Introduction
Though formerly considered a preserve of the wealthy, private catering is now becoming an essential service that is employed by institutions like hospitals and schools, events like birthdays and anniversaries, and office parties. Any event planner should invest in excellent catering as it has an influence on the experience and satisfaction of guests (Accorsi et al., 2014). Catered events have gained a reputation for serving low standard and unappetizing food. This not only pleases the host, but also builds the caterer’s reputation. Catering can be done on or off-premise, with the first option having food bring prepared at the venue, while the second has food prepared at the caterers’ premises and delivered to the venue (Baker et al., 2015). Both options have their strengths and shortcomings. The complexities of these options are discussed in this report.
Menus, especially for corporate events and meetings, tend to contain the same food items for which reason the dining experience is rarely exciting. Dissatisfaction can arise from the fact that as many famous chefs have stated, before people consume their food, they eat with their eyes and noses. Food not only has to taste nice but also must be well planned out and presented (Dwilson, n.d.). This is usually due to inadequate planning by the caterers, and their failure to take into consideration the demographic, which they are serving. These issues can be ironed out when proper planning is done.
The scenarios this research will focus on are A and D.
Catering can be done for events with as few as 100 attendees and lasting two hours and as many as thousands of attendees for events spanning more than three days.
Research Objectives
The main objectives of this report are:
- To find out how to plan a menu that pleases the client and all guests.
- How to maintain a convenient communication channel with the client
- To find out how to price services such that all the client’s desires are fulfilled and the caterer makes a profit.
- How to minimize an event’s costs and impact to the environment
Findings and analysis
Situation A (on premise)
This is a winter wedding with 120 expected guests, 10 children, a bridal party of 12, the celebrant and the couple, which is in its 40s. There are five dietary restrictions. Catering begins at 5pm with canapes and champagne. The 6pm dinner is three courses with a la carte service, and speeches in between. The cake is cut at 8, and guests should have left at midnight.
Ordering lead-time and delivery charges
The menu decided upon should be selected from what can be locally available and in season, so that delivery is made easier and has a smaller carbon footprint. Ordering locally not only makes delivery easier, but it also ensures that the vegetables and meats delivered shall be fresh (Dwilson, n.d.). Before a menu is agreed on, the caterer should visit local grocery stores to find out how much they charge for meals. Ordering foods that must be imported is an added expense. Ordering in season food also increases the chances that they shall be available whenever they are ordered. The available menus are presented to the client on time so that they can select a menu and service.
Purchasing considerations and inventory control
You can use software and apps to keep inventory so that they are well arranged and easy to retrieve. Purchases should be as affordable as possible, and therefore vendors stocking the most affordable and quality products should be found. By choosing to have a menu containing locally available foods, the need for booking too early is removed, and the foods should be bought when they are needed (Gunawan, Shieh, & Pei, 2015). When possible, fresh foods should be bought as they contain all the nutrients. Other supplies like napkins should be enough for the guests invited, and excess should be bought in case of emergencies.
All purchases are weighed and recorded, and this data is noted in case of inadequate or surplus purchases. Inventory can be assisted by using bar code scanners.
Portion control, yield factors, and impacts on profitability
Portions for minors should be half the size of adults’. For plated service, the standard serving sizes should be applied, such as four ounces of meat for grownups, and so on. The goal is to ensure that each person has enough food with no wastage occurring (Gunawan, Shieh, & Pei, 2015). When correct amounts of food are almost exact it saves the caterer money and reduces the waste that shall be produced. Waste disposal money shall be saved by the caterer thus enhancing profitability.
Staffing, front facing and interdepartmental relationship
The number of staff shall be determined by the number of tables, which one reason why the caterer and the wedding planner should constantly communicate. Staff selected for this catering event shall get educated in the recycling policy of the business, and they should be trained in readiness for the event. They should be available for the hours in which the event is happening, for example in the wedding, the staff shall be expected to be on site at least an hour after the event ends past 9PM (Joye, 2011). The different responsibilities should be divided among the selected staff, and a supervisor should be selected such as for the kitchen and the service. Regular meetings should be held to ensure synchrony of events on every front. Since it is usually difficult to coordinate the staff during service time, the planning must be flawless.
