Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies which is

relevant to the present study.

Foreign Literature

The catering business is tough, with the details of preparing food off-premises

and on-site for hundreds of people often times mind-boggling. It is not easy to cater to

an event of 400 people, much more if people start to do thousands, some 60 miles from

your home (what if you for get the sauce?). Successfully running a small catering

business takes much more than a passion for cooking and a knack for preparing tasty

dishes. You have to be a superb planner and manager as well. they need to be

extremely organized, yet flexible enough to be able to deal with last minute changes.

You also need a strong affinity for people and a kind of intuition as to what people

enjoy in different environmental settings. As the culinary sophistication and desire to be

entertained of many people have grown, customers today are looking for the catered

experience to be more restaurant-like. Many caterers are now offering signature dishes

and house specialties as customers broaden their culinary experience. Others are

offering family-style menu, especially for large informal functions and even corporate

meetings.
 Caterers today have to be adept not only in satisfying the taste buds but also

excel in food preparation. With the goal of wowing the socks off the clients, many

caterers give ample focus on plate presentations, venue selection, and table decoration,

among others. Some even hire artists to improve the presentation of the food, while

some go to such lengths as indoor pyrotechnics, confetti guns and laser-light shows.

Others employ in-house artists to customize each catered event from passing platters to

plate presentations. Given the intense competition, caterers nowadays are prepared to

do anything to keep the customer happy (and coming back for more).

You do not need special education or training to become a successful caterer.

Although taking some courses at culinary institutes or vocational schools can help.

Some start out by working for one or more catering businesses to get an inside look at

how the business goes. As with any business, your success will be directly related to the

soundness of planning and the working of that plan. Start small and keep it simple.

Understand exactly what your client wants, and give him what he wants in the way of

service that reflects upon the client in a complimentary manner.

Many people dream of running a successful catering business. They imagine

preparing delicious food for appreciative people, building up a steady clientele. Running

a catering business takes a lot of work, too thus, as with any small business, the owner

will enjoy more success if she has the ability to think creatively, work independently,

and network widely.

business owner must ensure the local area has a demand for this type of food. A

successful business owner does his home work before preparing the menu. This

includes getting copies of menus from successful businesses to find out what’s popular,

and deciding on the target audience, as Joyce Weinberg says in her book "The

Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business." The business owner

should also include his specialties in the menu and keep a running log of ideas, so he

can update the menu occasionally, she adds offering seasonal choices like cold soup in

summer, for instance, is key to success.

A stellar reputation plays a key role in landing catering assignments. Catering

businesses become known in their communities for their quality of food and reliability,

and word of mouth will still form the foundation of a business reputation. This means

being professional and providing excellent quality food at every engagement, since

attendees will share their opinion of the business.

As Lora Arduser and Douglas Robert Brown say in "The Professional Caterers

Handbook," a caterer must remain highly organized and efficient. A caterers job

involves planning how to prepare menus for all of her engagements, preparing the

food, managing staff, transporting the food, talking with clients, advertising, and

handling various unforeseen glitches such as equipment malfunctioning, as the authors

describe. She must effectively juggle these tasks while remaining personable and

professional.
 A website is crucial in todays marketplace, especially for anyone marketing to

upscale clients. In addition to marketing the business services, it’s a considerate way to

display the services to clients without requiring them to drive to a particular location. If

a catering business owner hasn’t developed a website, many potential clients may

overlook the business.

Connecting with organizations such as the American Culinary Federation and the

National Caterers Association will keep the owners of small businesses clued in to

events and developments in the catering world, as Arduser and Brown point out.

Connecting with other professionals also provides moral support and education,

increasing the chances of success.

