A little more than 3 weeks ago, I was approached with an opportunity to cater a party for an acquaintance. I was told that it was a going away party for the person’s daughter and that she wanted the party to be memorable. Fully aware that I am towards the end of culinary school, and wanted to get some experience in the catering side of the industry, the customer thought it would be good for both sides. I would be getting the experience I was looking for, and she would be getting a less expensive party than if she had hired a catering company. That was the idea anyway.
Going into this, I wasn’t as concerned about making a lot of money as I was about making a good business contact, and possibly getting some referral business. However, I also wasn’t looking to lose money on the deal. I learned a lot of lessons from this job. All of these will be helpful in the future.
Whether or not I decide to gear my career towards catering or fine dining, the culinary industry gives you a variety of opportunities for supplemental income. Knowing that, I took this job very seriously and tried to be as professional as I knew how.
When the party was first discussed, I asked all the proper questions: When? What? How many people? Kids? Adults? Dietary requirements/restrictions? This was mainly to get an idea of what kind of menu to provide and what kind of cost was going to be involved. Basically, I was given a few specifics (no seafood, no game) and was asked to provide a list of menu choices that the customer could then choose from. That was the easy part.
Next was getting her choices and providing a price. This proved to be a little more difficult. One of the lessons I learned is that you need to set expectations to make sure you have enough time and clarity to get the job completed. And ultimately make the customer happy. My customer is a high powered business woman who is often out of town and difficult to reach. This made things difficult from the get go.
I was asked to provide menu choices that fit a theme of small foods or bite size portions. She really wanted to stay away from the ubiquitous trays of Italian beef and pasta. I devised the menu and waited almost two weeks for approval. I was left with 5 days to shop, prep, and organize. Also, a price had not been agreed upon to that point. Initially, she wanted me to quote her a price. Getting all the food retail and not having standardized recipes for her selections made it increasing difficult to get accurate pricing on all the dishes. I explained my situation and asked if she had a budget in mind. She did not.
So the majority of my time leading up to the party was spent getting the different dishes organized and figuring out what supplies I needed and what needed to travel to the site with me. I was to prepare one antipasto platter, 4 hot appetizers, 3 small entrees, and a dessert. There is a lot of preparation to do with a menu this size, especially when never having done anything like this before.
Some good things to think about: What ingredients can be used in multiple recipes? When converting recipes, figure out how many portions are necessary, keeping in mind the size of the portion. How are you going to transport everything? What extra equipment will you need? How will the dishes be served?
There are so many things to know before doing a job like this. I felt a little unprepared, but in the end it all turned out well. The food was great. The customer was happy. Every job from now on will be a little easier. I will know what mistakes to avoid and what worked well for me. The best way to learn is to get out there and do it. There is no way you will think of everything the first time and I am just that much more prepared for the next time I take on a job like that.