Food safety analysis
Protective clothing should be worn by all people handling food. Before any of the food is cooked, it must be clean. The surfaces and equipment that shall be used should be cleaned thoroughly prior to cooking. Hand washing stations should be present for both the staff and the guests. Anyone who leaves the cooking station should be must wash their hands when they come back.
Process flow of dynamics for your chosen scenarios
Disorganization can cause a catering event to be a failure. Every step of the serving and eating process must be anticipated and planned for by the caterer. Services provided by a caterer are not only limited to food, and they include entertainment, tents, chairs, tables, flowers, and possible special equipment that might be required (Lamine & Noe, 2017). The serving style, presentation of food, garnishes, and traffic flow of food should be planned.
One of the scenarios in consideration here is a wedding whose attendees are likely to be mature judging from the ages of the wedding couple. This wedding shall have a maximum of 153 people to feed included the invitees, the twelve-person bridal party, ten children, the celebrant and the couple. Catering for a wedding includes the inevitable cake, but the demographic here must be studied keenly for menu selection and entertainment options for the waiting period when the bridal party leaves for the photo-shoot (Lamine & Noe, 2017). When selecting a menu, it is important to consider the financial situation of the clients. For this challenge, the venue is to be chosen by the caterer. The venue chosen must ensure that all guests are comfortable and can freely move. If the room is small, it should be arranged in such a manner that prevents people from needing to go past others to make an exit. Especially at a time when a communicable respiratory illness is a major concern, space at the selected venue must be sufficient.
The menu selected is intended to have two choices for each of the three courses. Got the entree, the two choices should ensure that vegans and meat lovers are both pleased with the meals they are served. The salad choices should contain vinegar for health-conscious guests, and high-quality oils for the rest. Two dessert choices will also cater for the health-conscious guest and the lovers of sweets (Mavrommatis et al., 2011). The details on the five dietary restrictions on this guest lists should be gotten and prepared for. The small number of these individuals means it is possible to cater to each of their needs in person. Dietary restrictions include gluten and lactose intolerances, nut allergies, religious requirements such as the halal diet, and voluntary dietary restrictions like vegan and vegetarian diets. Depending on the theme decided upon by the couple, ethnic foods can be included in the menu to match the theme. For this event, where older attendees are expected, a mild menu might be preferred (McDaniel, 2018). Since the food is to be prepared on site, it is possible to include foods, which should be cooked in a short time such as seafood, which are also more health conscious. The children who are part of the bridal party can share the adult menu but with different serving sizes.
There should always be a contingency plan for on premise catering, as there might be shortages of utensils, fuel, and spices.
Pricing methods
The charges for your services should be competitive and you should negotiate reasonable deals. It is also important to find out what other caterers are charging for their services. Pricing for the catering event should depend on the number of guests, type of food and service to be offered, the cost of food, cost of supplies, and bar costs, plus a service charge due to the catering staff. Prices of food depend on the food and service choices made by the client. A supplier is found, one who falls within the client’s budget (Mikkola, 2009). This will be easier in this case because individual serving sizes are easier to determine for a set meal than a buffet. The food bill should amount to a maximum of 30% of the caterer’s total price. For the wedding scenario, it is noted that the caterer not only has to provide three courses and champagne, but also tea and coffee after the cake is cut. If the client has not ordered the cake from a separate baker, it shall also be part of the price.
Supplies in catering include disposable and non-disposable napkins, chairs, glassware, utensils, and equipment. In the cases selected for this report, silverware and reusable utensils shall be used and the attendees are not a very huge number, so the caterer may already have at hand the cutlery required for the service (Mikkola, 2009). A fee for these must be included, however, for insurance in case some of them break in the process of service. This is almost like a rental fee for the cutlery, as shall be paid for chairs, tens, and the like.
