Off Premises Catering and Management: A Study on Off Premises Caterers in Jodhpur

1. Presented to the University of Wales & TASMAC 2. On 10th April 2010 By Rishabh Bafna WP/OCT 08/29 Masters in Business Administration (International Business Management Specialization) Total Number of Words: 18,897

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SR. NO.

CONTENTS
Executive Summary List of Tables and Figures

PAGE
vi 1 4 5 6 6 7 58

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Introduction Objectives of the Study Research Questions Limitations of the Study Overview of the Study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Scope for Off Premises Catering Industry in Jodhpur and the Types of Events Catered Employees in Catering Firms of Jodhpur Delivery System in Off Premises Catering Types of Cuisines and Entertainment provided in Catering Events Marketing

61 63 65 67 69

CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Findings from Data Analysis Conclusion Recommendation Scope for Future Research 71 73 76 76 77 78 80 81 4

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY EXHIBITS

1 2 3 Exhibit 1 Types of Catering Establishments Exhibit 2 Tips for Employee Presentation and Management Exhibit 3 Questionnaire

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

SR. NO. CONTENTS PAGE TABLES CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INTERPRETATION
1 2 3 Catered Events per Month Number of Full Time Employees Number of Part Time Employees 5 61 63 64

4 5

Number of Delivery Vehicles Channels of Marketing

65 69

FIGURES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Off Premise Catering Model Catering Cycle Catered Events per Month Number of Full Time Employees Number of Part Time Employees Number of Delivery Vehicles Channels of Marketing 12 14 62 63 64 66 70

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The catering industry is divided into two fundamentally different disciplines: on premises catering and off premises catering. The study is on Off Premises Catering. Off Premises catering is the discipline in which a caterer provides food/beverage and the requisite logistical support and service to an organization or individuals in a venue outside the establishment of the caterers food production facility.

The aim of the dissertation is to study the factors which differentiates a caterer's service from its competitors,staffing patterns of different caterers, marketing strategies adopted by caterers, and types of events catered by the caterers. 6

Research was conducted in the city of Jodhpur through a survey with a sample size of 50 caterers and a survey instrument used was a questionnaire.

The key findings of this study is that a properly supervised and executed, off premises catered events are guaranteed to create positive word of mouth, which will generate future business, the marketing channels most commonly used by the caterers in Jodhpur are the yellow pages, local newspapers, etc.but the most effective marketing channels is the word of mouth publicity. One thing must be always kept in mind that service standards, quality maintained, safety and sanitation should be up to the level.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Off Premises catering is serving food at a location away from the caterer's food production facility. One example of food production facility is a free commissary, which is a kitchen facility used exclusively for the preparation of foods to be served at other location. Off-premise catering is an art and a science. The art is creating foods and moods, as the caterer and client together turn a vision into reality. The science is the business of measuring money, manpower, and material. Successful off-premise caterers recognize the importance of both aspects art and science and are able to work at both the creative and the financial levels. Caterers provide single event food service, but not at all caterers are created equal. They generally fall into one of the 3 categories:1. Party Food Caterers These caterers supply only food for an even. They drop off cold foods and leave any last minute preparation, service and 7

clean up to others. 2. Hot Buffet Caterers These caterers provide hot foods that are delivered from their commissary in insulated containers. They sometimes provide serving personnel at an additional charge. 3. Full Service Caterers These 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 such as china, glassware, flatware, tables and chairs, tent, etc. They can also arrange for other services like decor and music.

Off premises caterers meet the needs of all segments, from low budget customers who looks for the least amount of money, to the upscale client with an unlimited budget who wants the highest level of service, the ultimate in food quality and the finest in appointments stemware, silver plated flatware and luxurious linens.

Advantages of Off Premises Catering

There is no need for large amount of capital to get started, since the

most off premises catering operations begins by using the existing kitchen facilities of a restaurant, club, hotel, church or other licensed food service business. All of the necessary catering food service equipment such as china, glassware, flatware, tables, chairs and linens can usually be rented, thus avoiding having to invest in expensive equipment inventories as a start up off premise caterer. Most off premises caterers require some form of advance deposit prior to an event. This deposit provides caterers with some security if the event is cancelled and also can be used to purchase some or all of the food supplies for the party. Off premises catering generates additional revenues for the existing 8

operations like hotels, clubs and restaurants. Advance forecasting is more accurate for off premise caterer because parties are generally booked weeks, months, or years in advance. Moreover each part of the country has seasonal serving, which make revenue forecasting somewhat easier. Off premises catering costs events generate tremendous amount of free word of mouth advertising, which can produce future business without the necessity of advertising. Off premise caterers also have the advantages of being somewhat selective about their clients as there are no laws that requires the caterer to accept the event.

Disadvantages of Off Premises Catering

Off Premises catering does have some disadvantages too. Catering managers, owner and staff undergo periods of high stress Stress is compounded because the work load is not evenly spread during very busy periods. Deadlines must be met. throughout the year. For most caterers 80% of the events are schedules in 20% of time. Many have left the catering field, burned out by the constant stress The seasonality of the business makes it difficult to find the staff at Many hoteliers and restauranteurs find the rigors of off premises 9 and high energy demands. certain times.

catering too great. Some quit after realizing the difficulty of catering away from their operations. The caterers feel that the financial benefits are insufficient compared with the effort required to cater off premise events.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study is analysis of the: Factors which differentiates a caterer's services from its competitors. Staffing patterns of different caterers. Marketing strategies adopted by caterers. Types of events catered by the caterers.

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

What are the marketing strategies? What is the cost of providing their services? What are the different types of cuisines the firm caters? How effective is the logistics system of the company? What are the differentiating factors of the company to that of its

competitors?

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LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Like most research papers, this study is also subject to certain limitations: The location of the study is restricted to the city of Jodhpur, which differs from other parts of the country in terms of weather & climate, standard of living, culture & lifestyle, infrastructure, etc. hence it is difficult to apply the analysis of this study on pan India basis. Lack of adequate time and word limit is also a limitation to this research. 12

 50.

Sample size may not reflect the opinion of the masses. Since Jodhpur is a small city the sample size of the survey is limited to Due to the word limitation, the costing paterns provided in the study is

of the leading caterers of Jodhpur only.

OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

Chapter 2 Literature Review This chapter reviews the literature from books, journals, magazines, internet, etc on Off Premises Catering and Management. Chapter 3 Research Methodology This chapter describes the data collection process and the nature of the study. Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Interpretation This chapter analyses and interprets the data collected in the form of survey in the city of Jodhpur. Chapter 5 Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations This chapter includes the findings from data analysis, concluding the study, recommendations for future growth for caterers in Jodhpur and scope for future research.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

OFF PREMISES CATERING AND MANAGEMENT1

1H.L. Cracknell , R.J. Kaufmann , G. Nobis, Cengage Learning, Published June 2001, Second Edition, Practical Professional catering management 13

Off Premises catering is serving food at a location away from the caterer's food production facility. One example of food production facility is a free commissary, which is a kitchen facility used exclusively for the preparation of foods to be served at other location. Off-premise catering is an art and a science. The art is creating foods and moods, as the caterer and client together turn a vision into reality. The science is the business of measuring money, manpower, and material. Successful off-premise caterers recognize the importance of both aspectsart and scienceand are able to work at both the creative and the financial levels. Caterers provide single event food service, but not at all caterers are created equal. They generally fall into one of the 3 categories:1. Party Food Caterers These caterers supply only food for an even. They drop off cold foods and leave any last minute preparation, plus service and clean up to others. 2. Hot Buffet Caterers These caterers provide hot foods that are delivered from their commissary in insulated containers. They sometimes provide serving personnel at an additional charge. 3. Full Service Caterers These 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 such as china, glassware, flatware, tables and chairs, tent, etc. They can also arrange for other services like decor and music. Off premises caterers meet the needs of all segments, from low budget customers who looks for the least amount of money, to the upscale client with an unlimited budget who wants the highest level of service, the ultimate in food quality and the finest in appointments stemware, silver plated flatware and luxurious linens. Between these two extremes is the mid scale market segment, which requires more quality than the lowbudget sector, but less than the upscale. Off premise catering can mean serving thousands of lunch boxes to a group of conventioneers; barbecuing chicken and ribs for fans before a big college game, serving an elegant dinner for two aboard a luxury yacht, or providing food, staff, and equipment for an upscale fundraiser with hundreds of guests. On a degree of difficulty scale from one to tenone meaning easy and ten meaning most challengingon-premise catering is a two, and off-premise would rank a ten.

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Off premise catering is an art and a science. The art is creating foods and moods, as the caterer and client together turn a vision into reality. The science is the business of measuring money, manpower, and material. Successful off-premise caterers recognize the importance of both aspectsart and scienceand are able to work at both the creative and the financial levels. The catering industry is divided into two fundamentally different disciplines: facility catering and outside catering. A facility is a hotel, banquet hall, conference center, convention center, or other venue that has space an organization can use. Facility catering, therefore, is the discipline in which a facility provides food/beverage and logistical support to an organization that needs function space at that facility. Function space is the term used to describe the meeting rooms, ballrooms, exhibit halls, and other banquet spaces a facility makes available to organizations for various uses. In contrast to facility catering, outside catering is the discipline in which a facility provides food/beverage and the requisite logistical support and service to an organization or individuals in a venue other than the facility. Facility catering and outside catering shares some characteristics but not all. The fundamental difference between the two disciplines is that facility caterers must consider the availabilities and best uses of their function spaces, which may be limited. Outside caterers are not necessarily limited by function space. They are limited by their abilities to locate venues, and to achieve adequate kitchen capacities and staffing levels. The two catering disciplines share the characteristics of menu and event planning, as well as certain operational issues. The objective for both disciplines is the same: to achieve maximum catering results. Food and beverage operations are an integral part of the hospitality industry, because the demand for food and drink goes along with providing accommodation. Food and beverage operations are required not only in the hotels, but also in hospital catering, welfare catering, clubs, industrial catering and transport catering arenas. The demand for food and beverage operation is spreading in almost all the sectors. So is the increasing demand for qualified food and beverage staff to take care of these operations. The food and beverage department plays an important role in building a hotels image. A well managed food and beverage operations unit can provide guests with excellent food experience. There are many types of establishments in the Catering Industry (refer exhibit 1). One of the types of establishment in the Catering Industey is Off premises Catering. Off 15

premises catering is a highly specialized business of serving food at a remote place or at a location away from the caterer's food production facility. It is the service to the offices, clubs, homes or wherever meals are served off the premises where they are planned and prepared. Off premises catering covers everything from take home meals to the most elaborate parties and weddings. Off premise catering like other skilled technical jobs is a highly specialized operation which makes the task of managing a off premise catering event highly complex. While profit is one side of the coin and an interesting part of the catering industry, the multitude of activities throwing a challenge to the caterers forms the other difficult side of the coin. If careful consideration is given to certain small details, and people concerned take active participation, it will decrease the complexity of managing a catered event, increase turnover, improve the profit and enhance the reputation of caterer helping him to make his firm a brand. There are no set standard practices and formulae for a party catering to be successful. Challneges, complexity, procedure and techniques vary from job to job and place to place, according to the requirements of the occasion for which the party is hosted and the facilities and the amount of cash available to the caterer. In order to decrease the complexity of a catered event, the caterer should posses the ability to perform and should have the adequate amount workers with the desired skills to perform effectively and efficiently. In adition, a caterer should delegate the work equally amongst everybody to avoid any kind of stress and the directions and commands give by him/her should be simple and clear to avoid any kind of ambiguity.In off-premise catering, there is only one chance to get it right. Many events, such as wedding receptions, occur only once in a lifetime. Other events are scheduled annually, quarterly, or on a regular basis, and the caterer who fails to execute all details of such an event to the satisfaction of the client will seldom have another chance. Unfortunately for some, off-premise catering can be like living on the brink of disaster unless they are experienced. Uninitiated amateurs may not recognize a volatile situation until it becomes a problem, later realizing they should have recognized it earlier. Catering off premise is very similar to a sports team playing all of its games away from home, in unfamiliar surroundings, with none of the comforts of home to ease the way. There is no home field advantage, but there is a minefield disadvantages. As caterers plod 16

