Category: Catering

Cooking for a large group of people is always challenging. There are so many things to think about in the kitchen as it is, and when you are cooking for a large group of party it takes even more concentration. Here are some tips to make your life easier:

• Prepare in bulk. Get different ingredients ready in one go and use accessories like blenders to help you with chopping and peeling.
• Let people help. You may like to be in charge of your kitchen but if you have a big job on your hands, let people help you out.
• Cook easy, crowd pleasing food. Souffles for 200 might be a bit of a challenge, especially depending on the kitchen you are in. Cook food you can prepare in pans and pots, like pasta dishes and stews.
• Plan. Make sure you know your recipes inside out and have plenty of ingredients ready.

Catering for a wedding can often mean using a marquee for catering. It can be difficult to know what facilities there will be and whether you can get appliances like cookers, heaters and hobs. Here is some advice for catering for a wedding set in a marquee:

• Find out if there are cooking facilities elsewhere. You might be able to cook in a kitchen and then bring the food over to the marquee.
• Hire your own cooking equipment. Portable equipment can be a good investment if you are going to be catering for lots of weddings.
• Bring food pre-prepared and keep it warm. Don’t do any of your cooking on site – make sure everything is ready and can be served up fresh, having prepared it elsewhere.
• Have a BBQ. This way, you won’t need any indoor cooking facilities. Cook meat and vegetarian food on a BBQ and serve it to guests when it is ready.

Christmas is big business in the world of catering. It’s a time known for good food and good drink, when people are willing to spend money to get quality catering for their events. If you are able to provide the right catering options, Christmas can be very profitable for you. Here are some tips:

• Have a wide selection. People can start to get sick of mince pies, turkey and cranberry sauce very quickly. Give them plenty of choice.
• That being said, make sure there are some Christmas classics available. You want people to be in the festive spirit and to enjoy all of the food you have provided.
• Provide plenty of drinks. There should be choices of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Mulled wine is always a good option, as well as celebratory drinks like sparkling wines that are traditionally associated with parties.
• Offer your clients variety. There is nothing worse than going to a Christmas party that doesn’t cater to common dietary requirements. Make sure you have food for vegetarians, Halal food, and food that doesn’t contain nuts for allergy sufferers. You may want to speak to your clients beforehand to get an idea of numbers.
• Serve your food in festive ways. A small addition like a sprig of holly can make all the difference.
• Focus on quality and presentation. Make people feel like they are at a party, and they are more likely to enjoy the food that is served to them. It’s all psychological when it comes to good catering.

Follow these tips to come up with plenty of festive crowd-pleasing dishes. People will really enjoy the fact that your food is both delicious and well presented – you may even get yourself some repeat business for the following year.

People have increasingly specialist diets, and a larger number of people than ever before are now choosing to adopt a vegetarian diet. As a catering professional, you will need to ensure that you can cater for vegetarians effectively.

It’s always sensible to have vegetarian options when you are catering for a large event. There are likely to be people in attendance who follow a vegetarian diet, but there will also be people who would simply appreciate the variety. Some people may also have allergies and intolerances, or may be trying to stay healthy by eating less meat.

If you can, try to get an ideas of how many vegetarians you should cater for. This will save you under or over estimating the numbers. However, this might not always be practical and in these situations, it is better to be safe than sorry. Make sure that vegetarian customers have plenty to eat, or you could face complaints. Give them several different options, and try inventive and interesting ideas out. Risottos and stuffed peppers tend to have been very much overdone in restaurants – come up with interesting and unique curries, halloumi or goats cheese-based dishes, and inventive takes on classics to give vegetarian diners choice.

Everyone has their favourite dishes which become staples of their catering repertoire. Whilst it’s good to have signature dishes that always go down well, you need to remember that you have to be versatile. Never rest on your laurels with catering – it’s a dangerous move.

Remember that when you work in the catering industry, your clients are the most important people. You need to be able to tailor your services to meet with what they want. Therefore, it’s important to keep learning so that you can offer them their first choices.

It’s important to have plenty of choice in order to get business in the first place. If the options you have are too limited, you won’t be able to market your business properly and attract new clients. People will be looking for different types of food and drink which will meet with their own preferences.

Think about new ways to improve and expand on the services you provide on a regular basis. You might want to create links with other businesses who you can work with to offer different services above and beyond what you alone can provide. You might also want to consider taking a course to learn some new skills.

If you are a professional caterer, it might be time to think about the next step in your career. Whether you work for a company or work alone, it’s all about looking for opportunities to expand your influence.

Build up a network of contacts. This will open up new business opportunities for you. For example, there might be hotels which require outside caterers, or wedding venues which require extra support at busy times during the year. Even if nothing comes of it immediately, it will be worthwhile to you in the long run. You might even find that other local businesses are willing to advertise for you on their premises.

Put together a portfolio. It’s important that you can show people what you do and that you have lots of attractive examples on hand. The new contacts which you make will want to see previous work to get an idea of your skills, so make sure that the photographs you use in your portfolio show your work in its best light. It will also help when you have new customers who want to know what you’ll be able to do for them.

Come up with new, innovative ideas which will help you to make a name for yourself. Think about the area in which you live and what would go down well amongst residents and visitors. For example, do you live near a beach or country park where you might be able to sell bespoke picnic baskets? Are there any stately homes or local cafés where you could sell your products? Is there a shortage of places to eat, leaving a gap for you to open your own? Thinking creatively in the catering business will pay off for you.

It’s always tough breaking into any industry and catering is no exception. There will be lots of competition and you can expect to find multiple people applying for any one catering job. However, if you’re passionate and dedicated, it’s a rewarding industry to work in. Here are some tips for getting started:

• Take a course. The easiest way to get into the industry is to have a professional qualification. Many colleges will offer them and it shouldn’t be too difficult to get onto a catering course.
• Get a job in a kitchen. Employers will value candidates who have a knowledge of food and know how to work under pressure. Even if it’s just pot washing, it’s relevant.
• Do some work experience. Nothing is more valuable than direct experience and if you can persuade someone to let you shadow them for a couple of weeks, it will look great on your CV and catering job applications.
• Let you enthusiasm shine! The food industry is one where people are passionate and driven. If you show that you care, you’re far more likely to be successful.
• Cook for friends and relatives at any given opportunity. Practice really does make perfect and you’ll learn to adapt to various situations.
• Keep a portfolio of dishes you make. Present your food prettily and take photos to show what you’re capable of.

If you have an interest in food and fine dining, you may be able to visit your local catering training centre to try the food which is prepared there. Many colleges and other teaching establishments will have restaurants associated with them which are often of a very good quality, and it’s an opportunity to try something different.

Visiting a catering school restaurant can be the ideal way to try great food for very low prices. Don’t expect the food and service to be flawless – you must bear in mind that the chefs and possibly also the serving staff are still in training. However, as they’re learning to work in a professional environment, standards tend to be high and the menus might well be quite adventurous.

If you enjoy trying new food at very low prices and want to help people learn whilst you’re doing so, this can be an excellent idea to try. Get in touch with your local catering training institution or look them up online to see whether they offer a restaurant service which is open to the general public. Menus will probably be fairly small, so it’s best to let them know if you have any dietary requirements when you book.