For beverages, pricing can most efficiently be estimated at one drink an hour per attendee at a set price per drink, and the preferred drink for the demographic or as requested by the client. For the wedding, where there are minors, non-alcoholic drinks must be provided. In the calculation of food per person, it is noted that children will consume half as much as adults (Monalysscat, 2019). For the wedding, drinks have been limited to champagne, and the price quoted should estimate how many people can be served with a single bottle of champagne based on how many drinks each person is expected to consume.
A service charge includes labor costs. A gratuity fee is included here, because tipping is the servers are not a common practice at events like weddings or private lunches, for example. This charge also should cover coordination and administration charges including equipment to keep the food in the correct state, fuel for the vehicle, and insurance. Too many charges, however, might convince the client of overcharging. For this reason, it is wise to condense individual charges such that they are described in blanket terms.
Waste management and sustainability
Food waste is a big problem in the hospitality industry. You should be able to plan strategies that avoid or lessen food wastage thus reducing costs and keeping the environment clean (Nagornyy, 2020). This can be done by finding a program that calculates accurate quantities of food, having good storage facilities and having a higher volume of small plates.
Reduction of food wastes should be one of the objectives in a catering process. Even as the catering objective is achieved, care should be taken to minimize the carbon footprint. The three-course menu created can simultaneously impresses the guests and contains locally sourced and in season vegetables to reduce transportation costs (Wahlen, Heiskanen, & Aalto, 2012). Data from prior experiences and events should be used to determine amounts of food to be bought to ensure enough, not excess, food. This will mean less food waste that is easier to dispose off.
On-premise catering makes it easy for reusable utensils to be used instead of disposable plastic or foam plates. Installing hydration centers where guests can get their water instead of providing bottled water which is single use will reduce waste generated (Wahlen, Heiskanen, & Aalto, 2012).
Since this is a seated event, which uses silverware, no waste shall come from this sector. Since food is made on site, it is possible to get last minute information on all the invited guests who have confirmed their attendance so that exact amounts can be prepared (Shieh, 2014). Wasted food that is disposed of releases methane as it decomposes, which is a greenhouse gas twenty times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat within the earth’s atmosphere. Instead of throwing away unconsumed food, it should be donated to needy people with permission from the client.
Transportation
Transportation of raw food, while easier than that of cooked food has its challenges. The way they are stored before being transported should ensure the freshness of the foods, and their structural integrity for items like fruits and vegetables. The vehicle should contain cooling technology, so the food remains fresh. Dry goods, like spices, are easier to transport.
Situation D (off-premise)
A three-course Dilmah tea inspired lunch at Wellington’s waterfront with win and a performance by Tami Neilson. Each ticket includes a goodie bag. It starts at 12 and ends at 3pm.
Ordering lead-time and delivery charges
Food should be bought the day before and stored appropriately at a place where they can be retrieved so that preparation begins on time. This menu might contain foods not I season, so their availability should be investigated in advance and orders made accordingly. Locally available products do not have to be ordered in advance.
Purchasing considerations and inventory control
Food should be bought as affordably as possible. Purchasing should be in measurable quantities and at places with a scannable bar code so that this data can be recorded. If more or less items than was bought is used, this should also be recorded. Software can be used to track this information. Receipts should also be kept.
Portion control, yield factors, and impacts on profitability
The menu has already been chosen, so potion sizes for the regular adult should be calculated according to the foods to be prepared. Profitability for the caterer is enhanced when nearly exact amounts of food are prepared.
Staffing, front facing and interdepartmental relationship
One major problem is the number of people to hire for staff and shortage of staff. This shall be determined by how the guests are organized. The caterer should consult with the organizer to find out how many people shall be seated per table so that they may know how many servers to station per table. Staff includes servers and cooks who the caterer is already expected to have employed. For this reason, they should be trained, as lack of training or experience is a big problem in the catering industry (Nagornyy, 2020).
Many employees are needed for an event to carry out different activities, and they should be paid reasonably, for their services so that they can be relied on to are present on the days when they are needed.