their way toward the completion of a catered event, there are thousands of potential land mines that can ruin an otherwise successful affair. Some examples follow: Already running late for a catering delivery, the catering van driver discovers that all vehicle traffic around the party site is in gridlock. The traffic has been at a standstill for more than an hour, the police say it will be hours before the congestion can be eliminated, and the clients and their guests are anxiously awaiting dinner. The only freight elevator in a high-rise office building has been commandeered for the evening by moving and cleaning people, thus preventing access to the floor where a caterer is to stage an event scheduled to start in two hours. The wrong hot food truck is dispatched to a wedding reception. The error is not discovered until the truck has reached the reception and the bride and groom are ready for their guests to be served. It will take more than an hour to send the correct truck with the food that was ordered. A cook wheels a container filled with cooked prime ribs down a pier toward a yacht where the meat will be served to a group of 80 conventioneers in half an hour. Suddenly, the cook is distracted, and the prime rib container tumbles over the edge of the pier into 40 feet of water. The table numbers have vanished, and the guests are ready to be The fire marshal arrives at a party site 20 minutes before a catered seated for dinner. event and refuses to allow guests access to the party site because the space had not been authorized for party use. The catering crew arrives at the party site with a van full of food, cooked to orderexactly one week early. A new customer places an order and asks that the caterer deliver to a home where family members and guests will have gathered prior to a funeral service. The caterer sends the food and, upon arrival, is told that the person with the check- book is at the funeral home and is asked to please stop back in an hour for the money. The delivery person leaves without obtaining a signature. Upon returning, there is no one home and no one from whom to collect payment. While using a garbage disposal in a clients home, the caterer suddenly hears a terrible noise and watches in horror as water and garbage spew from the 17

disposal all over the floor. The irate customer refuses to pay the caterer and threatens to sue for the cost of replacing the garbage disposal that was ruined because of (in the customers words) the caterers negligence. After catering a flawless party at a clients home and loading the catering truck to capacity, the caterer is shocked to learn from the client that all 15 bags of trash must be removed from the clients property because of the neighborhoods zoning ordinances. The caterers rental company representative calls the caterer the morning after an event and advises the caterer that the rented chafing dish is missing. It was there the night before, when the caterer left the clients home.

Off Premise Catering Model

Figure 1 is a diagram of all the factors that enter into the off premises catering arena. It shows how managerial philosophies and techniques, as well as laws regarding personnel, business, alcoholic beverage service, and sanitation and safety, must all be interrelated to guide the company. It then depicts how marketing efforts produce clients, which in turn creates needs for site inspections and logistical plans, including planning in these specific areas: menus, beverages, equipment, personnel, and any other related services. 18

Figure 1: Off Premise Catering Model2

Once the planning is complete, it is possible to provide clients with written proposals, which include all the aforementioned plans along with pricing. Normally, proposals are modified somewhat. Once modification is complete and all provisions meet with the approval of both caterer and client, a contract is prepared that contains all the conditions outlined in the proposal. As the party date approaches, certain operational elements are addressed, such as: Hiring and scheduling staff. Purchasing and pre preparation of menu items. Ordering equipment as needed from party rental companies. Obtaining licenses and permits, as needed, for use of the site, serving alcohol, etc. Preparing a pull sheet that details all items supplied by the commissary to produce the party. 2Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises 19 Catering Management accessed at http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/44/04714642/0471464244.pdf

 Coordinating all beverage and accessory services with the client and the vendors. All the preplanning elements culminate on the day or night of The Show. That is when staff, equipment, food, and other services arrive at the party site, and the event is executed. After the event, there are certain outcomes, which include: Positive and/or negative word of mouth about the event. Revenues, expenses, profits, and cash. Accounting records

Catering Cycle

Figure 2: Catering Cycle3

3Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises 20 Catering Management accessed at http://gastroschool.com/generic-images/catering-cycle.jpg

Comparing Off Premise and On Premise Catering

Hansen Bill, co author of Off Premises Catering and Management, has examined the differences, from both the clients viewpoint and the caterers viewpoints: From the Clients Viewpoint Most clients fail to consider the cost of the rental equipment such as tables, chairs, linens, china, glassware, and flatware when they consider engaging an off-premise caterer. They think it will be less expensive to entertain in their homes, or at unique off-premise sites, 21

than in hotels. In fact, it can be more expensive, considering not only the cost of the rental equipment, but also other costs such as transportation of food and supplies to the site, the costs of special labor and dcor, the need for tenting, airconditioning and/or heating, and other expenses. Clients may save some money by buying their own liquor, but this can be insignificant as compared with the added costs. For many clients, the additional costs are far outweighed by the benefits of entertaining in the privacy of their own homes or the uniqueness of a special off-premise location such as a museum, state-of-the-art aquarium, antique car dealership, or historical site. From the Caterers Viewpoint Off-premise caterers must plan menus that can be prepared successfully at the clients location. For example, foods to be fried should not be cooked in unventilated spaces, like small kitchens in high-rise office buildings. On-premise caterers are not as limited in this regard, and they are generally supported by built-in equipment that can support a wider variety of menus. On-premise party personnel are more familiar with the party facilities than those who work at a variety of unfamiliar locations. Off-premise catering generally has greater seasonal and day-to-day swings in personnel needs, which can create a greater challenge for the off-premise caterer, who is constantly recruiting and training staff; turnover is usually high because such work is on an as-needed basis. There is definitely a greater potential for oversights in off-premise catering. Backup supplies, food, and equipment can be miles away or even inaccessible when catering, for instance, aboard a yacht miles from shore. In spite of the uncertainties, off-premise catering offers the opportunity to work in a greater variety of interesting locations. The work is more likely to be different each day, resulting in less boredom and more excitement. For those looking for unlimited challenges and rewards, off-premise catering may be the answer.

Organisational Structure4
4Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off
Premises Catering Management

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All catering establishment must first set up a sound organisational structure, based on a strong supportive framework. It most cover every department of the business, each of which has a particular part to play and has it own specialists in charge who are skilled and experienced in that operation. Bureaucracy is a system by which officials, as a body, administer the organization on a system of division of work force under a hierarchy. It can achieve a high degree of efficiency and has the following features: Maximum specialisation, Strict job definition stating duties, privileges and boundaries, Vertical line of authority, Decision taken on expert's judgement based on technical knowledge, Disciplinary compliance under a supervisor's orders, Separation of policy and administration, Central authority, and Continuity of people in top jobs.

Management5
Managers have the responsibility of running a business in accordance with the owner's or the company's wishes. Traditionally they have not appreciated outside opinions on how this should be done. Such managers believe that trade unions and craft bodies ought not to try to influence the operation of the business for their own ends. Staff are expected to increase productivity, but without having to resort to conflict with the management. An individual owner may be a sleeping partner leaving a manager to get on with the day to day operations of the business as long as the owner receives a return on the investment, the manager need not to be subjected to any interference.

Aims and Objectives

According to Ketterer Manfred, author of How to Manage a Successful Catering Business, The policy of a business is made up of aims and objectives. These have to be
5 Manfred Ketterer, John Wiley & Sons, Published 1991, Second Edition, How to Manage a Successful Catering Business

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given verbally or in written form to every member of staff from manager to apprentice. These are the rules and guidelines necessary to run the business efficiently. The aims of a business are a statement of intent to achieve a stated goal over the long term. This is the philosophy or beliefs which will govern the way business is run. It is sometimes called the mission statement, a declaration of the firm's aims as they affect customers and employees. Example of aims are: To achieve 10% penetration of the market in one year. To maintain and enhance the business through continued customer First priority is customer satisfaction of the products and services. Intend to establish oneself as the market leader. Commitment to continuos expansion while maintaining company's

satisfaction.

aims for the benefits of customers and staff. The objectives must be clearly spelled out and state what is expected of every employee. They should be quantifiable in terms of output, which is the number of customers served per employee. Strategic objectives are usually concerned with external rather than internal affairs. For example: The market segment that the organisation intends to attract and the The market positioning of the organisation so that the standard of How the organisation should respond to market opportunity in a products it intends to supply to this market. amenities and operational concept attract a particular type of clientele. compatible sector of activities.

Elements of Successful Off Premise Catering6

Kaufmann R.J., co - author of Practical Professional Catering Management say that a firm either operating in service industry or goods industry, require certain elements to be successful. For example what kind of experience is needed, what kind of personality traits are desirable, etc. An off premises caterer also requires few elements to run his business not just success6H.L. Cracknell , R.J. Kaufmann , G. Nobis, Cengage Learning, Published June 2001, Second Edition, Practical Professional catering management 24

fully but also smoothly. Few of the elements to run a business smoothly and successfully are as below7: Work Experience Prior experience in the catering profession or the foodservice industry is important. Experience in food preparation and foodservice (both back of the house and front of the house) helps caterers understand the procedures and problems in both areas and how the two areas interface. Those with a strong kitchen background, for example, would be wise to gain some front of house experience, and front of house personnel should learn the kitchen routine. Many successful off-premise caterers began by working as accommodators. Accommodators are private chefs who are hired to prepare food for parties. Many assist the client with planning the menu, purchasing the food, and even arranging for kitchen and service staff. The food is prepared and served in the client's home or facility, eliminating the need for a catering commissary. Accommodators receive a fee for their services. The party staff is paid directly by the client. Passion Successful professionals are passionate about their work, and caterers are no exception. They love what they do! Clients and staff members will quickly detect a lack of passion, and it will cost you business and good workers. If you do not love what you do, move on and try something else. An Entrepreneurial Nature The desire to be an entrepreneur is a trait that is highly desirable for off premise caterers. An entrepreneur must be willing to spend extraordinary amounts of time and energy to make the off premise catering business successful, possess an inherent sense of what is right for the business, have the ability to view all aspects of the business at once rather than focusing only on one or two parts, and demonstrate a strong, incessant desire to be his or her own boss and become financially independent.

7Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises Catering Management 25

Marketing8
Marketing is the process by which companies determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development.9 It is an integrated process through which companies create value for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value from customers in return.10 8 Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises Catering Management
9

Kotler Philip; Gary Armstrong, Veronica Wong, John Saunders (2008). "Marketing defined". Principles of marketing (5th ed.). p. 7. Retrieved 2009-10-23. Kotler Philip; Gary Armstrong, Veronica Wong, John Saunders (2008). "Marketing defined". Principles of marketing (5th ed.). p. 7. Retrieved 2009-10-23. 26

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Marketing is used to identify the customer, to keep the customer and to satisfy the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of any kind of business management. Marketing is a very important aspect in business since it contributes greatly to the success of the organization. Many people think that sales and marketing are basically the same. Marketing covers advertising, promotions, public relations, and sales. It is the process of introducing and promoting the product or service into the market and encourages sales from the buying public. Since the goal of marketing is to make the product or service widely known and recognized to the market, marketers must be creative in their marketing activities. In this competitive nature of the catering industry, getting the service noticed is not that easy.11 Strategically, the caterers must be centered on the customers preferences more than the type of service provided by then. Although good and quality service is the key success factor of this industry, the buying public still has their personal preferences. If you target more of their needs, they will come back again and again and even bring along potential customers. If you push more on the services you provide and disregard their wants and the benefits they can get, you will lose your customers in no time. The sad thing is that getting them back is the hardest part. The most crucial aspect of marketing the services a caterer provides is the type of marketing channel they use. It is very important to deliver the right message through the selected marketing channels in very simple words because every customers have their own perceptions of the advertisement done by any company. There are two major off premises catering markets; the corporate market and the social market. Let's look at each of them: Corporate Catering:

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http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/marketing-management/importance-ofmarketing.html 27

According to Thomas Chris, co author of Off Premises Catering and Management, the corporate market involves catering for business events such as grand opening, ground breaking, retirement parties, holiday parties, employee parties, receptions to promote business, awards ceremonies, unveil new products and so on, as well as catering business meals for meetings and seminars. Corporate catering is generally more profitable than social catering, although caterers of high society weddings may disagree. However, for the most part, corporate event planners generally have predetermine larger budgets than planners of social events, with leeway for add ons. Hansen Bill, co author of the book Off Premises Catering Management, surveyed 625 corporate meeting and event planners to better determine how caterers can best meet corporate entertaining needs. Major findings include: Although food is important, service is also important. Corporate planners need proposals on time often the same day. Caterers need to listen to the planner's need before offering ideas. Planners look for the caterer to be creative. Planners do not like talking to answering machines or slow responses to e mail requests. When selecting a caterer, planners rely mostly on recommendation from others. When comparing two similar corporate catering proposal, planners choose the caterer whose personality is most compatible. In the same surveys; things stood out were: Inexperienced staff, Improper food temperature, Small food portions, Dirty uniforms, Unkempt hair, Food description did not match the food, Over budget costs, Poor equipment, 28

 successful party. Social Catering:

Rushed step ups, and Unfriendly staff

Corporate planners want to work with caterers who will do whatever it takes to produce a

According to Hansen Bill, co author of Off Premises Catering and Management, the social market include personal parties at home, fund raisers, wedding receptions and anniversaries, reunions, bar and bat mitzvah, baptisms, graduation, proms, birthday parties and holidays, etc. Social Catering can be very rewarding, but it is quite often labour intensive. It means dealing one on one with clients or charitable committees that require more of the caterer's time. These groups also tend to watch the premises more closely and want to become involved hands on in every aspect of the event. It is important to note that there will be times when off premises caterers are not marketing directly to actual clients, but to intermediaries. These include: Independent meeting planners, who are hired by small and medium Special event producers, who specialise in events for large Independent party planners or wedding planners. Travel agents and representatives of convention and visitors bureaus. size companies and government agencies. gatherings.

These types of service providers must also be seen as prospective clients, who generally represent major pieces of business. Marketing Catering Products:Marketing is the approach that can influence consumer demand. A marketing strategy should consider place, product, price and promotion the four P's of marketing. Marketing will be most effective when each P is in agreement with the others. Product:- A catering has a number of different aspects. When 29

enjoying a meal in a luxury restaurant, the total experience includes not just the excellent meal and choice of wines, but also the decor and the atmosphere of the room, pleasant waiting staff and possible live music in the background. Place:- The product can also have an effect upon the location of any kind of restaurant and vice versa. Choosing the right location has a lot to do with the success of an establishment. The best location for a high class restaurant is in a select area of town, in a beauty spot, or even in a mansion or stately home where it is a part of attraction. Any kind of restaurant has to face competition, but can draw customers in from a three mile radius in city centers and from several miles around the suburban districts. Luncheon counters, coffee shops and snack bars usually do well at transport interchanges, cinemas and night clubs, departmental stores and hyper market. High business rates may prevent their presence in the high street, but if they are good, customers will find them. Price:- The pricing policy is of enormous importance in the success or failure of every catering establishment. It does not always pay for owner to set high prices with a view of getting rich quickly. Equally, sales campaigns and reduced prices may give customers the impression that there is a fall in business. A nearby competitor may be selling the same items at a lower price. This may be because the competitor has bought the basic ingredient in bulk or has cut the quality and quantity. Promotion:- Advertising is a mainstay of business promotion. A catering operation may decide to run a campaign to bring in more business by sending leaflets to households or putting an advertisement in local newspapers and magazines. This is known as above the line advertising

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Menu Planning12
Planning Principles An off premises catering menu cannot be planned until the caterer knows the event's location and the type of kitchen facilities. Lack of refrigeration, water, electricity, adequate covers and ventilation will most definitely determine what kind of cooking can be done on site. After pre qualification and selection of party site, the menu planning process begins. The menu and service style will determine all the following: Foods to be purchased, 31 12Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management

Staffing requirements, Off premises facility layout and space utilisation, Decor for buffet and food stations, Food production and preparation requirements, and Beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic)

Menu planning involves asking the clients a lot of questions to determine what they perceive and want. By asking the questions the caterer should be able to speak a dialogue that begins with the menu planning process. The end result is a menu for the event that combines the client's wishes with the caterer's food knowledge.

Basic Menu Categories Catered food can be served at any hour of the day or night. Off premises caterer are asked to serve sunrise breakfast, midday lunches and brunches, evening dinners, post theater desserts, lunch boxes, etc. Here are some basic types of special event services:a) Seated, Served Meals:In planning menus for these events, caterers must serve foods that are suitable for serving at a table, either individually plated or from platters. Served may be preceded by cocktail receptions, which may or may not include various hors d'oeuvres (snacks) passed by servers or appetizers presented at food stations and buffets. The basic courses for seated, served meal include: Appetizer or soup, Salad, Sorbet, Main Course entree, starch, 1 + vegetables and garnish, Cheeses, Desert, Coffee (regular or decaf) and tea.

There are endless variations to this. In European style menus, the salad is served after the main course, but prior to the cheese course. The appetizer course may be eliminated if the pre meal hors d'oeuvres are plentiful. Some menus include a fish course in lieu of an appetizer or salad. Many 32

main course menus eliminate the starch and include two or more vegetables. Many Indians are unfamiliar with the cheese course, unless the have spent time in Europe. It is a profitable addition to an upscale dinner menu and can also be fun to put together. b) Buffets:-

In buffet services, the guests are directed to the buffet tables(s), where a variety of food may be selected. Guests either help themselves or are served by attendants. The advantages of offering a variety of food, plus the need for fewer service staff, makes a buffet a very popular choice for off premises events. Buffets may or may not be preceded by hors d'oeuvres. If the latter is the case, it is wise for the caterer to be prepared for guests to place place more food on their plates than they would if they have eaten a bit prior to the meal. A minimum buffet selection would include one salad, one or two entree choices, one starch, vegetable, bread or rolls and butter. Desert and coffee can be put on a separate table.

c)

Food Stations:-

Food stations work well when food needs to be offered on different floors within a building, when international foods are offered, when the client wants people to mingle and more about or when the clients simply wants something different. d) Stand Up Cocktail Parties:-

In the U.S., hors d'oeuvres are customarily served at cocktail parties, which may not precede lunch or dinner. Hors d'oeuvres may either be passed by food servers or placed on buffets. They should be bite sized and easy to eat.

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Ideally, off premises caterers should make their own hors d'oeuvres in house, but readymade appetizers that were once seen as completely undesirable are now beginning to gain acceptance in catering community. e) Beverages and Picnics:-

Many off premises caterers make an excellent living catering outdoors. Menus can range from simple burgers and hot dogs, to chicken and ribs, to steak and seafood kebabs. Popular wood chips include: Hickory:- Strong, pungent bacon like flavor, used for Mesquite:- Sweeter than hickory, but still strong. Great for Alder:- Light, delicate flavor, excellent for salmon, chicken Cherry or Apple:- Sweet, fruity flavor, great for game pork or beef. ducks, lambs and beef. and pork. birds, pork and poultry.

Trends in Food Service

One of Americas top chefs, Charlie Trotter, looks at food trends differently in his book Lessons in Excellence. Says Trotter, Its important that you foster a company culture that spurs you and your employees to search for innovative opportunities. Innovations can satisfy needs that are unmet or offer solutions to time-worn problems, or they can be new ways of saving time, space and money. A number of trends in food service have emerged in the early years of the millennium. Ethnic Cuisines This cuisine, of course, will always provide innovative additions to a smart caterer's arsenal of offerings. Middle eastern items such as dolmas, kasseri cheese, hummus and tahini are used more frequently. Pacific Rim 'Asian Fusion,' and Pan Asian Cuisine These cuisines 34 have made their mark on catering menus from coast to coast. Dishes such as

Szechwan Tuna with Soba Noodles and Crispy Tempura Lobster with Ponzu and Caviar are representative of menu choices. Catering chefs are using such exotic ingredients such as palm sugar, Chinese celery, fresh water chestnut, garlic shoots and other Asian ingredients to diversify and expand their menus. Indian Cuisine Most clients taste buds demand spicier and more European fused dishes. Bright, moist tandoori chicken, the wide variety of naan, aromatic spices like cardamom and curry and jasmine rice make these foods as pretty as they are delicious. Cheese Courses Popular in Europe, a cheese course is served after the main course, but before desert. Limit the selection to no more than five types and choose a variety of flavors, intensities and textures. Under Utilised Cuts of Meats High flavor braises and stews made with so called secondary cuts of meat are growing in popularity. Lamb shanks, duck drumettes, oxtail roulade, braised short ribs in beer, beef cheeks, flank steaks and top blade steaks are finding their way onto pre menus. 'Street Foods' This category includes anything traditionally served from carts or informal food stands kebabs, fish and chips and 'walk around' items like beignets and churros. Signature, 'Artisan,' or Speciality Breads Cornbreads, popovers, Dessert Buffets with Seated, Served Meals This type of buffet allows flatbreads, etc. lead the way on progressive catering menu. the guests to get up, mingle and avoid the drowsiness and lethargy that comes after eating and sitting for a long period of time.

Beverage Service13
Off premise caterers must be knowledgeable about the alcoholic beverages. Off premise caterers are frequently asked by clients for advice on how much and what type of alcoholic beverages to serve. Expertise in this area can mean the difference between being hired or not. Off premise caterers are often asked to provide bartenders for functions, which can result in certain legal implications.

13Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management 35

Responsible Alcohol Service The food and hospitality industries have been very active in promoting responsible service and consumption of alcohol. To be able to serve alcohol, staff members are required in most states to take a course and pass a responsible beverage service test. Encourage anyone who works for you, part time or full time, to take such a course and sign a statement that they have completed it. Encourage shorter cocktail hours. Be sure to serve plenty of attractive hors d'oeuvres at cocktail receptions. Have plenty of delicious, attractive non alcoholic beverages available, such as soft drinks, fresh juices, still and sparkling water, a tropical punch, wines, beers and champagne. Have servers pour wines for the guests, rather than placing the bottles on the tables and have servers tap beer kegs and do the pouring. Instruct staff never to allow guests to pour their own drinks, no matter how busy the bar area gets. Responsible service also means being vigilant and recognising when someone appears to have been oversized. A good server or bartender will keep an eye on how many drinks appear to have impacted the drinker's personality.

Service Challenges of Off-Premise Catering14

There are definitely many types of Service; however, none is more challenging than that of Off-Premise Catering. Off- Premise Caterings are indeed different from traditional caterings or banquets. The caterer, staff, equipment, and operation are literally moved to a foreign location. This location may or may not be ideal for catered functions. Creative people who love continual change, are good problem solvers, and thrive on organization partake in the challenge of this ever-changing medium. Through our experiences as a catering company, we have learned that mise en place and the use of intuition are the main factors that allow one to continually succeed in Off- Premise Catering.

