preparation. Some ingredients may be cheap but require a lot of preparation; you need to keep this in mind. Additionally, you need to consider the number of course that you will be serving. Elaborate courses are obviously more costly compared to 3-4 courses. Ask your client if you are required to prepare for a formal dinner or a simple picnic gathering. Through this you’ll be able to determine how many courses are needed.

Remember to include in your calculations the number of waiters and servers required for a certain catering job. It is also important to take note that offering buffet style service requires less servers compared to the regular catering service.

Compare your pricing to that of your competitors charge for their catering job. Make sure that you are not overly cheap leaving no room for profit for your business, but also try to avoid over pricing. If you want to charge extra, give your catering business a specialty to set your business apart from the competition. Specialties can include extra decor services, flower arrangements if necessary, etc, etc.

Calculating for a catering job is never an easy task, but it gets easier the more you do it. Make all the necessary pricing considerations and make a list of your standard pricing. This is important so you won’t have to figure out the pricing for each client that approaches you for your services.

How to Successfully Plan for A Corporate Catering

 

There are times where in the success of a business depends on the events that takes place after office hours. The best example of these events is none other than corporate catering events. If you are assigned to organize this type of event, you might want to consider giving it all since a successful corporate event can lead to a very satisfied boss. Here are some tips that can help you organize a successful corporate catering event.

Get all the facts straight. Know the number of people that are going to be attending. Make sure that the venue will be able to accommodate everybody and that there is more than enough food for everyone. Also, try to get the big names that will be attending the event. Once you have their names, do a little background check. Try to find out the things that they are looking for in a corporate catering.

You should also figure out if your boss is hoping for a casual or formal event. If your boss wants a casual event, don’t lose your sense of style. Make sure that the corporate catering is still somewhat chic but fun at the same time. The food should still be impeccable and the venue should look impressive. For formal corporate catering events, it is best to hire the help of professional planners in order to get the job done properly, especially if this is your first time to plan an event of this magnitude.

Make sure that the corporate catering will start on time. The best way to do this is by being at the venue 2-3 hours before it starts so that you will be able to fix any last minute disasters. The whole event should have breaks in between so that the guests won’t be too exhausted.

Lastly, when doing corporate catering, be aware of the budget that the company is willing to give you. Make sure that you maximize it and that you are prepared to put your best foot forward even though the budget is limited. Make the most of the money that you have.

How to Start an Online Catering Business?

 

Ever thought of opening a home-based catering business? What better way to get your business known than through online means? Knowing how to set up an online catering business will allow you to take your home-based catering business to the next level. The internet can help you reach more potential customers which can also qualify to more profits for you.

Set up your own website where you can showcase your dishes and menu. Through this website you can let your customers take orders or book dates for your service. You have a choice of free or paid website set up services. Paid website hosting and services are much better but if you do not have the capital for that yet, you can set up a blog advertising your service instead. WordPress, Blogger, and a slew of other blogging sites are available and its up to you to pick which one suits your needs. Once you have set up a site or blog for your online catering business, you may also want to include a merchant account so that you can accept payments and deposits online.

File for a business name and use it to open a business account in a bank. You just need to take care of the necessary papers and pay the fees to your local business registrar. Since you are already there, you can ask for additional requirements such as business license, and other taxes or licenses that needs to be taken care of. You will want to make sure that you are cleared from any legal liabilities early on.

You will still have to make sure to advertise in person. Take samples of your food to local event gatherings, conventions, even PTA meetings. It is important that people get a first hand taste of the menu and dishes that you offer to make a good impression on them and get your catering business known. Online advertising is great, but it is still word of mouth that is the most effective form of advertising. If you can combine the 2, then you will reach a lot more potential customers for your business.

Now we go to advertising your catering business through online means. You can join catering forums and advertise your business through these avenues. You can also get your website or blog listed to online directories. There are both free and paid directory services and it won’t hurt to try both means.

Take advantage of the fad today. Utilise your Facebook, Multiply, or MySpace accounts to advertise your business. These social networking sites allow businesses to advertise through their sites so as long as you are working within the bounds of their terms of use. Social networking sites reach more potential customers and the good thing about this is that you can get your friends in your social networking account to advertise and spread the word about your business for you.

How to Start a Home Catering Service

 

Starting a home catering service is actually a good business to invest money on especially if you are into cooking or organizing events. If you are a chef who wants to work at home, then this is definitely the perfect business for you. On the other hand, those people who are not certified chefs can also take a go at this business which makes it even more ideal. However before having a successful home catering business, you have to know the tips and tricks in starting up this kind of business. Here are some of them.