Food safety analysis
Food hygiene while handling should be defined. During cooking, all people handling food should be sanitary and wash their hands. All cooking equipment and cutting surface should be clean. The vehicle in which the food is transported should be sanitized and have the appropriate conditions to maintain the food at temperatures where bacteria do not grow.
Process flow of dynamics for your chosen scenarios
For this lunch that is planned to last three hours, a good choice for service would be sit-down and plated, allowing two hours for the meal to be served and an hour for cocktails and mingling of the invitees (Mealey, 2020). Due to this time, and the fact that the catering ordered is off-premise, the menu selected should have food options whose integrity is not damaged over time.
The venue for the lunch should be arranged such that there is enough space on the table for the various cutlery and notepads if it is a corporate lunch. The order should also be printed out so that it guides not only the invited guests, but also the movements of the catering staff as they move to serve the meals.
The venue chosen shall be arranged to fit all the guests. The same menu is used for everyone because there are no dietary restrictions or children to consider. There are guaranteed breaks as the hired songstress shall be entertaining, and this shall allow the staff to regroup and plan for the next course. 150 guests are to be planned for (Mealey, 2020). Most off-premise catering situations with a time limit of one hour usually employ a buffet serving style but since enough time has been allowed, there plated service.
Pricing methods
As with the wedding scenario, the pricing shall include food, service, extra equipment, cutlery, and other miscellaneous costs. Since the food must be transported to the venue on specialized vehicles, which might have to be hired, this brings about extra costs. The three-course meal means that enough staff members are needed to serve the food at the tables. The prices will obviously not be the same as at a self-service buffet. It is specified that beautiful wines are expected, and this might cost more than regular wines. The caterer should discuss this with the client to specify whether the wines shall come from a different source or if the caterer is expected, is expected to source for the correct wines to complement the agreed-on menu. This information is needed before the overall price is quoted. In outdoor off premise catering, there is a possibility of rain falling, so you may need a tent as a contingency plan (Shieh, 2014).
Waste management and sustainability
Sustainable habits include using reusable cutlery and silverware instead of disposable options like plastic, which would increase waste generated. Because the number of guests is specified, and no specifications have been mentioned, it can be assumed that all are adults who shall consume the average adult serving sizes for every course.
It is expected, however, that the food shall be wrapped in various wrapping foils and films, and these shall need to be disposed of. All of these should be collected in one place so that they can be disposed correctly. Excess food can be stored to be distributed among needy or homeless people.
Transportation
If cooked food is to be transported, it must be maintained in the ideal conditions at which it is consumed. Hot foods are to be kept cold and cold ones cold, and spillages should be avoided. These objectives can be achieved by using insulated coolers, refrigerated vehicles, and portable warming units (Wahlen, Heiskanen, & Aalto, 2012). The reputation for safely prepared and high-quality food, which takes caterers many years to develop, would be jeopardized if poor service caused food poisoning. This would lead to lawsuits and death, and the business might have to close. Utmost care must hereby be taken in food handling procedures. No shortcomings are to be allowed.
Equipment used in off-premise catering aims to maintain food temperatures and ensure food safety. They include food cabinets, hand washing sinks, and smoker ovens.
Conclusion
Responsibilities of a caterer extend beyond just food and encompass the general satisfaction of the guests invited to an event. The choice of caterer depends on, among other things, experience, their operation from a reliable kitchen facility, their insurance and licensing for food service and serving alcoholic beverages, and references. All these must be planned on time and conclusively so that the client gets value for their money and the client builds their reputation. One way in which a caterer secures clients is by references, and a satisfied client shall certainly give positive references. Each planning step should hereby be done conclusively, and communication should be taken seriously.
There is no one recipe for catering. It is important that for each situation a caterer is called upon to serve, they are ready to adjust themselves to fit the specific needs. The method of service and the choice of menu and the way the venue shall be arranged all depend on the client, and the caterer should be prepared to suggest ideas in every possible situation.
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