14http://www.fdrp.com/prosuccessmagazine/Misc/Service%20in%20the%20WildernessService%20Challenges%20of%20Off-Prem~60E.pdf 36

Preparing your mise en place is something that we, as caterers, cannot stress enough to our service staff. Having an actual list of items to take to a function along with exact diagrams of workstations is crucial. Creating a beautiful dining room in a foreign setting takes many items and many more are often overlooked or not considered. Once you leave your establishment with your equipment, it is not feasible or acceptable to run back for forgotten items. All things must be taken into consideration as well as all potential problems. It is important to have extra china, flatware, stemware, and utensils in case of break- age. Linen may fall on the ground into the dirt during setup; sorry, you can't grab another from the linen closet. Unlike in a restaurant or catering facility, someone else can- not clean or cover up mistakes. For example, ice tends to melt much faster outside, even when in a cooler, so make sure you bring extra. If there is no access to drinking water, then perhaps a water station should be set up with drinking water and have refuse water in separated clearly marked containers. Another requirement is the set- ting up of the plate drop-off station. Servers must be able to use this area quickly and efficiently to execute proper service. If this station is not properly set up and equipped, problems may arise since there are no quick fixes out in the field. All required and a few extra serving utensils, cocktail trays, and bar equipment are needed. Creating detailed lists for each area of setup will ease the stress for you and your service staff. Of course these lists will need to be checked and rechecked. In other words, the details of mise en place are not just mental checklists, but actual written, preferably typed lists of equipment and diagrams of stations and movement as applicable. Checking and rechecking, while in the back of your mind thinking about the worst-case scenario, is just the beginning. Using your intuition about the area where the catering will take place is the other half of the battle. When catering a special affair at your own facility, you have the advantage and luxury of knowing how best your facility runs and operates. Equipment is easily accessible, since service stations and a pantry have already been designed for ease and comfort of service. For this reason, researching the site and intuitively thinking of the function's surroundings, are the foundations of Off-Premise Catering. Many conveniences are taken for granted when performing a function on premises. Simple elements such as running water and electricity may not be accessible to the service staff when off-site. The first step in attaining the knowledge necessary for Off-Premise Catering is establishing 37

route of arrival for the service staff. Creating and distributing a detailed list of directions for all service personnel with phone numbers and drive times is essential. Second, familiarizing your staff and yourself with the facility prior to the affair is crucial. For example, when a function is inside a private home, it is important to find out what is accessible. Although there may be a perfect spot to place a service area, the host of the affair may not want you to use that particular area. You are there to service your guests in the best and most efficient manner; however, it is important for you to realize that you are also a guest in your host's home. You are expected to respect their wishes and desires while trying to provide the most professional service in a foreign setting. This is probably the most aspect of catering in the private sector. Affairs that take place in more obscure areas need to be approached with an open mind and creative eyes. Often times these locations can lead to service nightmares. Areas such as parks, wooded areas, corporate lawns, and the almighty tent in the middle of nowhere can be deceiving. There may be muddy and unstable areas that can make table setting difficult. Creating workstations or side stations may be challenging due to uneven surfaces. They must be placed and created in areas that will logically work and not detract from the dcor of the affair. Accurately measured floor plans and diagrams will help you and your service staff be successful. In retrospect, using your intuition is key in creating that restaurant feeling out in the field of Off-Premise Catering. frustrating

Catering Equipment

Determining Equipments Needs15 Gisslen Wayne, author of Professional Cooking say that, the types of required off premise catering equipment are determined by analysing a number of factors: Menu The foods you will serve greatly influence equipment selection. For example:- A caterer who plans to serve a variety of deep fried hors d'oeuvres will require more fryulator capacity than one who plans to simply offer assortments of cold canap's. The cold canap's will require rolling racks and refrigerated storage, whereas the caterer serving deep fried hors d'oeuvres could store them before cooking in plastic containers that could be
15

Wayne Gisslen, Wiley, John & Sons, 6th Edition, Published March 2006, Professional Cooking 38

kept in ice chests at the party site, in accordance with local health departments regulations. Beverage Service Will a company offer services of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages? If so, glassware, bar utensils, beverage station will be necessary. Style of Service A caterer specialising in barbecues will more than likely require only plastic ware, whereas an upscale caterer will need plenty of silver plated flatware, crystal stemware. Number of Guests Off premises caterers who specialise in home parties for 30 or fewer guests will require substantially less equipments than those catering mega events with thousands of guests. Other Factors These include regional influence clambake equipment in New England, portable meat smokers for Southern barbecues. The specific equipment needs for each party are best determined by analysing the party contract, preparing a layout of the event.

Checking Unique Party Location16

Many of the venues will offer unusual challenges, which must be addressed prior to an event. A thorough site inspection is mandatory weeks ahead of time, with following critical details in mind: Any cost associated with use of the facility. Weather and alternate plans in case it doesn't co operate. Parking and valet availability if needed. Utilities: water, power, waste removal, etc. Rules about deliveries. Existing kitchen facilities or equipment that may be used. Rules about service on the premises. Insects and pest control options.

16 Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises Catering Management 39

Adequate number of restrooms. Sufficient sighting, interior and exterior. Insurance and other contingencies.

Planning and Designing the Catered Event

The results of the site inspection, coupled with the menu and other information, are the input for the party layout. For simple parties, the layout can be roughly sketched during the site inspection. The diagrams includes:1. Registration tables and check in areas. 2. For weddings: gifts, cakes and place card tables. 3. Bars, buffets and food stations. 4. Seating for guests during cocktails and dinner. 5. Service station for guests. 6. Dance floors, stages and space for entertainment. 7. Off premise catering kitchen and staging area.

Layout and Design Criteria17

Displacing the Food:Dramatic buffets and food stations create excitement, interest and intrigue. A buffet is simply a style of service that permits the guests to portion and plate their own food. There are some basic rules for buffet setup:1. Never place a buffet adjacent to the dance floor or music. 2. Allow plenty of space between stations for guests to circulate. 3. Allow adequate surfaces on which empty drinks glasses may be placed. 4. Place lowest cost items first on the 'line'. 17H.L. Cracknell , R.J. Kaufmann , G. Nobis, Cengage Learning, Published June 2001, Second Edition, Practical Professional catering management 40

5. Expensive items should be portioned by servers and carvers. 6. Remember that guests tend to take less food from small containers.

Back of the House (kitchen and staging areas):For smaller at homes and offices, off premises caterers generally use the existing facility, making the best of some very difficult situations. Of course, the menu must be compatible with the facility. For large events where hundreds are to be served, cooking tents are generally erected if there is no existing kitchen facility. The following design criteria should be considered:1. Design the kitchen so that servers can easily pick up food without going through the kitchen. 2. The busing area for dirty dishes should contain trash receptacles, water for rinsing dishes and room for empty dish and glass crates. 3. 4 6 8 banquet tables are excellent for use as kitchen work table. 4. The coffee and deserts should be kept at the rear of the tent until ready to be served. 5. There should always be arrangements made to warm plates for hot food courses. 6. Tables are necessary next to the ovens to provide space for the cooks to set down hot foods from the oven. 7. Place portable liquid fuel warming ovens at the edge of the tent for ventilation. 8. Proper placement of grill equipment is essential for safety.

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Staffing in the Catering Firms18

The role of a caterer is diverse. It includes jobs like sourcing ingredients and supplies, preparing food, preparing linens and decorations, transporting food and equipment to events, setting up at events, serving food and beverages to guests and cleaning up after events. There is also the business side of catering, which includes administration and marketing. While it is possible to handle everything alone you will find that for events with any more than around twelve people, having assistance from staff is essential. The catering business, like all service businesses is all about providing great service and keeping the customer happy. Staff plays a key part in this; particularly your serving staff that is dealing with guests directly. They will be a major factor in determining the success or failure of an event. 18http://www.startacateringcompany.com/general/hiring-and-managing-cateringemployees/ 42

With catering your staffing needs change from month to month as every event will have different requirements and your booking will fluctuate. Larger caterers usually have a core team that handle the day to day business and then depending on their schedule they hire contractors or part timers. Let us discuss how you can go about hiring and managing catering business employees effectively. Meeting and Hiring Staff Businesses in the food service and hospitality industry have notoriously high staff turnover rates. Catering is definitely no exception. You have to set out a plan for interviewing and hiring staff in order to get staff that is capable and reliable. You also need staff that will stay with you for a while once you have trained them. You could run advertising to look for employees. A better way once you know what you are doing is to look for good potential hires while you are out and about. If you have a great waitress serve you in a restaurant give her your card and let her know that you could offer her some extra work from time to time. Some thoughts on how to interview prospective staff members are as follows: Be sure to conduct interviews in an area that will allow the applicant to relax. Prepare for the interview by reading thoroughly over their resume. During an interview you must examine the applicant carefully. Take note of their grooming and study their personality to see if they will be a good fit with your company. Think of sensible questions to ask to try and determine their attitude towards work, customers and former employers. Try to find out why they left their last place of employment. Never hire somebody on the spot but rather take the time to reflect on the interview.

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 Contact the references listed on their resume to reinforce your hiring decisions. Set Clear Policies In order to get staff to stay with your catering business for a while you really have to show them that you care about their interests. Set up a working environment designed to avoid conflict. By setting clear policies that are fair to staff as well as looking after your interests as the business owner they will know where they stand and what is expected of them. Set out a printed document that includes your policies on punctuality, hygiene and things that are forbidden such as chewing gum or using mobile phones to make calls during an event. You also need to set out policies for how employees should treat each other and forbid harassment and abuse. Some of your catering staff will earn tips and you should consider setting a policy that enables all tips to be shared among all staff at the end of the event. Training Catering Employees Serving staff will not always be familiar with the etiquette of food service, especially if they are new to the industry. Organize some practical training sessions for them and have some of your senior staff teach them about the right way to serve customers. Serving staff is obviously most important when it comes to making a positive impression with clients, team members should learn the importance of their role in an event. It is important that everyone knows how to communicate with other staff members and to work as a team. For tips on employee presentation and management refer exhibit 2.

Recruiting Workers
One of the best recruitment sources is referral from existing employees. Most will recommend only those who they believe will work out. However, off premise caterers should use caution in hiring too many staff members who are close to one another or who are friendly away from work. Sources of potential staff include: Culinary schools Colleges Homemakers 44

Employment agencies Local restaurant employees

Discipline and Termination To be effective, discipline must be considered. It must be administered as a result of specific behaviour problems, rather than personality. Series of steps: Verbal warning, Written warning, Suspension without pay, and Termination

Delivery System in Off Premises Catering19

Delivery Concepts has helped catering businesses increase store revenues, expand customer bases, and extend advertising. From corporate catering to birthday parties to weddings, delivery systems offer a complete line of custom built, temperature controlled catering vehicles ideal for your catering business. Here are the reasons why: Increase Profit A good delivery system will help you produce more efficient catering event. Catering vehicles allow you to consolidate food product, equipment and personnel into one temperature controlled catering vehicle. When you reach more 19 http://www.deliveryconcepts.com/html/catering.html 45

customers, preserve product quality and reduce labor, your profit increases exponentially. Expand Customer Base Delivery system offers a wide variety of affordable temperature controlled compartments for most car, truck and van. Custom designed delivery system will not only meet your current needs, but will allow for future growth. For example, while the smaller vehicle like a Van might suffice for your current customer base, adding a bigger vehicle than a van gives you the flexibility to add customers without adding drivers, again making your business more efficient and profitable. Extend Your Advertising If you can visualize your professional looking vehicle promoting your business citywide, so will your current and prospective customers, throughout every delivery. Your custom designed, custom built delivery vehicle can provide highly effective billboard advertising by incorporating attractive graphics with professional lettering. You deliver quality on the inside, while you promote quality on the outside.

