Start & Run a Catering Business. George Erdosh

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СКАЧАТЬ you mention it and give your client a discount on the invoice? The decision is yours. I would be tempted to not say a word about it to anyone and serve the second-rate pies, feeling red-faced and guilty. Chances are, no one will mention the pies, provided the rest of the dinner is excellent. Should your client tell you later that he or she was a little disappointed in your lemon cloud pie, admit your guilt and apologize. Deduct enough from the invoice to provide consolation and promise to send your client two genuine lemon cloud pies.

      It is a little scary to be in a profession where you are in the limelight, where everything must go smoothly and there is so much chance for errors to happen. Accept it, learn to live with it, even learn to love it. Eventually, solving the problems and crises will come naturally, and you’ll have plenty of anecdotes to share with trusted friends and family.

      1.6 The artistic touch

      Food presentation is extremely important in many catering businesses, especially for high-end, upscale catering. For fundraising projects with minimum budgets, there is less emphasis on presentation. High-class presentation takes time and money, and you can only afford to do it if someone is willing to pay for it. That doesn’t mean that the low-end caterer can get away with dumping food on disposable aluminum platters. Food can be presented nicely with minimal effort and cost, small additional garnishes, and a touch of artistic presentation.

      Demand for high-quality food presentation is higher in affluent, sophisticated areas of the country. In some places, and especially for some clients, presentation is so important that they neglect the food quality. As long as it is beautiful, elegant, and artistic, you can serve sawdust on arugula leaves with squash blossoms, drizzled with motor oil.

      In some circles artistic presentation of food has gone too far, especially in the trendiest areas of California. The kitchen and chef put more emphasis on presentation than flavor. Mercifully, the trend appears to be fading. Presentation and flavor should be balanced, but flavor shouldn’t suffer because of presentation. I would rather see a few simple but carefully placed garnishes on a plate to complement a delicious entrée than the time-consuming creation of a food stylist.

      1.6a Keep it simple

      Even if you are not artistically inclined, you can learn the art of simple and tasteful garnishing. There are many books on garnishes, and you should have at least a couple on your shelf. Read them, pick out a few ideas that appeal to you, and practice using them. Depending on your dexterity, you can try more elaborate garnishes.

      A prepared garnish, such as a simple radish rose or scallion flower, takes time. You have to weigh this time spent against the importance of the event and the budget. If you feel the time spent is justified, then do it. But keep it as simple as possible. When the food arrives at the table, it is the entrée that guests’ eyes should be focused on and only then should they wander to the side dish and the garnish. If the garnish is too elaborate, that is what guests see first. You don’t want the guests to be so dazzled by small details that they miss the main attraction.

      1.6b Getting ideas

      Glance through recent food magazines and cookbooks and look at food ads and beautiful full-page photos. Check out food websites that have photos that are obviously the work of food stylists. These are all sources of good ideas produced by professional cooks and food stylists. Adapt these ideas to your catering business. Copy them and after a while you’ll be devising your own. Have meals at restaurants in which food presentation is emphasized and learn from what the chef created on the plates. (Keep the receipts; these expenses are legitimate business costs.)

      Look around when you go to the supermarket and see what is interesting in the produce department. Use contrasting textures and colors to complement the food you are serving. For example, if it is a Tex-Mex dinner, a thin slice of round jicama could be the base on top of which you carefully place tiny slices of red and green chilis and a sprig of cilantro. All these garnishes can be prepared ahead of time and carried to the job site, ready to be placed on plates. It takes only ten extra seconds per plate once the food is on it.

      1.6c Decorations and garnishes

      Plate garnish can only be done when the meal is full-service. For self-service, the decoration is on the table and on the serving platters. Magazine pictures will give you ideas, but most decoration in such photos looks artificial, commercial, and cold.

      If you prefer something a little more casual, which looks as though a real person created it, then add your own personal touch. I like to use a variety of fruits and vegetables in different shapes, colors, and sizes scattered around the table, encircling the serving platters.

      A few unusual, eye-catching items are fine, but don’t overdo it. A good supermarket produce department or your local farmers’ market will have all kinds of interesting items, but you need keen eyes to find them. Look for things such as an elephant garlic with its long stem topped with a flower. Or use more common items such as a fresh, shiny Japanese eggplant, or bright red and green chilis.

      Another simple decoration is fresh carrots with the green tops left on. Place them on the table in a loose, wreathlike fashion or create a bouquet in a vase. A bouquet of combined vegetables is simple and effective, not overpowering, and reusable. The next event’s guests will see the vegetables in a different form — on their plates.

      A cream pitcher filled with cherry tomatoes, wine goblets with oil-cured olives, a glass vase with a bouquet of two-foot long vermicelli — all are good examples of attractive focal points on the serving table.

      1.6d Use attractive serving dishes and utensils

      Creativity is required for serving pieces, too. There are only a few points to keep in mind. First, the serving piece must not chemically react with or discolor the food. Take special care when presenting acidic foods such as salads, pickles, or marinated vegetables.

      Second, the serving piece must look appealing. No matter how pretty a porcelain bidet is, or a brass spittoon, they are not suitable containers for a reception table.

      Third, the material must suit the event. Highly polished silver is not commonly used anymore except for very formal, strictly traditional affairs. Anything rustic and exotic is in style: terracotta flowerpots and saucers, rough wood, and antique baskets. Clay, bricks, and stones all add a certain air to your table for informal catering.

      1.6e Collect special props for theme parties

      For theme parties, look for table decorations in secondhand shops, thrift stores, and at flea markets. You may want to start a collection of special props for catering to corporate clients. If you have several law firms, for instance, use a few old leather-bound law books; for health-related organizations, use a small collection of old medicine bottles or antique health books. To decorate the reception table for a construction company, buy small eye-catching toy tractors and bulldozers or some rusty old tools. Your guests will remember that your table didn’t have the same dull, standard look as dozens of other catered parties. It is a good marketing technique and is worth the extra expenditure and personal time.

      1.7 Dealing with clients

      Being a small caterer, you will be dealing with your clients personally most of the time. (If you have a sales and marketing person, he or she may be the first contact with a potential new client.) From that first contact the deal will be determined mainly by your relationship with that client. It will be your СКАЧАТЬ