Unit 3: The Catering Service Industry

Topic: Catering Service

Concept Digest (Discussion)

Hospitality is probably the most diverse but specialized

industry in the world. It is certainly one of the largest,
employing millions of people in a bewildering array of jobs
around the globe. Sectors range from the glamorous five-star
resort to the less fashionable, but arguably more
specialized, institutional areas such as hospitals,
industrial outfits, schools and colleges. Yet of these many
different sectors, catering has to be the most challenging.
Whatever the size of the catering operation, the variety of
opportunities available is endless. "The sky is the limit
with catering". Catering is the business of providing food
service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public
house (pub), or other location. Catering has evolved to
become an artisanal affair. Caterers now create an
experience that involves the senses.

Types of Catering

There are two main types of catering namely; on-premises and

off-premises catering that may be a concern to a large and
small caterer. On-premise catering for any function-banquet,
reception, or event-that is held on the physical premises of
the establishment or facility that is organizing /
sponsoring the function.

On-premise catering differs from off- premise catering,

hereby the function takes place in a remote location, such
as a client's home, a park, an art gallery, or even a
parking lot, and the staff, food, and décor must be
transported to that location. All of the required functions
and services that the caterers execute are done exclusively
at their own facility. For instance, any service or food
outside the facility. Many caterers within a hotel or
banquet hall will prepare and cater all of the requirements
without taking restaurants have specialized rooms on-premise
io cater to the private-party niche. A restaurant may have a
layout strategically designed with three separate dining
rooms attached to a centralized commercial food production
kitchen. These separate dining rooms are available at the
same time to support the restaurant's operation and for
reservation and overflow seating. In addition, any of the
three dining rooms may be contracted out for private-event
celebrations and may require their own specialized service
and menu options. Other examples of on-premise catering
include hospital catering, school, university/ college
catering.

Off-premise catering often involves producing food at a

central kitchen, with delivery to and service provided at
the client's location. Part or all of the production of food
may be executed or finished at the location of the event.
Off-premise catering is serving food at a location away from
the caterer's food production facility. One example of a
food production facility is a free-standing commissary,
which is a kitchen facility used exclusively for the
preparation of foods to be served at other locations. Other
examples of production facilities include, but are not
limited to hotel, restaurant, and club kitchens. In most
cases there is no existing kitchen facility at the location
where the food is served. Caterers provide single-event food
service, but not all caterers are created equal.

They generally fall into one of three categories: Party Food

Caterers supply only the food for an event. They drop off
cold foods and leave any last-minute preparation, plus
service and cleanup, to others. Hot Buffet Caterers provide
hot foods that are delivered from their commissaries in
insulated containers. They sometimes provide serving
personnel at an additional charge. Full-Service Caterers not
only provide food, but frequently cook it to order on-site.
They also provide service personnel at the event, plus all
the necessary food-related equipment- china, glassware,
flatware, cutleries, tables and chairs, tents, and so forth.
They can arrange for other services, like décor and music,
as well. In short, a full-service caterer can plan and
execute an entire event, not just the food for it.

Classification of Catering

Catering can also be classified as social catering and

corporate (or business) catering.

Social catering includes such events as weddings, bar and

mitzwahs, high school reunions, birthday parties, and
charity events.

Business catering includes such events as association

conventions and meetings, civic meetings, corporate sales or
stockholder meetings, recognition banquets, product
launches, educational training sessions, seller-buyer meets,
service awards banquets, and entertaining in hospitality
suites.

Catering is becoming a fast evolving business today. The

scope of the service expands and unlike before it is not
only limited to food preparation, presentation and staffing.
Catering is provided to people having a preference for high
quality food services for any types of occasions, festivals,
parties, informal get-togethers, and corporate or other
functions.

Many event organizers hire professional caterers to get

reliable catering services, save time and avoid problems. It
is crucial to use excellent catering services for events to
be successful. However, finding the most suitable catering
company to meet a particular requirement is a great
challenge. It is through conducting research by which one
can find the best catering services according to their needs
and budget.
Some catering services are provided for special types of
events, while others are offer a wider range of services in
order to ensure that every requirement is served
accordingly. These concerns provide a larger area of
business opportunities to caterers and a bigger challenge as
well.

The following are some of the most common catering services

provided in the industry.

1. Mobile Catering Services - refers to catering that uses

a mobile van in order to render services to specific
locations carrying with them the necessary food and
equipment. This catering can be used at fairs, meals-to-
go, festivals and others functions as well. Mobile
catering usually requires low set-up costs due to its
being small scale in nature.

2. Take Home Orders – this type of catering service

involves delivery of the food to the customer. Ideally,
you can stock the ready-made food meals in the freezer
and reheat them when an order is received. This catering
may also provide party platters for any food choice
combinations such as meals, finger food and other small
menus. Customers may be given an option regarding the
portion sizes of their orders. The market for take home
orders is to cater to groups of people during holidays,
parties or gatherings in which the food can be readily
available for them.

3. Door to Door Catering Services - this type of catering

service is that the caterer supplies outstanding
combinations of food according to the menu choices along
with personal service delivered at your door for you and
your guests to enjoy. The customer may also opt just to
have a drop-off service where the caterer will supply
the food, but the customers will do their own serving.
The heating equipment can be rented.

4. Special Events Catering - this type of catering includes

all the services required for the events. This means the
caterer will take care of the food presentation that
highlights a spectacular food menu. Special events
catering may also involve doing the essential aspects of
the event such as planning, venue decorations and other
related event arrangements.

5. Business Catering Services - deals with the offering of

food menus for business meetings, training sessions and
other business functions. This type of catering has high
demand and consistent catering opportunities. It is
important for caterers serving this type of event to
prepare popular dishes that the guests and attendees
will enjoy.
6. Industrial Catering Service – generally involves serving
food to larger group of people such as airlines,
schools, hospitals and other institutions. Most
industrial caterers enter into agreement for semi-annual
or annual contracts. These agreements provide a long-
term and stable catering business. Actual serving of
food may not be required to industrial caterers because
serving is usually done locally.

The various types of catering services are essentially

helpful to serve the requirements of different events and
make them successful and truly special. Professional
caterers take full responsibility for serving excellent food
that are safe for consumption by their customers.

Reference:

Bajao, G. et.al (2019) Catering Management. Wiseman’s Books

Trading Inc. Quezon City, Philippines