We have already looked at what kind of business you can have, and how to attract customers. In this chapter, I will look at what the next steps are once you have been approached by a possible client. Included in this is how to follow up a client request, and how to come to a menu decision. I will look in more detail at what a catering company can offer, sample menus, client contract, and payment. You alone know your strengths as a chef or cook, or the strengths of the people you employ. (It doesn’t matter if you call yourself a chef or a cook. Those trained at catering colleges tend to prefer chef, others who haven’t gone through formal training calling themselves cooks. Restaurant chefs come as both, trained or not. It’s up to you.)
What Will Your Catering Company Offer?
As a caterer you will be asked to quote for buffets, drinks parties, corporate events, weddings, christenings, anniversaries – all kinds of events.
In common with most caterers of any size, I have been involved in all these and other events: grand picnics, not so grand picnics; meals for open air opera and plays; a tycoon wanting smart in-travel catering when ferrying guests to the continent in his private jet; funerals; 100th birthday parties; charity events in marquees, fields, galleries, schools, theatres, cinemas, barns; theatre actors wanting after-play suppers to take home with them; photo shoot catering; sandwiches for newsagents; opening parties at art galleries and open air sculpture parks; presentations to departing mayors; a press party on a Thames river boat for returning Atlantic rowing heroes; an amateur orchestra’s Christmas and 21st birthday parties; film festival catering; food demonstrations; stallholder at local events selling produce. Even cooking for building site workers.
In short, like the boy scouts, be prepared for everything and anything if you want your business and experience to grow and develop. But don’t take everything on – be selective. The above list covers many years’ work.
If your forte is in one particular field, such as making sandwiches, gourmet or standard ones, for businesses in your area, then go with what you are comfortable with. Or, if it is making cakes for cafes, restaurants, tea rooms or National Trust outlets for example, then trust your instincts. Be happy in what suits you. If, at some point you decide you to expand your horizons, make sure you can achieve what you promise or you could damage your reputation by promising too much and under-achieving.
Pricing Your Catering Services
What really matters are service, quality, attention to detail and hospitality. But pricing is vital, and needs to be thought out. When pricing, think:
Cost
Calculate the cost of running your business, taking into account your startup costs and the required sum it takes on a per month basis. That will give you a good picture but always cost in your time. You cost too.
Work out the food costs, the amount you will spend on paying staff and overheads. You may wish to add a little for marketing, or take away some of your profit to achieve your goal: getting that client.
Competition
Find out how much your competitors charge either with a call, obtaining details by post or fax, or visiting their website if they have one. But make sure that the prices you find reflect what you hope to achieve. For example, they may be cheaper but be of lower quality. The service may not be as good. Or perhaps they include fewer things in the price. Can you do better?
Remember that your customer will do the same research to make comparisons and find someone suitable for their event. You have to make sure you aren’t pricing yourself out of the market or, indeed, selling yourself short.