One of the ways to find out the size of catering businesses is by the number of delivery vehicles they own. The more delivery vehicles they use for an event the bigger events they cater to. There are critical steps in the execution of the event. A sufficient amount of time should be allocated so that everything arrives on time at the party site.

Transportation (H.L. Cracknell, Practical Professional Catering Management):Pulling and Packing Before 'pulling at party', review the packing list and ensure that all goods on the list is actually in stock. In most off premise catering, party items are not at all in one location, but spread throughout the commissary or in storage. As the items are located, the larger, bulkier ones should be taken to the delivery vehicle. 46

Smaller loose items should be assembled in a particular area packed in containers like plastic packing crates with handles for carrying. Fragile items should be wrapped in bubble wrap, linens or wadded up paper to prevent breakfast. Loading the Vehicle:The loading process should not be taken lightly. It is physically demanding and improperly packed items may break, spill, crack or chip. R.J. Kaufmanns few suggestions to minimise this risk are: Everything should be packed together tightly. Wherever possible, creates and racks should be nestled together to avoid shifting in transit. Large, heavy square or rectangular items should be loaded first and kept in the bottom portion of the load. Cold foods should be transported in accordance with local health department regulations, which may require a refrigerated trunks, etc. Hot foods should be kept at a safe temperature in insulated carrying containers, thermal bags, etc. Light weight and unusually shaped items should be loaded last and inserted in areas where they will fit snugly to help keep the load from shifting in transit. Loading staff must be trained in proper lifting techniques to avoid injury.

As each item is packed in the vehicle, it should be checked off on the pull sheet.

Delivery:The delivery process involves physically moving the food, supplies and equipment from the catering commissary to the party site. Uploading at the Party Site:Off premise caterers should have policies for uploading catering vehicles at event sites and do not mean simply instructions about dropping off platters, but written procedures for 47

larger and complex events. The most critical uploading rule is to separate items based on where they will be used. Uploading is best accomplished with only a few staff members, not the complete party crew. It is easier to keep things organised when fewer workers are present and their job is specifically to upload. Under ideal conditions, everything for each food station, buffet, bar, off premise kitchen should be delivered to the spot where it will be needed so that the setup crew arrives to find everything positioned correctly. Equipments, food and supplies to be used on buffets, food station and bars should be stored as close as possible to their eventual points of use. Reloading and Returning:Most caterers can complete cleaning, packing and reloading within 1 hour of the conclusion of their responsibilities, in as much as some of the cleaning and repacking should be accomplished as the party progresses. It is best to wait to reload the vehicle until most things are packed and ready for loading, rather than load things randomly, and it's better to clean up at that moment than to have to face chores next day. Post Party Review:A post party review should be conducted after every catered event to pinpoint specific problems that require attention and discuss better ways to do things in the future.

Serving Procedures
Serving Butlered Hors d'oeuvres20:Frequently prior to serve meals off premise caterers serve hors d'oeuvres that is passed Butler style. There are few rules that need to be followed:1. Know the name of the item and any accompanying sauce. 2. Warn the guests if the dish is hot or spicy. 20Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management 48

3. Always smile and show courtesy towards guests. 4. Carry a supply of cocktail napkins. 5. Always return to the kitchen with dirty dishes and glassware. 6. Always pass to different guests during trip around the room by going different routes. Serving the Meal:The servers are responsible for serving food and beverages to guests. There are certain service standard procedures to be followed:1. Serve food from the left, with your left hand. 2. Always serve females before males. 3. Clear from right using your right hand. 4. Never reach across in front of guests. 5. Serve beverages from the right with your right hand. 6. Servers should not make unnecessary noises. 7. Service staff should never touch flatware that is on plates. 8. Water glasses should be replenished throughout the meal. 9. Table numbers and unused place settings should be removed when all the guests are seated. 10.Tables, chairs, buffets and bars should not be broken down and removed until the guests have left the event.

Clearing the Tables:When everyone at a table is finished with a course, the dishes and flatware for that course must be removed, including flatware designated for the course that guests did not happen to use. Glassware should also be cleared. Glassware, plates and flatware should be carried to the dirty dish area.

Quality Control21, 22

21 22

http://www.raanscatering.com/qualitycontrol.htm http://www.almcogroup.com/life_support_catering.html 49

The most important function of the person in charge of any business is to plan and control it. Customers buy what they can afford. Most success stories in catering are those which introduced a total package based on a simple but popular item of food, or on a stylish, trendy combination of food, drink and service in a congenial atmosphere. Internal targets of production, revenue and costs can be set for every part of the operation, based on previous performance or that of similar establishment. The set objectives become the measure of performance at which the unit should operate.

Customer Satisfaction23
It is good if the caterers get a feedback from the guests. This will prove if the guests were satisfied or not. It is best if the complaints are made aware of the caterers at that time rather than taking it to the trading standards department of the local authority, to local or national offices of catering or editor of local newspaper. To conclude, properly supervised and executed, off premises catered events are guaranteed to create positive word of mouth, which will generate future business. There are no second chances to get right. Mistakes in the serving and sanitation area can cost an off premises caterer his or her reputation and livelihood. One thing must be always kept in mind that service standards, quality maintained, safety and sanitation should be up to the level.

How Does an Off-Premise Caterer Gauge Success24

There are a number of signs to look for when evaluating an existing off premise catering business. Healthy companies rate highly in all of these areas. Those that are unhealthy, or even on the brink of failure, will not rate nearly as well. Management thoroughly plans, organizes, executes, and controls each catered event. Proper controls are in place for costs, accounts receivable and payable, and liquid 23 Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management 24 Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises Catering Management 50

assets such as cash and inventories. Theft prevention is also a priority. Food and service quality is well controlled and meets or exceeds clients approval. Pricing for food and services is fair and competitive with other firms in the marketplace. There is a spirit of healthy competition. The catering firm enjoys good working relationships with both clients and suppliers. Time and attention are given to food safety in storage, preparation, and display. Employees know the local health codes and follow them. There is sufficient working capital to operate the business. The firm can make loan payments as they become due. Excessive credit is not extended to clients. Budgets are prepared and followed. Business records, insurance coverage, and licenses are kept up to date. The information derived from these records is used to provide data to help manage the business. Sales growth is controlled. There are sufficient financial and personnel resources to operate as business steadily grows. Market trends are anticipated. Management and staff have a good working knowledge of the off premise catering field. There are solid, trusting relationships between management and staff. Staff members are well trained and feel truly appreciated because they are. Management works closely with a qualified accountant to plan for payment of taxes. Management is willing to seek qualified professional assistance if problems arise.

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CATERERS25

Lets examine some additional techniques, philosophies, and real life ways to be successful in the challenging field of off premise catering. Stephen R. Coveys The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, defines habits as things we do automatically, like brushing our teeth, combing our hair, or straightening a tablecloth that is uneven. We hardly think about them, we just do them. But what are some habits that mark successful caterers? What separates star performers from the rest of the crowd? 25 Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Published 10 January 2005, Second Edition, Off Premises Catering Management 51

Here are seven key traits: 1.Willingness to Take Calculated Risks One of our favorite sayings is, A turtle goes nowhere until it sticks its neck out. In order to succeed, we must be continually growing and improving, and the only way to do this is to leave our comfort zones and stick our necks out. If you are right-handed, you feel quite comfortable writing with your right hand. Now, try writing with your left hand. You are definitely out of your comfort zone. But after a while, you will find you can actually write with either hand. Successful caterers make things happen by taking calculated risks, whether it is trying new menu items, new buffet display concepts, or accepting a job in a new and challenging off premise location. Caterers who refuse to take risks fail to grow and learn and are left behind. 2.Sincere Concern for Others Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Empathy and genuine concern for your clients and staff are paramount to long-term success. What are their needs, wishes, and desires? What are their concerns and their hot buttons? By putting ourselves in their positions, we can begin to show concern for others and understand them. When we do this, we develop meaningful relationships and, not coincidentally, loyalty. We give them what they want, and we get what we want. 3.Keeping Up with Current Trends It is not just a matter of food and presentation and theme trends. Caterers who are not wired to do business online through the Internet and e mail are missing out on huge opportunities. People do shop for catering online, and the companies that lead the way have high quality websites and diligently reply to e mailed requests in a timely manner. Caterers need to get in the habit of responding to e mail correspondence as soon as possible, as well as providing e mailed proposals to those clients who prefer to do business via their computers. Event planners who book caterers for their clients love receiving e mailed proposals, because they are easy to copy and paste into their own proposals. If you are not in the habit of working online, you are behind the times. 4.Excellent Priorities and Time Management You get 20 percent of your sales and profits from 80 percent of your clients, and 80 percent of your sales and profits from 20 percent of your clients. 52

None of us ever go home at night thinking that all the work is done it never is. It is simply a question of what is most important, as well as what is most urgent. Urgent things are never really an issue. There is no question that if you have a catered event today, it will get done. But what is most urgent is not necessarily what is most important. You must understand the difference. For example, you could spend a day catering three small parties for 25 guests each, but fall behind on preparing a proposal for another job, in three months, for 500 guests and lose it to a competitor whose proposal was simply submitted on time. Successful caterers spend their time in those areas that generate the biggest paybacks in terms of money, quality, and other rewards. They make a habit of planning their days, leaving time for the most important, as well as the most urgent. At the start of each day they prepare an agenda that details both short term objectives and long term goals. 5.Quality before Quantity Bigger is not necessarily better. Still, many of us get caught up in that way of thinking. If our sales are $1 million, lets go for $2 million. If they are $2 million, what is wrong with $4 million? There is nothing wrong with building sales if quality does not suffer. However, when the quality of our products and services suffers so does the quality of our lifestyle. More business means more hours at work. And doctors will tell you they have never met a man or woman who, on a deathbed, expressed a wish that he or she had spent more time at work. If we can grow our businesses with no adverse effects on the quality of our lives or our products, then we should go for it. But if we find profits slipping and clients complaining, and we need a letter of introduction when we stumble home at 3:00 a.m., then something is very wrong. We need to make of habit of continually asking ourselves whether we might be better off with less business and more time for ourselves and for our families. We need to continually examine the quality of our work to ensure that it is not slipping be53

cause we have allowed ourselves to take on too much. 6.Being Detail Oriented A baseball player who bats .250 gets three hits for every 12 times at bat. One who bats .333 gets four hits for every 12 times at bat. The differenceone more hit for every 12 times at batmeans the difference between an average major league ball player and a Hall of Fame inductee. Do you make it a habit to continually look for the little things? A good caterer is not nitpicky, but is forever finding something that needs to be tweaked, adjusted, redone, or improved little things that most customers would not notice, but that greatly impact the overall professionalism of an event. Being aware of the details in flavors, look, aromas, and tidiness separates the average caterers from the superstars. And, by all means, check the spelling, grammar, and punctuation in all your written materials, from brochures to contracts or hire someone to do it. Again, the goal is to present a professional image. Remember the devil is in the details. 7.Setting High Standards If you refuse to accept anything but the very best, you very often get the best. Successful caterers set their standards high and expect excellence from themselves and their staff members. They are never happy with the status quo, always striving to make each party, wedding, or event better than the last. They debrief after an event, asking staff for input and improvements. They know that if they fail to improve, they are leaving the door open for their competitors to capture a good customer or a larger share of the market. Successful caterers also make a habit of lifelong learning. They are forever reading, attending trade shows, and exploring areas that will help them improve their own businesses with new ideas. They challenge and reward their staff members for having the same attitude. Vince Lombardi, the late NFL coach, who during his career coached the first team to ever win the Super Bowl, put it this way: The quality of a persons life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.

