House 2 House Catering

Blog

  • Visiting a Catering School Restaurant

    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.

  • The Importance of Upselling to Your Catering Customers

    You want to be able to make as much money out of your catering business as you possibly can. One of the easiest ways in which you can do this is by upselling. This will allow you to entice existing customers into spending more money by offering them bigger, better catering options. It will allow you to make a decent profit and it will make the event more interesting for you as you’ll be able to produce more intricate, exciting food options, potentially in larger quantities.

    When you’re designing menus and considering the food and drink which you are going to provide as part of your business, it’s important to be as flexible as you can be. Whilst having set menu options may be easier from an administrative point-of-view, make it clear that these can be customised. This will allow you to sell more products in higher quantities where appropriate.

    It can be particularly easy to upsell at business events, parties and conferences where people are networking and want to impress their clients. It should be fairly simple to persuade business owners or events managers to choose more expensive options or to buy in larger quantities – the last thing they’re going to want is to look like they’ve skimped on food, or have chosen the cheap option.

    You may also want to ensure that you’re able to offer more than just the standard menus in order to give your clients further options. Consider whether you want to offer services and products like bars, lighting, centrepieces, chair covers and table cloths. These are all items which can be used to upsell, and the more aspects of an event you contribute to, the easier it will be to get a good reputation as a caterer.

  • Catering for a Themed Party

    Themed parties should be a spectacle from beginning to end, and that includes the food. If an event has a theme, it has to be done wholeheartedly or it can end up lacking the energy and enthusiasm which it needs to succeed. Everything needs to play its part in the overall concept in order to deliver an event which is as believable, fun and entertaining as possible.

    You’ll need to know in plenty of advance what the theme is going to incorporate so that you can plan the food accordingly. Be as imaginative as you like; guests will appreciate the creativity. Make sure it’s obvious what each dish is meant to be, however, as you don’t want to end up letting the theme down and causing confusion. Cupcakes are always a good option as they can be made into a variety of shapes using all kinds of different colours. If you are labelling your food, you can give it an imaginative name to fit with the theme rather than just describing what it is. For example, if you’re catering for a Halloween party, call your cupcakes ‘spooky sweet treats’.

    Whilst it’s integral to the success of the event for you to embrace the theme, you cannot forget the quality of the food either. This is if anything more important than the theme – your food will always reflect on you as a caterer so ensure that it tastes as good as it looks.

     

  • Catering for a Conference

    If you’re holding a conference, it’s usually a good idea to have a detailed catering schedule in place prior to the event. Conferences are important in portraying yourself and/ or your business in a positive light, so it’s essential to create a good first impression and to make sure that this impressions lasts.

    Make sure that you have catering on offer for when people arrive. This doesn’t have to be complicated – a cup of tea or coffee, juice, water and biscuits will suffice. Just make sure that it’s done well. For example, use good coffee, make sure the biscuits aren’t broken and serve water cold and in jugs. The catering on arrival will break the ice and act as a conversation starter – you don’t want the conversation to be about how cheap the instant coffee tastes!

    Have refreshments available throughout the day. People will be in the best mood if they’re not hungry or thirsty. Again, this doesn’t have to be flamboyant or difficult – just make sure that the there are drinks and snacks so that people can help themselves. You may want to bring in some mid-morning cakes or pastries when you have a break.

    For lunch, make sure that there is plenty of food for everybody. Over-cater if needs be, as it’s better than people going hungry. Traditional buffet food where people can help themselves usually works well. You don’t want to feed your guests enormous stodgy meals which will make them tired for afternoon meetings. You also don’t want to serve anything too messy – the last thing people want is to be dropping their lunch all over their expensive suits. Simple yet well-thought-out finger food will work extremely well.

  • Claiming back costs

    I haven’t been cooking much for myself this week – much to my, and probably your, dismay. The conditions of my employment allow me to claim back food expenditure. Now I am never one to look a gift horse in the mouth; so I have been doing as much as I can to spend as much as I can (within reason) and to try all manner of foods along the way.
    I have been exploring Portobello road which does, in itself, have a massive range of cuisines and catering options. From street foods offering thai, falafel, curries or traditional english pork rolls. There are supermarkets as well (for that cheeky meal deal option if it is too busy elsewhere) but the sheer volume of food and the sheers breadth of cuisine is inspiring to anyone working in the field of catering. Being able to spend someone else’s money on food? Beautiful.

  • Poor weather barbecues

    I spent the last weekend in London doing no small amount of eating, drinking and partying. In the midst of the madness there was a barbecue being conducted by the men of the party (such is the way at these things.) When we kicked it off on Saturday afternoon the weather was ok, we managed a few burgers, some sausages and a couple of steaks. Then the weather took a turn; that is when barbecue etiquette becomes difficult.

     

    The rain started to fall. People had had just enough alcohol, as well, that meat was starting to get left outside on the benches and chairs. People did not seem to care one bit! Alcohol kept flowing and food was starting to get moved inside to the grill but it was too late. One quick rain storm, coupled with a little alcohol, meant the the barbecue was over!

  • Cooking for one

    It is not the most romantic thing in the world, in fact it might be one of the loneliest sounding things one could possibly imagine, but cooking for one (or cooking for yourself to make it sound a little less depressing) is not all that bad actually. It gives you free reign of the kitchen, complete freedom over the dish itself and no one can step in and tell you that you are doing it wrong. In fact, cooking for one might be the best way to possibly prepare food.
    No more will you have anyone tell you the curry you made was “too spicy” for them. The bread you made by hand won’t be “too thick” any more either. Every decision will be yours, every mistake your own and every success will be even greater because of it. Ignore cooking for couples, catering events for your friends and family. Cook for yourself. Be a man.

  • Catering Suppliers: Choosing the one for you

    I have talked a lot on this blog and others about tips and tricks for those of us in the catering business; what kind of events to focus on, what kind of equipment you might need and how to play to your audience and what they might be expecting. I have not, though, talked about it from a consumer point of view. What about those people out there who have a massive event coming up in their lives? The kind of event they want to be remembered by everyone who attends for the rest of their lives. I am talking about weddings, birthdays and anniversaries – those massive days so important to people.

     

    A lot of companies will offer you their services for these treasured days, but you need to think long and hard about who will do your event the justice it deserves. Talk to them, look at their products, talk to people who have used them – there is no substitute for this.

  • The occasional restaurant

    I know I am breaking the catering golden rule here but hear me out. I know we like to prepare, I know we like to cook, I know we like to design layouts and guest lists but it’s always important to see how those fabled, permanent establishments are dealing with the same issues. Restaurants are, in essence, permanent catering locations and offer a lot of lessons for people in catering to learn from. Even when they make mistakes we can take note.

     

    Do you like the way in which customers are laid out? Do you like the menu design? While restaurants don’t often have themed menus like you might cater for your guests, do you like the general split of the menu? Does it offer enough for vegetarians? If not what would you offer differently? It is always worth visiting these establishments to learn from people; both their successes and mistakes.