The Future is Here and A Well-Trained Staff Is More Important Than Ever
Do your guests come to an event that you’re catering to “eat” or “dine”? What’s the difference? Potentially a lot of money in repeat and loyal customers. As people look for ways to balance “safer-at-home” with “get-me-back-to-my-life” and the meetings and events industry is starting to look for ways forward, your clients will be looking […]
WE’RE HERE FOR YOU DURING THESE STRESSFUL TIMES
We have experienced a seismic shift in the way we live, work and play over the past few weeks. The coronavirus pandemic has created a truly unprecedented situation around the world. Our thoughts are with each of you as you wrestle with tough business decisions while caring for your families and employees. There is much […]
How to Pivot into a New Catering Passion
The 2009 movie Julie and Julia toggles between the life of chef and TV personality Julia Child, and writer turned chef blogger Julie Powell. In the film, Powell cooks her way through the monumental cookbook written by Julia, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There is a scene where Julia attends the Cordon Bleu in […]
TOP 2020 CULINARY TRENDS FORECAST
As 2020 approaches, the events industry is preparing to usher in a fresh slate of culinary trends to make the new year an exciting (and delicious) one. Today’s clients want convenient yet sophisticated food experiences with fresh, natural, additive-free food. If you look at the food industry, you’ll see a similar shift towards transparent food […]
Lessons Learned in Hospitality – Part 2
In Part 1 of “Lessons Learned in 25 Years” in hospitality, I shared with you what my employees and coaches have taught me about leadership and management of teams. Here then is Part 2 – a look at what I’ve learned from working with the public and some great customers over the years. Make it […]
Off Season Operations Check Up
As the kids are back at school, the last of the beach trips wrap up and football has once again taken over our weekends, there are a few steps that every company should keep their eye on. When a company takes a summer break or has a lull in the action, this is the best […]
Technology Evolution and the Catering Industry
Because of the complexity of full service catering, and the number of moving parts involved, catering has been a target of opportunity for many technology developers over the years. Back in the very early pre-Windows PC era, there were companies developing floppy disc based ordering systems for corporate delivery caterers, and the earliest catering management […]
Learning When To Say No
As practically every caterer knows, taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves is crucial to catering success. But there is another side of this particular coin – that of learning to decline a risky opportunity and even walk away from an existing piece of business that is detracting from the overall success of the […]
The Accidental Caterer
I have to share this story with you all. It comes from my friend Richard Radbil – a veteran of the catering industry and one of Wisconsin’s most successful caterers. Here’s the story as told to me by Richard: My wife and I opened a glorified Chicago-style hot dog stand as our first restaurant. We […]
Where Are You Going?
Imagine if you went outside your home and your neighbor was packing up their car with suitcases, clearly heading for some sort of trip. As a good neighbor you ask, “Where are you going?” to which your neighbor replies, “I don’t know”. So you ask, “Ok, how long are you going to be gone?”. He […]
