The Professional Caterer's Handbook: How to Open and Operate a Financially Successful Catering Business (with CD-ROM)
Lora Arduser
Language: English
Pages: 624
ISBN: 0910627606
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Do you need a comprehensive book on how to plan, start and operate a successful catering operation? This is it--an extensive, detailed manual that shows you step by step how to set up, operate and manage a financially successful catering business. No component is left out of this encyclopedic new book explaining the risky but potentially highly rewarding business of catering.
Whether your catering operation is on-premise, off-premise, mobile, inside a hotel, part of a restaurant, or from your own home kitchen you will find this book very useful. You will learn the fundamentals: profitable menu planning, successful kitchen management, equipment layout and planning, and food safety and HACCP.
The employee and management chapters deal with how to hire and keep a qualified professional staff, manage and train employees, and report tips properly in accordance with the latest IRS requirements. The financial chapters focus on basic cost-control systems, accounting and bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting and profit planning. You'll also master public relations and publicity, learn low-cost internal marketing ideas, and discover low-and no-cost ways to satisfy customers.
One section of the book is devoted to home-based catering entrepreneurs. With low startup costs and overhead, a home-based catering business can be an ideal do-it-yourself part-or full-time business. Another section is for restaurateurs that wish to add catering to their restaurant operation.
A successful restaurant's bottom line could be greatly enhanced by instituting catering functions in slow hours or down time. For example, many restaurants are closed on Saturday afternoons, so this would be an ideal time to create a profit by catering a wedding. This book is also ideal for professionals in the catering industries, as well as newcomers who may be looking for answers to cost containment and training issues. There are literally hundreds of innovative ways demonstrated to streamline. The companion CD-ROM is included with the print version of this book; however is not available for download with the electronic version. It may be obtained separately by contacting Atlantic Publishing Group at sales@atlantic-pub.com
Atlantic Publishing is a small, independent publishing company based in Ocala, Florida. Founded over twenty years ago in the company president’s garage, Atlantic Publishing has grown to become a renowned resource for non-fiction books. Today, over 450 titles are in print covering subjects such as small business, healthy living, management, finance, careers, and real estate. Atlantic Publishing prides itself on producing award winning, high-quality manuals that give readers up-to-date, pertinent information, real-world examples, and case studies with expert advice. Every book has resources, contact information, and web sites of the products or companies discussed.
www.business.gov, for example, offers resources such as: • A business resource library • The Small Business Administration’s startup advisor • Online counseling • Information on financial resources • Links to laws that affect various industries • Business.gov, an online resource guide with legal and regulatory information for small businesses Other federal Web sites that have information you might find useful: Chapter 2 – Getting Started 101 – The Small Business Administration’s
particular product. In the case of catering, what you 114 The Professional Caterer’s Handbook are most worried about is the safety of the food you serve. Accidents happen: What if a customer finds a foreign object in his food? He might choose to sue you for damages. And product liability issues surface all the time: At the bride’s request you serve cake at a wedding that was prepared by her best friend, in her home kitchen. There are no licenses and no permit from the board of health—what if
fax 212-807-1799. Their Web site is www.aiga.org. Also look at www.sologig.com and www.elance.com for freelancers. DESIGN FACTORS If you are designing your own business card or brochures, be sure to keep the following design principles in mind: Chapter 4 – Traditional Marketing 161 • Alignment • Repetition • Contrast • Proximity Alignment communicates connection between the elements of your design. When designing a business card or brochure (or any other promotional piece), think about
already cooked and just dropped off. We are a small company so we can alter our menus as well as our serv ice to fit each event. Our business is specialized, and we aim to cook for those who want true BBQ and not just any warmed meats. One hour before dinner we take the meat off the smoker and chop it fresh in front of the guest the old-fashioned way. People are always welcome to help “Mop the Hog” during the cooking process; kids love it! 180 The Professional Caterer’s Handbook 6 Public
over on-premise catering as well. The experience can be more exciting and rewarding, especially if you’re the type of caterer who enjoys the challenge of working in unusual and unique locations and dealing with new people who you’ll probably never meet again. One interesting specialization of off-premise catering is called Mobile Catering. This is where a caterer specializes in feeding a basic menu to a large group of people, such as forest firefighters, disaster relief workers, constructionsite