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MANAGING AN OFF-PREMISE CATERING OPERATION26, 27

Managerial Decision Making Off Premise catering managers must make decisions that keep their operations running smoothly. They realize that some decisions will be better than others, that there is no perfect solution to every problem, and that the best decision making goal is to find the best 26H.L. Cracknell , R.J. Kaufmann , G. Nobis, Cengage Learning, Published June 2001, Second Edition, Practical Professional catering management 27Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management 55

possible solution with the least number of drawbacks. Connie Sitterly, a management consultant and author, states that to be a good decision maker you should, plan ahead so when problems crop up, you are prepared to act, not react. Control circumstances, instead of allowing them to control you. Take the initiative by anticipating and solving business problems. Although hundreds of books have been written about decision making, the following tips from Ms. Sitterly should be helpful (they are paraphrased from an article she wrote back in 1990 in The Meeting Manager, but they are still up to the minute when it comes to making tough decisions successfully): Remember that there's seldom only one acceptable solution to the problem. Choose the best alternative. Make decisions that help achieve the company objectives. You need to consider feelings whenever people are involved. Even if you must make an unpopular decision, you can minimize repercussions, if workers know you have taken their feelings into account. Allow quality time for planning and decision making. Pick a time when you are energetic and your mind is fresh. Realize that you will never please everyone. Few decisions meet with unanimous approval the appointed authority, not the majority, rules. Make time for making decisions. In business, delaying a decision can cost thousands of rupees. Put decision making in perspective. Every executive feels overwhelmed at times by either the enormity or the number of decisions made during a business day. For peace of mind accept that you are doing the best job you can with the time, talent, and resources you have. Do not wait for a popular vote. Rallying your colleagues around your decision before you take action or waiting for their vote of confidence before deciding anything may cost too much in time. There are times when you just have to do something. Leadership There are major differences between those who lead and those who manage. Catering companies need both types of executives, and some who can do both. If a catering com56

pany is earning seven and eight figure annual revenues, people with leadership skills are most definitely leading it. Leaders are able to get people to do things they do not necessarily like to do, but they do them and even enjoy them. Professionalism and Common Business Courtesy Off premise caterers who are not professional in their business practices will never reach the pinnacle of success in the field. It is of utmost importance that we define professionalism. The following guidelines are adapted from an article by Carol McKibben in Special Events magazine: Become known for doing what you say you are going to do. Give price quotes and commitments only when you know everything about the event. Treat clients and staff members with respect. Build relationships with clients. Do not look at them as accounts or projects. Be on time, or a bit early, for appointments. Be prepared for an appointment. Be honest; do not play games. Stand behind your work. If it is wrong, make it right. In the face of abuse from others, do not respond by becoming abusive. Try to detach yourself from it emotionally and handle it logically. Of course, do not use your position of power to abuse others. Dress professionally. Enjoy your work as an off premise caterer. When work ceases to be enjoyable, it is time to quit and find a new career. Ethics in Management28 The Roman philosopher Publilius Syrus said, A good reputation is more valuable than money. This is as true today as it was in ancient times. And yet, lack of ethics is perhaps the most widely discussed topic in today's business world. We read and hear of illegalities, scandals, and other forms of questionable behavior bringing down some of the nation's largest corporations. Off premise caterers are in no way exempt from ethical concerns. Even the smallest 28Umesh Narayan, Prentice-hall Of India Pvt. Ltd., Basics of Catering Management 57

caterers deal in issues of fairness, legal requirements, and honesty on a daily basis. Examples include truth in menu, misleading advertising, unexpected and unjustified last minute add ons to the party price, and even underbidding a competitor when the client has disclosed your competitor's price. Truly ethical caterers will assume responsibility for the host to ensure that the host plans an event in the best interest of the guests. A host who wishes to serve alcohol to underage guests or barbecued ribs to a group of elderly people (tough to eat with dentures) is out of line and needs to be advised that this will not work. In fact, an ethical caterer will refuse to cater an event that is clearly not being planned in the best interest of the host or guests. There are times when a caterer is given a free hand in planning a menu. Perhaps a grieving client calls for food after the funeral of a loved one, saying, Please send over food for 50 guests tomorrow night. You know what we like! The ethical caterer will not take advantage of this situation by either providing too much food or overcharging the client. Another temptation arises when the caterer is pressed to cater more events on a certain day or evening than he or she can reasonably accommodate. The extra money looks good. Unethical caterers will rationalize that they can handle all the events, even if an inexperienced supervisor or staff must oversee these events, or even if the kitchen staff will not be able to prepare the caterer's usual high quality food because of lack of time and personnel. Caterers who take on more work than they can reasonably accommodate are greedy and are considered by many observers to be unethical. In the foregoing situation the caterer should decline the work and perhaps recommend another caterer. Some caterers refuse to recommend another catering firm because they feel that if the client is not pleased with the other firm, the caterer who turned down the business will be blamed for the recommendation. Other caterers freely recommend one or more companies when unable to cater events. There are times when it is very hard not to bad mouth a competitor, but this is considered unethical as well as rude. Those who are ethical would rather point out their own strengths than downgrade the competition. It can be very tempting for self employed caterers to underreport income or overstate expenses. They rationalize that no one will know if they accept cash for a party, then fail to report it as income and pay the associated tax, or that no one will know if they happen to charge personal expenses now and then to the business. Some caterers who are licensed 58

to sell liquor by the drink or by the bottle are tempted to bill clients for beverages that were not consumed. These practices are not only unethical but also illegal. Other ethical violations occur when caterers receive under the table cash kickbacks from suppliers, misrepresent their services to potential clients, or bid on party plans or ideas stolen from other caterers. Caterers also soon learn that some clients are unethical. A few are masterful at finding fault with a wedding or other important event, then demanding a discount based on whatever flaw they feel they have uncovered. For example some will refuse to pay for linens that were damaged by candles they lit on them! You will find people who, mid party, will ask you to stay a couple hours of overtime, just to wrap things up then not show up to pay you for the extra time the next day, as agreed. Others will haggle over the tiniest details on an invoice or try to engage more than one caterer in a bidding war to lower prices. Caterers who deal with middleman organizations, like destination management firms or production companies, may find that a client of one of these companies will come back later to try to deal directly with you, thus cutting out the middleman who recommended you. As a catering professional, you need to expect a certain amount of this behavior and must protect yourself if you suspect an ethical question may arise. Insisting on security deposits, having a valid and authorized credit card number on file for unforeseen charges, refusing to look at other caterers' written bids, and standing firm on your own invoice prices are just a few ways ethical problems can be avoided. And rather than cut out a legitimate middleman type of vendor, you can either refuse to deal directly with a client who tries such a maneuver or suggest a commission be paid to the middleman. You will also be put in some sticky situations during tough times, and even good times certain clients will make unrealistic requests. They have often been good, regular clients too! But they will promise you future business if you will cater their party at cost, or defer payment for them, or ask some other special favor just this once. These requests are unfair, and you are right to be squeamish about them. Off premise caterers should be extremely wary when approached in this fashion. As a general rule, clients who do not pay their bills in a professional manner, or who are not willing to pay a fair price for catering services, are not worth the headaches they cause. Separating Yourself from the Competition

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Great caterers do more than imitate they innovate. There are distinct advantages for those who offer a unique menu, a unique service, or perhaps a unique location. They may build and improve on someone else's concept, but they strive to take the idea to the next level. Rather than mimicking another's success, they imprint their own signature on their menus. One of America's top chefs, Charlie Trotter says, It's important that you foster a company culture that spurs you and your employees to search for innovative opportunities. Innovations can satisfy needs that are unmet or offer solutions to time worn problems, or they can be new ways of saving time, space and money. Trotter says, He and his staff use input from their travels, readings, television, radio, and even hobbies to hit upon trends. They keep up on the latest changes in public opinion and demographics to search for interesting, potentially high growth markets. Currently, they have identified ethnic cuisines such as Pan Asian and Nuevo Latino as hot areas for menu innovation. The bottom line is that they create their own trends. Similarly, as with any career, catering professionals need to reexamine their business strategies from time to time. Some caterers do what they do best, are well known for it, and never vary their formulas. Their clients love them and get exactly what they expect.

Costing29
If you intend to run a successful catering business, it is important to know how to price catering jobs correctly. In order to price a catering job, you must take into account all catering costs while still making sure to price competitively. While each catering business has its own specialty and therefore its own pricing considerations, there are certain basic rules to pricing a catering job that apply to most catering businesses. These rules are: 1. Calculate Overhead Catering Expenses Before you start to price a particular catering job, it is important to calculate your total overhead costs. These include costs of equipment, transportation, rental space, utilities, etc. Divide this total by the number of catering jobs you anticipate. Be sure to include this amount whenever pricing a catering job. 2. Price Based on Specific Catering Job Costs Next, you will want to price your catering based on costs associated with that specific catering event. Make a list of all costs associated including food costs, disposable goods, staff wages, utilities, 29 http://www.ehow.com/how_5174497_price-catering-job.html 60

etc. You should be able to approximate how much an event will cost in advance as you get more experienced. 3. Price Based on Head Count One of the most common methods of pricing a catering job is pricing based on number of people that you will be serving. You can set a minimum number of people you are willing to cater for. You can also set prices on a sliding scale. For example, offer a regular price per person for 50-100 people, offer a slightly discounted price per person for 100-200 people and over a very discounted price for 200-400 people. 4. Price Based on Menu Type You should also take into account the type of food you will be serving. Calculate how much the ingredients cost plus how much it will cost for the chef to prepare. Some foods may have inexpensive ingredients, but require a lot of preparation, so be sure to keep this in mind when pricing. 5. Price Based on Number of Courses Another consideration to price a catering job is how many courses will be served. Elaborate meals with seven courses will obviously cost more than a simple two course meal. 6. Price Based on Type of Setup You will also want to price catering jobs based on the type of event and the set up required. Are you planning a formal dinner or a simple picnic? Do not take into account just the food that is served, but also how the food will need to appear. 7. Price Based on Service Remember to price based on number of waiters required. You might charge less for catering if you will just serve buffet style instead of full waiter service. Calculate how many waiters are needed and how many hours you will need them for. 8. Include Additional Services in your Catering Pricing You can get more business and make more of a profit potentially if you add additional services to your catering business. For example, you can cater for a specific hall and charge your client one price that includes both the price of the hall and the catering service. Similarly, you can offer hall decorating or flowers together with catering service. 9. Price Competitively Make sure to investigate how much your competitors charge for the catering jobs. Try to remain competitive while still covering your costs and leaving yourself a profit. Give your catering service a specialty in order to charge more than the competition and still get clients. 10. Simplify your Catering Prices If you plan on catering as a business, you should try to take all pricing considerations and create a standard pricing guide. Try to categorize services into service types so that you don't have to figure out 61

prices from the start for each customer who approaches you. For example, have a standard menu with a basic price and then additional costs for extras. Put together a list of which items will be considered standard and which will require additional costs. Coming up with a fair price for a catering job is tough at first. It is important that you put in the time and learn how to get it right so that you can maximize the opportunities available to you. Some caterers think that by pricing low and undercutting market rates they can win clients and establish a solid market share. Pricing too low under market rates to compete is always bad practice. You may win clients this way but you wont be making much profit for your troubles and you will find it hard to raise prices in the future. Some clients may also perceive your food or service to be low quality. Try to price your service at market rates or slightly above to give yourself room to lower prices if the client wants to negotiate. While a small discount may be appropriate though you should not give in too much too customers who want to haggle over your price. Be prepared for some clients to tell you the quotes that they have received from other caterers and expect you to beat your competitor's prices. Customers will shop around so you will be losing jobs if you are quoting prices that are too high and cannot be justified. Pricing above market rates is possible if you have an established brand with a reputation for quality that can command a price premium. A Catering Business Pricing Method30 Firstly, you have to get some information about the event and the expected attendance. Then you can calculate all the costs involved with catering such an event. These costs will include all your food and beverage requirements and the costs associated with acquiring them, preparing them and serving them. Costs could include the workers that you employ, your own time, transport costs and equipment rental. Next, you have to work out your monthly business expenses. These costs may include
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rent, vehicle expenses, depreciation on equipment, advertising and marketing costs, insurance and utilities. Once you have worked out this you can then divide this figure by the number of catering jobs that you typically do in a month. You will then come up with an amount for each event that should be put towards your monthly overheads. You may decide to make an additional adjustment to this amount depending on if you are catering for a larger or smaller than average event. Once you have a figure that represents your total costs for the job you can then add on a reasonable amount of profit. Then you have the total quote that you can put forward to a customer. Of course, after you have done this a few times and get a feel for pricing you can get an easier system going.

