Tasting success: 10 characteristics of a stand-out caterer
Make no bones about it: succeeding as a caterer is not an easy option. Be prepared to work hard and hone your skills through lots of ongoing training, and you might stand a chance. There is much more to being a caterer than just being able to cook; expect to be able to manage a lot of business skills, such as budgeting and accounting, marketing, and customer service.
Food Safety
Before you can even start handling food, you and your staff must be aware of the latest food safety laws for handling and storing food. Many certificates in this area will require updating and refresher training as the laws and guidelines are often regularly updated, and the consequences of getting it wrong are potentially devastating.
Business Management
It doesn’t matter how great your culinary skills are if your business is not profitable, so a good catering service has to make money. A key factor in profitability is being able to anticipate expenditure and budget well.
Plan ahead for things like depreciation and kitchen duct cleaning in Manchester, which will not be frequent but should be accounted for annually. Consider ordering food, organising schedules and managing any employees.
Leadership
If you employ staff, you’ll need to go beyond managing them and lead them. You might need to show direction to your staff, such as outlining when to arrange kitchen duct cleaning in Manchester by Enviro-group.eu or other similar specialists.
Cooking
Of course, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the decor is or how polite your front-of-house staff are; if the food is not good, your business will not succeed. Basic skills in cooking are an absolute minimum. You will also need to understand how to use substitute ingredients and how to cook in bulk.
Customers love attention to detail, whether it’s the finishing touches on their plate or the ambience and decor around the room, so be sure to spend some time thinking about it.
Restaurant Schools goes into more detail about what it takes to succeed in the hospitality industry, and the Catering Institute outlines some qualities you’ll need to go into a leadership role in the industry.
Ultimately, your motivation will be crucial. To succeed as a caterer, you’ll need to be proactive and unfailingly enthusiastic.
