The Characteristics of a Quality Caterer

What makes a good caterer?

1. Being adaptable to provide any menu at the best quality.
2. Being able to perform the service in a timely manner.
3. Being able to manage a large team to work as one.
4. Being able to keep the client happy.
5. Being able to keep their employees.
6. Complying to food safety regulations.

Hiring catering in Manila can seemingly be a daunting task for anyone. Luckily, in this article, we will teach you what characteristics you should looks for in a catering service to know if they can deliver.

What makes a caterer good are really just a few basic things. It’s how the caterer is able to balance all these things altogether that will give him a name in the business. By being able to take simple cogs and form them into a complex set of gears that work together, a caterer can turn even the simplest dining event into a grand gathering. This is the type of service that you want

However, in this article, we’re going to focus on you, the consumer, and we’re going to help you choose the caterer that’s best for you. That’s right, today we’re going to be discussing the qualities that make up a quality caterer!

What Makes a Good Caterer?

This particular subject may be a bit complex to hear, but important nonetheless. What makes a caterer good are a few basic things that altogether form a larger, more complex series of gears that mesh together to make a great event even better. Here are a few things that may shed some light with the matter at hand:

The Menu: Delicious No Matter What

Firstly, the most basic and essential ingredient in making the perfect caterer is the menu. But when the word “menu” is mentioned here, it doesn’t mean the caterer’s own personal menu full of his own specialties; it means his his ability to create any quality menu.

The keyword is in the name of the service itself: “cater”. A good catering service must do exactly what this word means by knowing how to adjust their menu to serve its client’s needs. But not only that; they also need to know to pull off the said menu without compromising quality and integrity then that’s perfect. Basically, it has to taste like it’s their specialty; even though it isn’t.

That being said, it’s a big plus if the caterer is highly knowledgeable in different cultures, customs, and religions. That way, they can provide quality food no matter what an event’s guest list may be while knowing the appropriate manners and gestures to use while serving.

Furthermore, the menu is the lifeblood of any catering service. Even if the food looks great, if it doesn’t taste great then that’s going to be a problem. The caterer has to be willing to go the extra mile to ensure that their food tastes as good as it looks.

Logistics and Practice: Efficiency of Service

While being adaptable to create any menu is a good quality of a caterer, another is the passion for food service. This may be a given already considering that they are in the catering business, but what’s being referred to here is the willingness to go through the various processes of such a service. This entails that they must study, master, and continuously improve their storage, transportation, cooking, and presentation methods.

Organizational Skills: Management of Resources

Being a caterer doesn’t just mean food and service. It means management of a team and all the resources needed to run the entire service during the event proper. With both a front and back end staff to manage, you will want a caterer that can manage both smoothly. Since food presentation and preparation takes a while, you must be able to trust a caterer that they know how to organize and time their actions to make sure food is always coming out of the kitchen.

The Customer Experience: Care for Work

In connection to the caterer’s willingness to adapt to suit the client’s needs, a suitable customer service experience is expected of the caterers as well. This means that the staff of the service must have good work ethic, be well-mannered, and care for the services they provide; the making of any good customer service. This is especially because they will be working closely with with the customer in designing their menu and fine-tuning everything for the event. Doing so requires time, patience, diplomacy, and good communication; some of the facets of a good customer experience. After all, there is no point for a caterer to be willing to adapt if they offend the customer along the way.

Employee Motivation: A Reflection of their Empathy

This article already discusses in length why a caterer must provide good customer service must be adaptable to the customer’s need. But the underlying reason as to why you need to find these qualities in a caterer is because these show their motivation to work. When a caterer and their staff are motivated, they are also sincere with their work. This means that they are 100% willing to provide their service.

This can work backwards. Meaning that you can see if a catering service is good if their employees look motivated. If they do not, then take this a warning sign that it’s possible that the service doesn’t care for their own employee satisfaction. Be wary of this because it may be a reflection of how the treat their clients or at least their sincerity in doing so.

Details, Details: Giving Your Event the Attention it Needs

Another quality that makes a caterer good is their attention to detail. Like what we discussed earlier, everybody wants to make their event as perfect as possible and one way of doing so is fine-tuning details with the customer and for the caterer to meet the client’s demand, the caterer has to both be attentive and willing. Attention to detail entails acknowledgement, planning and execution of small ideas with little to no mistakes to help them form the bigger idea that is the event.

For a caterer, this means that they have to be attentive and willing to plan with the client. If they can do this then you will know that the value the roles of all the small factors when it comes to planning an event. In other words, they must understand that the tiniest details are the building blocks of the whole event. But not only that; they must execute said details well and with little mistakes.  A caterer that gives these little things attention is one that cares for you and your event.

Food Safety: Catering Common Sense

Finally, what makes a good caterer great is of course, food safety. Obviously, the food must be safe to eat. Nobody wants to get sick and no caterer is willing to risk their client’s safety; not mention their name! Thus, you can check if a caterer has good standards if he knows they are updated with food safety laws always and comply with them.

Look at how they store, cook, and handle food. Also, try to know if they prioritize fresh food over frozen ones.

Key Takeaway

We’ve been talking about the caterer’s willingness throughout the article but I’d like to discuss that in more detail. Why would a caterer be unwilling to provide service or to adapt themselves to suit the client’s needs? The answer is motivation. The caterer and their staff have to be motivated and sincerely willing in order for them to provide a satisfactory customer service experience. Remember, a good catering service not only provides quality food but they also have to treat their people well and how caterers treat their employees may be a reflection of how they treat people in general, customers included.

Finally, what makes a good caterer great is of course, acquiesce. Quality in terms of food safety and their willingness to adapt to suit the client’s needs while maintaining their standards. Obviously, food safety is an important issue for both the caterer and the consumer. Nobody wants to get sick and no caterer is willing to risk their client’s safety, especially us at Juan Carlo.

Sure there are a lot more qualities to consider but these basic qualities are what we believe to be the frame the supports a business and we believe that these qualities make a good caterer, great.