One way is to charge per head and simply make adjustments for the number of courses and any expensive ingredients that were required. As you get a better understanding of the market and gain some experience you will find that pricing a catering job also comes down to gut feeling or intuition.

Another factor that can influence pricing is whether you expect to get future business from a client. You might settle for a lower profit if you are to be catering regularly to a corporate client. Arrangements like this usually run smoothly over the long term and present few challenges. However, if you were doing a one catering event for a customer who is not likely to book your service again in the near future then you would expect to make a higher profit on the job.

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research is based on primary and secondary data and is exploratory and descreptive in nature. The study is done from the business perspective to understand the competition faced by Off Premises Caterers. This project work basically involves finding the key strategies, marketing methods, differentiating factors of a caterer, etc.

Secondary Data Collection

The project work involved the process of secondary data collection that was done by studying various theoretical and issue related books, internet sites and company reports.

Primary Data Collection

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Primary data collection is done by conducting surveys with the assupmtion that the catered event is for 100 people and a sample size of 50 respondents in the city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Sample Design

The survey was conducted by persoanlly visiting the caterers and getting the questionnaire filled by 50 different caterers. The list of these 50 caterers is: 1. Hotel Taj Hari Mahal 2. Hotel Park Plaza 3. Gypsy Restaurant and Food Service 4. Fun N Food 5. Amit Caterers 6. Bask Caterers 7. ABC Jain Caterers 8. Jain Suppliers 9. Navlakha Caterers 10.Papsa Caterers 11. Aashiana Caterers 12.Amar Caterers 13.Agra Caterers 14.Anand Caterers 15.Anmol Wedding and Event Management 16.Ashok Caterers 17.Best Caterers 18.Bhati Caterers 19.Bhawani Caterers 20.Champa Lal Vater and Caterers 65

21.Chics and Kabs 22.Dawat E Khas 23.G.K. Caterers 24.Ganga Vishan Diwakar 25.Heerji Halwai 26.Jai Caterers 27.Kanhiya Sweets and Caterers 28.Kishan Catering Service 29.Lamhe Catering and Event Management 30.Nandu Halwai Catering Service 31.Parihar Sweets and Caterers 32.Pradeep Caterers 33.Prince Caterers 34.Priyanshee Caterers 35.Pukhraj Ghanchi Caterers 36.Rahul Catering Service 37.Rainbow Caterers 38.Saawariya Catering Service 39.Sagai Se Vidai Tak Caterers 40.Sheru Caterers 41.Shiv Shakti Caterers 42.Shree Vinayak Caterers 43.Shri Agarwal Caterers 44.Shri Kishan Sad Caterers 45.Shri Nakoda Caterers 46.Shri Nath Caterers 47.Shubham Caterers 66

48.Shri Radhey Caterers 49.Mahalaxmi Caterers 50.Perfect Plate Caterer

Sample Testing

Before conducting the final survey, the sample was tested by getting the questionnaire filled by 5 caterers. The answers to the questions asked in the survey provided relevant and accurate information to conduct the final data analysis.

Data Analysis

After the collection of the primary data through questionnaire, the data was tabulated for analysis and interpretation.

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA AND INTERPRETATION

Scope for Off Premises Catering Industry in Jodhpur and the Types of Events Catered
The scope of the catering industry in Jodhpur can be understood by the number of events catered in a month by the caterers. The smaller the number of events catered the lesser the scoop and the higher the number of events catered the higher is the scoop. Again Jodhpur being a small city, the catering industry does not have a very large scoop as compared to cities like Pune, Bombay, etc. The range of catered events in Jodhpur on an average basis lies between 1 to approximately 25. 50% (refer table 1) of the caterers in Jodhpur cater between 1 to 5 67

events in a month on an average. The caterers who fall into the range of 1 to 5 catered events per month are the caterers like Bhati Caterers, Amit Caterers, Papsa Caterers, etc. The major catering firms like Taj Hari Mahal and Park Plaza cater about 3 or 4 events in a month, Fun N Food and Gypsy caterer about 7 to 8 events in a month. The caterers who cater more than 20 events in a month are the ones who only provide ready to eat food in hot boxes and deliver it to their customers besides that they rarely provide any other services.

Table 1: Catered Events per Month Catered Events per Month 1 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 20 More than 20 Total Number of Respondents 25 15 6 4 50 Percentage 50.00 30.00 12.00 8.00 100.00

Figure 3: Catered Events per Month

Types of Catering Event

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Most of the caterers in Jodhpur cater only social events like wedding and receptions, anniversary and birthday parties, etc. Only few caterers like Gypsy, Park Plaza and Taj Hari Mahal cater to corporates. Sources of Purchasing Food Supplies In any city, the sources of purchasing food supplies are the wholesalers and the retailers. Just like any caterers in any other cities, the caterers in Jodhpur also purchase their supplies from the two above said sources. All the caterers buy the vegetables (like potato, onions, etc.), poultry and meat from the wholesalers and sauces and the add ons from the retailers.

Employees in Catering Firms of Jodhpur

Full Time Employees The caterers in Jodhpur have more full time employees. About 70% of the catering firms have employee strength of 11 to 50 (refer table 2). None of the caterers employee more than 100 people. Table 2: Number of Full Time Employees Number of Employees Less than 10 11 to 50 51 to 100 101 to 150 More than 151 Total Number of Respondents 5 35 10 0 0 50 Percentage 10 70 20 0 0 100

Figure 4: Number of Full Time Employees

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Part Time Employees

Table 3: Number of Part Time Employees Number of Employees Less than 10 11 to 50 51 to 100 101 to 150 More than 151 Total Number of Respondents 17 25 8 0 0 50 Percentage 34 50 16 0 0 100

Figure 5: Number of Part Time Employees

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Delivery System in Off Premises Catering

As per the table 4, about 24% of the caterers in Jodhpur own and use 1 to 2 delivery vehicles, 54% caterers use 3 to 4 delivery vehicles, 12% catering companies use 5 to 6 delivery vehicles and only 10% caterers use more than 6 delivery vehicles.

The caterers using 5 to 6 and more than 6 delivery vehicles are caterers like Bhati caterers, Amit caterers, etc. These caterers are the ones, who only cater to events like wedding and receptions, graduation ceremonies, etc. where the food consumption is at a large scale, the caterer has to arrange for seating arrangements and require a big number of staff to serve, clean, cook and supervise. 71

The rest of the caterers require maximum 4 delivery vehicles. Even the leading catering firms like Taj, Park Plaza, Fun N Food and Gypsy use about 4 vehicles for delivering all the required items for a catering event. Out of these 4 vehicles that these firms use, one vehicle is temperature controlled, one vehicle is for the tables and chairs, linens, crockery and flatware, china, etc. and 1 to 2 vehicles for the staff to reach the location of the catered event. Table 4: Number of Delivery Vehicles Delivery Vehicles 1 to 2 3 to 4 5 to 6 More than 6 Total Number of Respondents 12 27 6 5 50 Percentage 24 54 12 10 100

Figure 6: Number of Delivery Vehicles

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Types of Cuisines and Entertainment provided in Catering Events

Types of Cuisines The most important part of any catering event is the food. Every customer has their own tastes and preferences and it is crucial for any caterer to be equipped to provide the type of cuisine the customer likes in both vegetarian and non - vegetarian. Some of the famous cuisines in India are Chinese, Continental, Seafood, Italian and Regional. 73

Caterers in Jodhpur provide various types of cuisines such as: Regional that is the Rajasthani food specialties, Chinese (noodles, Szechwan, stir fried and soups), Continental Indian (north and south Indian, Punjabi, Luckhnowi, and Hyderabadi), Mexican (tacos, nachos, burritos, fajitas and wraps), Seafood (various fishes, prawns, lobsters, crabs, etc.), and Italian (pastas, pizzas, etc.) Types of Entertainment Any off premises catering requires some kind of entertainment. If it is a wedding or a reception you require some kind of instrumental music in the background or few people playing tabla or dholak or sitar or flute or a mixture of 2 or 3 of the above said instruments. For birthday parties you need some kind of games to play for the kids if the party is for kids, and if the birthday party is for someone above the age of 16 years you require a DJ or some latest Hip Hop music as per the customers choice. A caterer should always be equipped with the above said entertainment. For anniversaries the caterer can again provide DJ, a live band, a classical singer or a karaoke setup. The various types of entertainment that the caterers in Jodhpur provide are: Latest Hip Hop music, Karaoke, Jazz, Live band, DJ, Classical music or a classical singer. 74

Marketing

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The various channels for marketing available for all the caterers in Jodhpur are: Newspapers, Local radio channels, Local television channels, Billboards and hoardings throughout the city, and Yellow Pages The caterers in Jodhpur normally use the local newspapers the most for advertising their businesses. Some of the caterers like Taj, Gypsy, Fun N Food, Jain caterers and a few use the local radio channels and local television channels for advertising. Since, Jodhpur is a small city, the caterers say the best marketing channel is the word of mouth publicity. The reason being that people in Jodhpur do a lot of socializing and being a small city the social networks are very strong. The leading catering firms in Jodhpur emphasize a lot on the word of mouth publicity because it is the best way for them to create their company as a brand.

Table 5: Channels of Marketing

Channels of Marketing Number of Respondents

Local Newspapers Local Radio Channels Local Television Channels Billboards and Hoardings Yellow Pages 47 15 5 5 50

Figure 7: Channels of Marketing 76

CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOM77

MENDATIONS

Findings from Data Analysis

From the data analysis, the following are the findings about the Off Premises Caterers in Jodhpur: The scope of catering industry in Jodhpur is not very high because about 50% of the caterers cater about 1 to 5 events on a monthly basis. The leading caterers like Taj and Park Plaza cater 3 or 4 events and Gypsy and Fun N Food the more famous ones cater around 7 or 8 events. The caterers in Jodhpur buy their supplies from both the wholesalers as well as retailers. Good like oil, ghee, vegetables, poultry, meat, liquor, etc. is bought from the wholesalers and goods like sauces, soft drinks, aerated water, cutlery, linens, crockery, etc. are bought from retailers. Hotel Taj is the only caterer who does not buy any of their supplies from either a wholesaler or a retailer. The hotel has its own buying system. It is called Central Purchase Contract. Under this system, whenever the stock of any goods in the hotel reduces below a certain level, an order is generated by the hotel to the company directly for sending more stock. The caterers in Jodhpur mostly hire a full time employee because they are cheaper than the part time employees not because the full time employee is paid lesser salary than the part time employee. Both the kind of employees is paid the same amount of salary. The full time employee is cheaper because the company spends time and money for training and they stay with the company longer than the part time employees and by the training provide to the employees the caterer also reap the benefits. Most of the catering firms hire about 11 to 50 people, which means that the majority businesses in the catering industry of the Jodhpur are medium sized firms. 78

 The catering events in Jodhpur are of fairly larger size, because majority caterers use 3 to 4 delivery vehicles. The caterers mostly serve Regional, North and South Indian, Italian and Chinese cuisines. Most of the catering events have either a DJ or a classical singer. The most commonly used channels of marketing by the caterers in Jodhpur is the local newspapers and local television channels. But the caterers still think that the most effective way of marketing is word of mouth marketing. None of the caterers in Jodhpur have their websites. Some of the differentiating factors that the caterers pointed out were brand name for caterers like Taj and Park Plaza. The quality of food and services for caterers like Gypsy, Fun N Food, again Taj and Park Plaza. The low cost factor for the majority caterers like Amit caterers, Bhati caterers, etc. The differentiating factors as per stated by: o Taj The brand and competency is our key differentiating factor. o Fun N Food Giving the best quality food at low and economical rates and good service are the key factors giving us a competitive edge to us. o Gypsy Restaurant and Food Service Great quality, taste and variety to select from the widest of menu and efficient serving staff are the 2 major factors separating us from our competitors.