Prepare a capital that has the capacity to pay for the ingredients, the cooking utensils and the delivery service. If you’re starting at a limited budget, start with simpler menus. Be resourceful when it comes to the cooking utensils that you have. And, for the delivery service, you might want to start using your own car first.

Always remember that the key to a successful home catering business is a building a loyal clientele. If you’re in the food business, the best way to do this is by providing each and every one of your customers with the best tasting food that you can make. You can start off with simple dishes but make sure that they are very tasty.

It is also very important to advertise your business a lot. With today’s technology, spreading the word that you have a home catering business is just one click away. If you are living in a smaller community, the best way to do this would be to give out flyers. The flyers should contain nothing but the best food that you can offer and of course the number that they can contact you.

One thing about the home catering business though is that you might not be able to see a solid net income after your first few events. But, once you get to establish your name and once you have loyal clients, you will soon see that the home catering business is indeed very profitable and is something that is worth pursuing and developing.

How to Budget Catering for Weddings?

 

Weddings are one of the most exciting and beautiful events in a person’s life. Accordingly, it can be one of the most expensive events a person will have to go through. Planning a wedding event certainly means everything has an associated cost with it. Catering for weddings is perhaps the most expensive part of a wedding day. However you need not spend too much for a catering service. You just have to know what to include in your wedding reception.

The best way to bring down the costs of catering for weddings is to have your reception buffet-style. Generally caterers charge lower for a buffet-style catering service than a waiter style service. This is because there is lesser manpower involved and fewer staff will be paid. There will also be less work in the kitchen giving the caterers lesser time to labour on some menial stuff. All these amount to a lesser catering service bill.

Stationary appetizers are another way of lowering the cost of catering for weddings. Instead of having waiters serve the appetizers to the guest, strategically station appetizers to 3 or 4 different spots. This not only lowers the cost of you food bill, it also allows your guests to mingle with one another. This also allows you to avoid overcrowding the guests in one particular spot.

Provide your own alcoholic beverages such as wine and alcohol. This will help you save a lot in your budget on catering for weddings. Think about it: if you include the alcoholic beverages in the catering service, they will charge extra. As most reception areas require some sort of corkage fee, the catering service will be forced to burden you with paying for that fee. Providing your own alcoholic beverages like beer and wine will cost less and will enable you to purchase them in bulk.

Cupcakes are the craze nowadays. Aside from this being cheaper than a big cake, caterers will be able to design individual cupcakes not only to make it look more attractive, but also make it tastier. Most of the time traditional wedding cakes are made or consists of fondant. It looks nice and gives the cake smoother appearance, but it tastes awful and tastes more like paste. Besides it costs more to have a wedding cake made from fondant. However cupcakes are fully edible and aside from the fact that they come in many servings, you won’t have any problems in having a lot of leftovers for your cupcakes.

Halal Catering Basics: What You Need to Know

 

If you want to start a successful catering business, then you should be prepared to do everything that is necessary to make the client happy and satisfied. This includes going the extra mile by preparing foods that are appropriate for the client’s cultural standards and foods are religiously acceptable.

When doing Halal catering, it is best to make sure that the menu does not have any pork. Caterers should also make sure that it is carrion free. When serving other forms of meat, make sure that the blood is completely drained. Make sure that all meat products are cooked well since meats that are not cooked well enough tend to be bloody. All animals that are not killed in the name of Allah should not be used either which is why it is best to do a little research to find out the exact names of the animals that you should never serve in a Halal catering.

Alcoholic drinks are also prohibited in Halal catering. This includes food that has been cooked with alcoholic drinks as well. If you are not sure if a drink can be qualified as an alcoholic drink or not, don’t take chances and just look fro other drinks to serve. Always remember that the happiness and the satisfaction of the client is the number one priority.

IF you think that you have nothing else to serve, better think again. Serving lamb cutlets and cubed cheese is allowed in Halal catering. Also, consider doing vegetarian food if you are finding it hard to differentiate the kinds of meat that you are allowed and not allowed to serve.

Serving rice dishes is also recommended in Halal catering. Other options include sandwiches and bite size all vegetarian snacks. Salads are also highly recommended in Halal catering.

If you are not used to making these types of foods, always treat Halal caterings as a good way to learn new dishes and new ways of cooking different types of food. Just make sure that the food that you are going to be serving for the first time actually tastes good.

Green Catering Basics

 

If there is one thing that is good about the discovery of some scientists that the world is slowly dying, it has to be the fact that it urged a lot of people to go green in everything that they do. Thankfully, this also urged a lot of caterers to get involved in green catering. However, some caterers tend to believe the misconception that green catering is just about serving organically prepared food. Here are other green catering facts that all caterers and even organizers should be aware of.

