Start & Run a Catering Business. George Erdosh
Читать онлайн книгу.
goes wrong. Some catering tricks you’ll learn along the way will help alleviate the last-minute rush and tension. Maybe what you’ll learn is how to deal with the pressure.
1.4 Pressure: If you can’t stand the heat
To be a caterer, you must be able to live with and work under pressure and not show it. Outwardly you must be cool, smiling, apparently doing your work with ease, without rushing. Inwardly you may have five different things to worry about (e.g., the guest who is back at the buffet table to pile another ten shrimps on his plate when you allowed two-and-a-half per person; whether the Sterno under the chafing dishes is going to hold out; and countless other potential minor disasters). Nothing is predictable during an event. The guests at each one are completely different: They prefer different food, eat different portions, and interact with you and your staff completely differently.
When it is obvious that the guests like your food and ooh and ah at the elegant presentation, then you can relax and quit worrying. Once the guests and host or hostess are pleased, they will overlook slight problems, such as a missing punch ladle. If they are not pleased from the beginning, however, even small errors will seem like gross negligence and there will be no forgiveness.
1.5 Crisis management and problem solving
Off-premise catering, no matter how well planned and organized, is bound to have unexpected problems. Occasionally, problems reach crisis proportions. When so much equipment, food, drinks, staff, and peripheral items must be transported and set up for a complex event, problems will crop up from time to time. In the best scenario, your event is flawless as far as the client is concerned, though you and your staff know of the little bumps that you successfully overcame.
Just think of the numerous little things that must be on hand for you to prepare an elegant meal for 35 guests at home. Then think of the further complications when a similar meal must be served for 135 at an unfamiliar location. Then add the complication of another crew in your kitchen preparing a reception for 50 at the same time. Everything that goes into the refrigerator is carefully labeled according to which event it belongs to. When loading, you must be really careful that you don’t accidentally take the other crew’s ingredients or equipment. No matter how much care is taken, there is a possibility that some things could end up in the wrong vehicle.
Other problems occur at the event site. No matter how carefully you discuss every detail with the client, expect surprises. One of the things you must learn is not to despair or panic, but quickly find a way out of it, preferably before your client notices and, if at all possible, before the guests notice. Some problems can be solved with the help of the host or hostess. If an important piece of equipment or tool or ingredient was left behind, he or she may have something you can use. But usually you are better off solving it yourself without consulting the client, even if it means a quick trip to the store.
To successfully solve problems, you must expect them to happen. Remain cool and rational. Talk with your staff. Someone might come up with a good idea. For some problems there is no easy solution. If you left your ice in the freezer back in your kitchen, check your client’s freezer to see if he or she has enough to last while you send someone for more ice. If all else fails and you must delay the bar setup, explain the situation to your client with apologies and make the delay as short as possible.
Crises are more difficult to solve, but they should be expected occasionally, too. On your way to the event, someone pulls in front of you and you have no choice but to hit the brakes hard (something you should never do in a catering truck!) and four lemon cloud pies scoot at high speed against the lip of the shelf. They are now misshapen and can only be served to your staff, their families, and yours. There is no time to get a comparable pie from the local French patisserie; your only option is to stop at a nearby supermarket and buy their flavorless, over-sweetened pies with artificial topping. It is that or serve no dessert.
Should 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