Welcome to Roy Porter’s Catering Considerations!
Catering Considerations is a knowledge-sharing blog that focuses on the business-operations side of food and beverage catering and events.
This blog first appeared in September 2010 as “Be Ready For Service.”
In August of 2020 during the COVID circus, the previous posts were updated and re-posted here at Catering Considerations.
Plus, so much more of what I observe, learn and consider all the time. There is always something new and better developing. The joy of learning!
Who Reads Catering Considerations?
Catering Considerations is written for the authentic on and off-premises food and beverage (Bar) catering, event, and banquet staff.
Owners, managers, and those passionate about catering and events, whether they work at small or large million-dollar or multi-unit companies.
Event professionals aspiring to do better, that encourage others to excel and possess a “Seal Team Six Mentality” of providing awesome service anywhere, any time and under any conditions!
What’s Unique About Catering Considerations?
Catering Considerations is the only catering consulting operations blog that focuses on improving marketing, operations, and service at on and off-premise food and beverage catering companies, hotels, venues, private clubs, and banquet facilities.
This blog is written by a tier-one catering consultant. A recognized expert, who is actually out in the trenches, walking-managing, and coaching on the floor (FOH), on the line at events (BOH), or behind the bar!
Although based in Southern California my experiences traverse multiple events… over 3,100 weddings. Plus large, intimate, and complex events from coast to coast with various catering and hospitality staffing companies. More about my experience on the bio page.
This blog includes extracts from articles at the Catersource website and magazine, lectures, and hands-on sessions at the annual Catersource Conference, The International Caterers Association Facebook Round Table, Caterbuzz, The Art of Catering Food, The Special Events Show, Wedding MBA, The Golden State of Cocktails, The OC Bartenders Cabinet and the United States Bartenders Guild meetings.
Benefits And Results From Reading Catering Considerations…
Catering Considerations shares experiences, insight, innovations, opinions, solutions, products, and services, about catering-event challenges and situations. The result is you and your company getting better!
Most considerations you will love. Some like, while others oppose. That’s fine.
The important point is to get you asking questions. Thinking about getting better. Dealing with
what bothers you.
Let’s fix what bugs you. Try new or different approaches and experiment to arrive at your own conclusions. Perhaps your idea is better. Often situations are unique. Let me know.
There Are Three Major Benefits And Results To Get From Reading Catering Consideration!
1. Help You Create An Enchased Service Experience For Clients And Their Guests!
A Raving Positive Wow Experience!
An awesome client-guest experience leads to more sales, greater market share, and increasing profit!
Creating value for customers is extremely rewarding. When you focus on this priority, others fall into place.
2. Creating An Enthusiastic Employee Engaged “Kaizen” (Continuous
Improvement) And A “Lean” (Eliminating Waste) Culture!
At the better run organization employees don’t just come to work. They come to work to improve their work!
You will get to know and then see the nine types of waste. How you and staff will be able to identify several specific catering-event waste examples and eliminate them. Who knows what you and your associates can find in your business and improve upon?
I talk to, visit and consult with numerous hospitality staffing, food, and beverage catering-event businesses that can cook really good, mix great cocktails, and throw epic parties.
However, I am often shocked about their business – operations side of running a successful, profitable and rewarding catering company. The constant chaos, little or no service or process training, lack of SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures), low margins and excessive unnecessary waste is killing them.
They can do so much better! Many ideas, innovations, products, services, checklists, and techniques will be introduced here to help them and you too! Attention to people and processes makes a huge difference!
Lower operating cost increases margins and profit. Besides getting better and helping others getting better is fun and rewarding!
3. Staff Has A Safer, More Satisfying And Profitable Work Environment!
Money is important. However, there are more important and motivating factors that attract and keep staff interested and excelling at work. As I often say, “We’re really in the people development business. Catering and events pay the way.”
Readers will find considerations for leadership, management, marketing, event planning, design, logistics, and event execution. There will be posts on administration, HR, staffing, change management, warehouse layout, processes, service training, guest interactions, event management and so much more!
Pointers on tray passing colorful and refreshing hors d’oeuvre and beverages, basic to opulent buffets, engaging Chef attended action stations, and multi-course plated service!
Real-life examples illustrating innovations, options, and solutions to address what keeps you up late at night! Thought-provoking ideas – some will make you uncomfortable. Others will help you become a world-class observer.
There are pointers on MBWA (Management By Walking Around) “Lean” tips, tricks, trivia, training fundamentals, ideas, thoughts, stories, resources, and attention to detail to perform better!
Sure, we’ll touch on adapting and incorporating 3S (Sort, Sweep, and Standardize) 5S, Lean, using an Ishikawa diagram for problem-solving, productive Gemba walks, and Poka-Yoke (Mistake Proofing) as catering-event environment improvement tools!
Plus, Roy’s Rules. Axioms and sayings my boss used to say, “Keep you out of trouble, and guides you do better work!”
Catering Considerations is informal and educational; mostly best practices, innovations, about improving performance. You’ll find written posts, podcasts, and several videos sharing information about getting better!
From time to time there is a guest post from professionals I admire. Interesting, creative, inspiring solutions-oriented people who are willing to share – paying it forward. BTW they are not all caterers!
Experienced catering-event professionals reading this blog will find catering considerations often validating, a refresher, or even something new to try!
As “All ships rise with the tide.” When Catering Considerations is read “Catering-events get better.”
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What’s important to you?
If you have comments, questions, cheers, or jeers?
Let me know roy@cateringconsiderations.com
Stay curious…
Keep serving better!
The Engage Works catering consulting business website is located here: www.engage-works.com
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