Catering Business

Kosher Catering for a Jewish Wedding

Brief Description: Whether you are a trained chef or just have a few good recipes for pastries or other dishes you can become a catering business with a little help.

This business is easily customized to fit a chef’s forte. Usually a person who can make a few good dishes can learn others by learning and trying out recipes. The main ingredient for this line of work is business acumen and love of good food. Chefs take special pride in their dishes and love when others enjoy them as well, this characteristic coupled with hard and smart work will take you to success in the catering business. There are lots of restaurant and catering businesses out there but people remember only the few that have that extra special quality in food and service.

Start-up Costs: The start-up costs for a catering business will depend on what you put in your kitchen and can range from a few hundred (when you work from your own kitchen) to five figures (when you outfit a professional kitchen). Many caterers do the food preparation on-site, either using their own facilities or equipment provided by the clients. However, you would still need to do certain preparation-work in your own kitchen facilities (e.g. pre-slicing and dicing vegetables, etc.)

Many catering businesses fly under the radar of their local jurisdiction but it is unwise to take shortcuts and operate without the necessary permit of the local state or country. Do not let stiff fines be part of your start-up cost, get whatever health certificate you need to use before you begin. In addition to a bare-bones catering business where the owner might take New York cabs to deliver her food, others might operate in a different climate and could consider a food delivery service for business parks. A specialized food delivery truck would be a considerable investment, but renting/leasing them is also an option.

License Requirement: As with any business a business license is mandatory in most, if not all jurisdiction. Food handling and serving will also require inspections and regular checks by the health department of your jurisdiction. Find out the required license to operate a catering business in your operating area.

Education: Many caterers operate their business after rigorous culinary arts training but this is not mandatory. Take the necessary training that will give you the needed confidence level to offer and sell your service and leave the other training out. Many people have handed down recipes from grandma that everybody loves and this is also a great confidence booster. Self-knowledge is essential, a good mentor and a friend whose advice you cherish is also a great substitute for formal training.

Consider working for an established catering business before you embark starting your own if you are not familiar with the ins and outs of this business.

Environment/Catering Set-up: Catering businesses can vary a great deal in their scope and types of events they serve food for. Some will cater for special events like weddings or funerals; others cater only for business clients. The easiest way to enter into this business is by determining your strength in food and custom fit your clients to what you do best.

Whether you offer standard fares in food or ethnic variety will also set your course of business and marketing.

Details: The demand for catering has increased through the years. According to the National Restaurant Association’s2008 Restaurant Industry Forecast shows that social caterers are one of the fastest-growing segments of the restaurant industry, with sales expected to reach $6.4 billion in sales.

A catering business is perhaps the few of the many where you will need to look for help. As soon as your business would start rolling you will soon realize that you cannot do it all by yourself. Hire people as needed, usually for part time. Make sure that well guarded family recipes are not distributed to everybody but be courteous and generous to your employees, they are your assets.

When your business grows, you will find yourself in need for more and more catering equipment. You can buy from other caterers going out of business and it is usually cheaper. Depending on the kind of service you embark on, the equipment you’d need could include dishes, linens, serving pieces, or even something as large as a catering truck.

A good source of catering and restaurant equipment is http://www.mayfix.com/

Additional Resources:
Associations:
• International Caterers Association (ICA), 91 Timberlane Drive Williamsville, NY 14221, tel: 877.422.4221 fax: 888.210.4634
• National Association of Catering Executives, 2500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 603, Los Angeles, CA 90057 (213) 487-6223
• National Restaurant Association , 311 1st St., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 1-800-424-5156
Books:
• How to Manage a Successful Catering Business, 2nd Edition by Manfred Ketterer
• Start Your Own Catering Business (Start Your Own) by Kathleen Deming (Editor)
• How to Run a Catering Business from Home by Christopher Egerton-Thomas