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Conclusion

The catering industry is divided into two fundamentally different disciplines: facility catering and outside catering. A facility is a hotel, banquet hall, conference center, convention center, or other venue that has space an organization can use. Facility catering, therefore, is the discipline in which a facility provides food/beverage and logistical support to an organization that needs function space at that facility. Function space is the term used to describe the meeting rooms, ballrooms, exhibit halls, and other banquet spaces a facility makes available to organizations for various uses. In contrast to facility catering, outside catering is the discipline in which a facility provides food/beverage and the requisite logistical support and service to an organization or individuals in a venue other than the facility. Facility catering and outside catering shares some characteristics but not all. The fundamental difference between the two disciplines is that facility caterers must consider the availabilities and best uses of their function spaces, which may be limited. Outside caterers are not necessarily limited by function space. They are limited by their abilities to locate venues, and to achieve adequate kitchen capacities and staffing levels. The two catering disciplines share the characteristics of menu and event planning, as well as certain operational issues. The objective for both disciplines is the same: to achieve maximum catering results. Food and beverage operations are an integral part of the hospitality industry, because the demand for food and drink goes along with providing accommodation. Food and beverage operations are required not only in the hotels, but also in hospital catering, welfare catering, clubs, industrial catering and transport catering arenas. The demand for food and beverage operation is spreading in almost all the sectors. So is the increasing demand for qualified food and beverage staff to take care of these operations. The food and beverage department plays an important role in building a hotels image. A well managed food and beverage operations unit can provide guests with excellent food experience. There are many types of establishments in the Catering Industry (refer exhibit 1). One of the types of establishment in the Catering Industey is Off premises Catering. Off premises catering is a highly specialized business of serving food at a remote place or at a 80

location away from the caterer's food production facility. It is the service to the offices, clubs, homes or wherever meals are served off the premises where they are planned and prepared. Off premises catering covers everything from take home meals to the most elaborate parties and weddings. Off premise catering like other skilled technical jobs is a highly specialized operation which makes the task of managing a off premise catering event highly complex. While profit is one side of the coin and an interesting part of the catering industry, the multitude of activities throwing a challenge to the caterers forms the other difficult side of the coin. If careful consideration is given to certain small details, and people concerned take active participation, it will decrease the complexity of managing a catered event, increase turnover, improve the profit and enhance the reputation of caterer helping him to make his firm a brand. There are no set standard practices and formulae for a party catering to be successful. Challneges, complexity, procedure and techniques vary from job to job and place to place, according to the requirements of the occasion for which the party is hosted and the facilities and the amount of cash available to the caterer. In order to decrease the complexity of a catered event, the caterer should posses the ability to perform and should have the adequate amount workers with the desired skills to perform effectively and efficiently. In adition, a caterer should delegate the work equally amongst everybody to avoid any kind of stress and the directions and commands give by him/her should be simple and clear to avoid any kind of ambiguity.

Off Premises Catering is a highly specialized and disciplined business. The caterers in todays date have to be very flexible and adaptive to the varying needs from customer to customer. To be a successful off premise caterer, the caterers need to be equipped with a wide variety of cuisines, various types entertainment, a well trained, skilled and sufficient number of employees to carry out the catering event smoothly.

Furthermore, the owner of a catering firm should be highly disciplined to handle the stress that he goes through during a catering event. Otherwise, with the volatility of this industry 81

one wrong move by the caterer can destroy his whole business.

Another thing that a caterer should practice is the ethics pertaining to this business. When it is said that a caterer should be ethical, what it means is that, when a caterers is approached for catering an event, he should layout all the crucial aspects pertaining a catered event. That is, he should not hide any information from a customer because you never know which information can be crucial and which can be neglected from the customers point of view.

Finally, for someone who wants to start their own catering firm in the city of Jodhpur, they should thoroughly examine all the point discussed in this study to get a picture of the Jodhpurs catering industry.

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Recommendations

Few things the caterers in Jodhpur should consider are: For all the caterers it would be advantageous to make their own business websites with all the required information that is necessary for a customer to make an informed decision to select which caterer they should hire. Since some of the leading caterers like Fun N Food, Gypsy, etc. have already created a brand in Jodhpur, they should now consider franchising in other cities too. To make some long term relations with some their clients, the caterers in Jodhpur should really start giving proper discounts. During the study, it was often noticed most of the caterers do not giving discounts due to which they lose out on the potential customers.

Scope for Future Research

The scope of future research is: A comparative study can be conduct on the basis of this study with the Off Premises Caterers in other cities in the state of Rajasthan. A study on the costing patterns of the Off Premises Caterers can be done.

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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Practical Professional catering management by H.L. Cracknell , R.J. Kaufmann , G. Nobis Off Premises Catering Management by Bill Hansen, Chris Thomas Basics of Catering Management by U Narayan http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/44/04714642/0471464244.pdf http://www.scribd.com/doc/16821392/SR-Catering-Business http://www.fdrp.com/prosuccessmagazine/Misc/Service%20in%20the %20Wilderness-Service%20Challenges%20of%20Off-Prem~60E.pdf http://www.scribd.com/doc/19959315/Basics-of-Catering-Management-F http://resources.smude.edu.in/slm/?p=63683 http://www.scribd.com/doc/26766363/Off-Premises-Catering http://jodhpur.justdial.com/caterers_Jodhpur.html http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-184230557.html http://www.startacateringcompany.com/general/hiring-and-managing-cateringemployees/ http://www.deliveryconcepts.com/html/catering.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/marketing-management/importance-ofmarketing.html http://www.ehow.com/how_5174497_price-catering-job.html http://www.startacateringcompany.com/marketing/pricing-a-catering-job/

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EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1 Types of Catering Establishments

The following are the different types of Catering Establishments: 1. Hotels and other tourist accommodations: Earlier there were inns, then transport and business developed; and leisure related tourism resulted in spread of hotels. This is a major sector where food and drinks are very commonly provided together with accommodation. 2. Restaurants: Restaurants grew out of hotels, mainly started by some chefs, wishing to start their own business. In restaurants, food and drinks are served generally at high price with high level of service. 3. Popular Catering (Cafes, pizza huts, specialist coffee shops): It is an American way of show-off eating. At these popular catering outlets, food and drinks are provided generally at low or medium price and limited level of service. 4. Fast food outlets: These are Mc Donalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wimpy, Wendis etc. known for sophisticated meal packaging and marketing. Here, there is a provision for food and drinks, in highly specialized environment and quick service is its specialty. 5. Take away outlets: In these outlets, food and drinks are packaged and sold for take away facilities. The service is generally very quick. 6. Retail Stores: The concept of food service at Retail Stores developed from prestigious stores, wishing to provide food and drink as a part of retailing concept. At retail stores, shopping malls and other market places, food and drinks services are provided as an adjunct to provision of retailing. 85

7. Banqueting, Conferences and Seminars / Exhibitions: These are originally associated with hotels, but now are developing as a major sector in their own way. At these places, provision for food and drinks is made on large scale and usually prebooked 8. Leisure Attractions (such as parks, theme parks, galleries, airline terminals, theatres): Attractive profit from food has made it common, at such public places like parks, airline terminals, water-parks and theatres. Here provision for food and drinks is made for people engaged in another leisure pursuit. 9. Motorway filling/service stations: This concept was born in 1960s in America and is very popular in the Western countries. It has provision for food and drinks along with retail and fuel filling services for the motorway travelers mostly in isolated locations. 10. Welfare sector: Welfare sectors include Hospitals, Institutions, and Forces etc. Here there is provision for food and drinks to people through social needs. 11. Industrial Catering: It is best from the concept Better fed workers work better. The provision for food and drinks is made to people at work and generally at a subsidised rate. 12. Transport Catering (Airlines, Railway, Food plazas, (surface) Marine catering): The purpose of providing food and beverage service in these sectors is to take care of eating and drinking needs of the people on the move. 13. Off Premises Catering: Off Premises catering concept developed through need to provide services at special events known as Outdoor Catering. The off premise catering sector caters to occasional events, with provision of food and drinks at places away from home base of the suppliers.

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Exhibit 2 Tips for Employee Presentation and Management

Have your employees wear white uniforms, or at least white shirts or blouses. White is one of the traditional colors of serving staff as it suggests cleanliness. You should ensure that your employees are well groomed, well spoken, polite and respectful to the guests. Always make sure that your staff members are able to answer all the questions that they will get at a typical event. Teach them beforehand so they know such things as which dishes are suitable for vegetarians or where the bathrooms are located. Cross train your catering business employees so that they are all able to work in a variety of roles during an event. This gives you some flexibility if you are short staffed in certain areas. It also makes for a more interesting work environment for your employees. To take your business to the six figure level you must become good at hiring and organizing your catering business employees. Employees can really make or break a business and catering is no exception.

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Exhibit 3 Questionnaire
This survey is for my ongoing research project on Off Premises Catering and Management: Name of the Firm: Owners Name: Address: Phone: E mail Address: Qualifying Question: 1. Describe your business in 30 to 40 words: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

2. Please indicate the size of your business.

o o

15 catered events per month

610 catered events per month

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o o

1120 catered events per month

More than 20 catered events per month

3. What types of event do you cater to?

o o o o o

Wedding and Receptions

Anniversary and Birthday Parties

Graduation

Funeral Service

Corporate catering events such as grand opening, retirement parties, receptions to promote business, awards ceremonies, unveiling new products, meals for meetings and seminars.

4. From what source do you purchase food supplies?

o Distributor o Retailer
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o Other ____________________________
5. Please describe your various marketing strategies in 30 to 40 words: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

6. How many people do you employ? Full Time

o o o o o

Less than 10

11 50

51 100

101 150

More than 151

Part Time

Less than 10

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o o o o

11 50

51 100

101 150

More than 151

7. How many delivery vehicles do you have?

o12 o34 o56 o More than 6

8. What types of cuisines do you serve?

o Regional (Local Food Specialties) o Chinese (Noodle, Szechwan, Stir Fried Veg and Non Veg, Soups and
Sauces)

o Continental (Grilled and Roasted Veg and Non Veg)

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o Indian (North Indian, South Indian, Punjabi, Luckhnowi and Hyderbadi) o Mexican (Tacos, Nacho, Fajitas, Burritos and Wraps) o Seafood (Various Sea Fishes, Prawns, Lobsters, Crabs, etc) o Italian (Pasta, Pizza and Italian Dessert)

9. What types of entertainment do you provide in your catered event?

o Hip Hop o Karaoke o Jazz o Band o DJ o Classical

10. Do you serve alcoholic beverages as a part of your business?

o Yes
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o No
11. Does your business have a web site? If yes, please give the name of your website.

o Yes o No
12. Please describe in one sentence how you differentiate your company for your competitors. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________

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