5 Great Tips for a Successful Catering Event

With staff to manage, food to cook and a new environment to work in; catering is a challenging and exciting industry to be a part of.

Here are some tips to make sure your next catering event goes off without a hitch.

 Image © Can Stock Photo / vinnstock

Plan, Prepare and Plan Some More 

When you acquire a new booking, ask your client about the venue and the cooking space. Visit the venue if you have time to get familiar with what you have to work with on the day.

If you have time to do this, it can give you notice you may need to overcome any challenges, such as a small kitchen, or a long distance to the dinner tables.

A well thought out plan, with a detailed checklist is key for the success of any event. This will ensure you’ve packed everything you need and prepped the food you need to prep.

Have Transferable Equipment

Ensure your equipment is ready to take to any event and can withstand several types of working conditions.

Whether you’re cooking in a hotel kitchen, private dwelling or makeshift kitchen on the move, such as in a marquee.

Make sure any kitchen furniture you need to take with you is easy and safe to move around. If you don’t want to restructure your whole kitchen or buy brand new equipment, revamp your existing with simple accessories.

Add Tente wheel castors to shelving and storage units to help save on moving time.

Stick to a Budget

In order to have a successful event, you’ll need to make a profit. The only way to do this is to make a budget.

Factor in how much you’re going to charge for your service. Add up the amount you need for the ingredients, cleaning equipment and staff wages to make sure you’re in the black.

When factoring in the ingredients, make sure you overestimate for the number of required guests. This will give you space to account for mistakes.

As well as your finances, do budget your time as well. Make sure you give yourself more than enough time to prepare and prep. Rushing can cause mistakes that could negatively impact your event.

Adhere to Health and Safety Regulations

When it comes to cooking, good hygiene and safety should be a high priority. Even if you’re cooking in an unfamiliar environment, it’s still your responsibility to stick to health and safety guidelines.

Make sure all your stock is in date and kept in suitable storage conditions.

Perform regular PAT tests (portable appliance test) on your electronic equipment and clean down all cooking equipment before and after you use it.

Make sure your kitchen staff are well looked after with appropriate uniforms.

Get Creative

Remember that cooking is your passion, this is what you invested your time and money in. It would all be wasted if you didn't enjoy it.

Put your heart and soul into your menu, but do make sure you meet the requirements of your client, as well as any dietary essentials.

As well as tasting delicious, each dish will need to be presented well with a flare of passion.

If your food is presented nicely and you have a confident, upbeat and positive attitude, you’ll create a better event. You may even get future customers from your demeanour alone.

Disclosure: I believe this article is something my readers will be interested in. I did not receive any payment for publishing this article.