For chefs, serving staff, and catering company owners who want to truly master the art of catering, there are some time tested tips you can use to take your business, and the event experience of your customers, to the next level. Whether you're focus is on small personal events, large corporate events, or the full gamut of catering services, there's always room to improve and develop your craft.
Learning
The directive is to always be learning. Attend catering industry events, workshops, and meet ups in your area. Or follow along with some of the national catering industry associations and publications (ie CaterSource). So much can be learned just by connecting with the community around you and seeing how others operate. You can also step outside the industry itself into the wider community of sales and business development, as there are a huge range of workshops, seminars and meetups in cities across the world that can really help you to take your business to new heights. So the first priority is to always be learning.
Client Stories
What is your clients story? This is such a simple question but one that often doesn't get addressed, yet it is so important. Providing catering is providing an event experience, one that should connect to your client and help them feel that the service you've provided was a natural extension of themselves and their idea of how the event should go. To do this you need to understand your client and who they are. Find ways to get at the smaller more nuanced details of their personal story, or the story surrounding the event. This is going the extra mile to make things special. This is truly connecting with your client and understanding how best to serve them and make things a success above and beyond the usual.
Getting to know your client can be simple. If you're speaking to a potential catering client for a wedding, you should get to know the couple - what is their story? how did they meet? what are their hopes and dreams for the future?
Learning personal information, history, and the small details can help you craft that extra special experience that would otherwise be a missed opportunity in the rush to churn everyone through your business like a product on an assembly line.
The extra special touch, and the feeling your client and their guests get when it's executed right, can be the difference between no referrals and having referrals from that one client that snowball over the lifetime of your company. You see what I'm saying?
Variety!
Keeping things interesting and exciting by offering a variety of dishes is a tried and true way of adding to the excitement and anticipation of an event. It keeps the guests on their toes and adds a tangible atmosphere of anticipation and novelty to any event.
This has been a trend for the past 5 or so years and we can't see it slowing down any time soon and there's good reason for this. Providing a variety of small plate items allows a caterer to flaunt their style, show what their made of, and woo the guests with a plethora of culinary skills. And your chefs will thank you! Creating a variety of dishes throughout the night is far more interesting and rewarding to your staff than serving the same old boring and limited menus night after night. Spice things up, add variety, make the night a non-stop spectacle of one tantalizing plate/dish after another.
The directive is to always be learning. Attend catering industry events, workshops, and meet ups in your area. Or follow along with some of the national catering industry associations and publications (ie CaterSource). So much can be learned just by connecting with the community around you and seeing how others operate. You can also step outside the industry itself into the wider community of sales and business development, as there are a huge range of workshops, seminars and meetups in cities across the world that can really help you to take your business to new heights. So the first priority is to always be learning.
Client Stories
What is your clients story? This is such a simple question but one that often doesn't get addressed, yet it is so important. Providing catering is providing an event experience, one that should connect to your client and help them feel that the service you've provided was a natural extension of themselves and their idea of how the event should go. To do this you need to understand your client and who they are. Find ways to get at the smaller more nuanced details of their personal story, or the story surrounding the event. This is going the extra mile to make things special. This is truly connecting with your client and understanding how best to serve them and make things a success above and beyond the usual.
Getting to know your client can be simple. If you're speaking to a potential catering client for a wedding, you should get to know the couple - what is their story? how did they meet? what are their hopes and dreams for the future?
Learning personal information, history, and the small details can help you craft that extra special experience that would otherwise be a missed opportunity in the rush to churn everyone through your business like a product on an assembly line.
The extra special touch, and the feeling your client and their guests get when it's executed right, can be the difference between no referrals and having referrals from that one client that snowball over the lifetime of your company. You see what I'm saying?
Variety!
Keeping things interesting and exciting by offering a variety of dishes is a tried and true way of adding to the excitement and anticipation of an event. It keeps the guests on their toes and adds a tangible atmosphere of anticipation and novelty to any event.
This has been a trend for the past 5 or so years and we can't see it slowing down any time soon and there's good reason for this. Providing a variety of small plate items allows a caterer to flaunt their style, show what their made of, and woo the guests with a plethora of culinary skills. And your chefs will thank you! Creating a variety of dishes throughout the night is far more interesting and rewarding to your staff than serving the same old boring and limited menus night after night. Spice things up, add variety, make the night a non-stop spectacle of one tantalizing plate/dish after another.
Presentation
Knowing how to present your food is a must. In fact it's half the value that we provide as caterers and there's no getting around that.
There's a reason food photography is so big, and everyone these days likes to snap a picture of their food and post it to their instagram or twitter right before digging in. Food that is beautifully presented creates an experience that heightens the enjoyment of the taste. The 2 senses go hand in hand and it's key that you get this right, or at least attempt to.
Far too many providers are not putting the time and effort into doing basic presentation right, but if you want to take things to the next level for your business, and get those coveted high-end clients that bring premiums, then nailing your presentation down is fundamental.
Master the Art of Business
The last item on our list is to is to master the art of business, which is a whole separate subject in itself but is definitely a part of becoming a master in the art of catering.
Knowing how to run your business, organize staff, stay on top of the books, and close deals with clients is the life-blood of your operation and increasing your skills in these areas will only feed into the success of your whole team and make the purely catering aspect shine even brighter.
Knowing how to present your food is a must. In fact it's half the value that we provide as caterers and there's no getting around that.
There's a reason food photography is so big, and everyone these days likes to snap a picture of their food and post it to their instagram or twitter right before digging in. Food that is beautifully presented creates an experience that heightens the enjoyment of the taste. The 2 senses go hand in hand and it's key that you get this right, or at least attempt to.
Far too many providers are not putting the time and effort into doing basic presentation right, but if you want to take things to the next level for your business, and get those coveted high-end clients that bring premiums, then nailing your presentation down is fundamental.
Master the Art of Business
The last item on our list is to is to master the art of business, which is a whole separate subject in itself but is definitely a part of becoming a master in the art of catering.
Knowing how to run your business, organize staff, stay on top of the books, and close deals with clients is the life-blood of your operation and increasing your skills in these areas will only feed into the success of your whole team and make the purely catering aspect shine even brighter.