Green catering is also about using bio sensible utensils and kitchen materials. Caterers should serve utensils that are made of biodegradable materials such as cornstarch and sugar. Aside from saving the environment by not using harmful dishwashing liquids, biodegradable utensils can also be used as fertilizers. As of now, there are lots of plates, spoons, forks and knives that are made out of biodegradable materials so finding one is not really that difficult.

When it comes to cleaning up the area, caterers should make sure that the detergents, dishwashing liquids and other cleaning chemicals that they will use should be eco-friendly. Nowadays, it’s not that hard to find eco-friendly cleaning materials. It is really up to the caterers if they want to stick with green catering. Caterers should also consider using biodiesel fuel on their delivery vans and trucks.

One great thing about doing green catering is that it can help caterers build up a solid clientele. Since more and more people are into saving the environment, the demand for green caterers is at an all time high. Even big companies are beginning to get into green catering. Since the big companies are getting involved in green catering, chances are, the small companies are following in their footsteps as well which means more clients for caterers who are into green catering.

Green catering is the best way to give back to the environment without having to compromise a business. Caterers should take advantage of this catering option since they have nothing to lose and have so much to gain.

Facts About Full Service Catering

 

Different occasions require different kinds of catering services. For grand events such as weddings and debuts, it is best to hire full service catering. Although it can be more expensive than the other, simpler catering services, full service catering takes care of more than just delivering the food which is why it is more suited for grand occasions. So, what other things does a full service catering take care of you ask? Here are some facts that you might want to know.

If you are expecting a big crowd, then it is best to hire full service catering. With this kind of catering service, the food is not just dropper off. They are also served to the guests. This is what makes it so perfect for big occasions since organizers don’t have to hire waiters to serve the food. Not only are you saving money, you are also saving precious time since you don’t have to think of so many things all at once.

Although a full service catering also takes care of serving the food, you can still customize the way that you want the food to be presented. For example, the main guests of the event will be the only people to be directly served by a waiter. Other guests on the other hand can just form a line on the buffet table. Not to worry though because they will still be served promptly at the buffet table.

Full service catering, just like any other caterings, has different service fees which would depend on a couple of factors. These factors include the duration of the event. The longer the duration, the more expensive it’s going to be. You should also be careful in choosing the types of food to be served. There are certain catering services who offer additional fees if the event is too far or if the event is suddenly moved to a new location.

This is why before booking a full service catering; you should take time to look at the terms and conditions that apply. It is also good to take note of any circumstances that can give them the right to ask for any additional fees.

Catering Ideas for Different Types of Events

 

Catering ideas for different event have a lot of variety. A lot of factors will influence your choice when coming up with the most suitable menu for a specific event. Perhaps the most influential factors are the location of the event or the type of event. Once you know what those two factors are, then it will be easier to decide whether the preparation is elaborate or low-key.

Weddings are perhaps on the top list of catering events that need to be considered. You have a choice of either a seafood buffet party or meat buffet party or even a combination of both. For seafood buffets you have choice of steamed lobster claws, crab legs, shrimp, and scallops wrapped in bacon. These items are sure hit to the guests. Combine these with regular rice or red rice, green beans, small vegetables, and coleslaw to balance with the steamed seafood

For the meat selection, you can opt for roast beef, ribs, sliced ham, turkey or chicken as an alternative. Then you can match them with choices of vegetables such as green beans, broccoli, or a nice salad bar. Rice and baked potatoes is a must in this choice of menu.

For children’s party such as birthdays, make sure that the catering ideas you have in mind are accommodating to little fingers. Pizzas are highly recommended for kiddie parties and they can be decorated to make them look more attractive to the kids. You can also throw in the mix peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For healthier snacks you can also put in low fat ice cream and some celery and cheese sticks in the menu.

For kiddie parties never forget to include in the menu these items: hotdog on sticks or sandwiches, ham and cheese rolls, and cupcakes and cookies. These are the just haves for any children’s party.

For bridal showers or baby showers finger foods are the best types of foods that you can throw in on the menu. Sandwiches, stuffed mushrooms, baked or mashed potatoes, and tray filled with a variety of small fruits are recommended for the occasion. You can throw in some chocolates or mini chocolates cakes as this is what considered as the main course by a majority of people when it comes to bridal and baby showers.

Whatever type of event you have in your hands, just remember never to forget putting in desserts into your catering ideas as it will put a nice closing touch to a happy and exciting event.