Catering operations, as either a stand-alone facility or as part of a larger

hospitality-related business, exist in a wide variety of formats, or styles. Most common

are those that are readily identifiable as private rooms in restaurant operations, hotel

facilities, and independent catering facilities. The increased demand by the international

public for private function space outside of their own homes and businesses has led the

catering segment of the foodservice sector of the hospitality industry to be a leader in

the continued growth of both facilities and revenue. Forward thinking foodservice

businesses from fine dining restaurants to delicatessens are incorporating catering

services into their operations in recognition of the expanding market for prepared

foodservices. Off-premise catering and take-out services offer an excellent avenue for

increasing revenue with minimal costs.

The proximity of the restaurant to office complexes and centralized business

areas will help to establish whether its catering service will be focused on business or

social marketing efforts. Businesses in the twenty-first century are spread from urban

centers to suburban locations in office parks. Central urban locations offer a

concentrated market for both office delivery and take-out. A significant factor in

developing the market for business catering is that service is generally required during

the business week, leaving weekend periods free to service social business. In addition,

locations such as museums, concert halls, and historical sites offer interesting venues to

catered functions for both local businesses and conventions.

business. Suburban locations are generally more appropriate for social catering to

private homes, clubs, churches, and other facilities. Delivery to urban locations can

pose security and logistical problems, creating additional costs for transportation and

service labor. Population density also affects the volume of anticipated catering

business. Restaurants situated in rural areas with low population density cannot expect

immediate high volumes of catering business. Areas of high-density population yield a

variety of catering opportunities that steadily increase in volume through referrals and

reputation. The location of the physical restaurant building plays a role in the type of

catering services to be offered. Storage facilities, expansion possibilities, and access to

major transportation routes are factors important to catering service production.

Customer Profile Restaurants have the advantage of a built-in customer pool to whom

they can market in-house and off-premise catering services. In addition, the attraction

of being associated with a restaurants reputation will help to expand the possible

market to include new business and social clients. The market profile should classify

customers as business or social catering clients, designated by income bracket. In

addition the range of activities for which each customer pool will need catering services

should be researched as thoroughly as possible. This will help in developing package

programs along with potential menu programs and accompanying pricing concepts.
 Full-Service Restaurants Style or Concept The style, concept, and/or theme of the

restaurant should be taken into consideration when planning potential catering services.

Off-premise catering services do not necessarily have to blend with the facilities offered

by the restaurant. On-premise catering services should, however, be designed to

function within the restaurant facilities. Restaurants facilities are a major factor in

providing on-premise catering. The ratio of catering functions to restaurant services

that can be handled at a given time is dependent on the size and flexibility of the

physical plant. Small private parties are often incorporated in to the general dining

room setting. Large parties must, however, be given facilities that are separated from

the general public.

This restaurant has a private dining room and bar facility with a dance floor that

can also be used for additional restaurant seating during busy time periods and

holidays. Flexible facilities such as these allow restaurant to maximize revenues. Many

restaurants that offer in-house catering schedule large parties, such as weddings,

anniversaries, luncheons, and dinners, on days and times when the restaurant is not

otherwise open. Often catering business must be refused because sufficient on-premise

facilities are not available. When management is continually turning away catering

business, a decision will need to be made as to how the restaurant will balance is future

development of catering versus full-service dining services. Kitchen facilities play a

major part in determining when and how catering service demands can be met. Kitchen

equipment must be flexible, allowing for volume production to take place

simultaneously with à la carte restaurant service.

is important to determine if a kitchen is to be used to its full capacity during busy times.

Storage and refrigeration facilities determine the amount of food products available at

any given time. The cost of waste from food spoilage due to lack of refrigeration and

freezer space could dilute the profit from additional catering business. Cuisine and Menu

The primary cuisine and menu offerings of a restaurant constitute one of the most

important considerations for on-premise catering. As discussed earlier, off-premise

catering services do not necessarily need to be the same as those offered at the

restaurant for full-service dining.

Purchasing and production requirements are crucial to the successful

development of catering services. On-premise catering should offer menu items that

duplicate the established menu as closely as possible in order to enhance production

capabilities. Surrounding items, such as vegetables and starches, are the most effective

area of the menu to duplicate.