Catering Tips and Tricks

February 6, 2020June 3, 2021

4 mins

Whether you’re employed in a professional kitchen or decide to host a celebration, catering requires a sharp skill set.

A good kolkata caterer is very organized and experienced preparing large quantities of food. They will send dishes out to diners or keep party food flowing without missing a beat. Use our catering tips and tricks below to spice up your abilities, economize and time, and transform stress into satisfaction when preparing food:

From good food hygiene, to taking care of your customers, to ingenious sale strategies, you can use numerous catering tricks to enhance the food you create and streamline your preparation processes.

Table of Contents

Organize your Menu and Environment

If you organize dishes on the menu and arrange the environment smartly, you’ll prompt diners to settle on certain food and drinks in a way that reinforces profits.

Studies show that diners check out the upper right-hand corner of menus first, and if you place the most expensive dishes there, everything else seems reasonably-priced by comparison. As a result, guests will spend their money more comfortably.

Research also reveals that classical music encourages spending, and certain décor affects the mood of diners. Warm colors, like red and orange, relax guests and increases their appetite. However, take care to not go overboard. Use artwork, furnishings, and ornaments to build up the color scheme, instead of paint a wall solid red.

Get your Preparations done in Advance

Complete as much prep as you, as a Kolkata caterer, can the night before or earlier within the day. A start prevents you from rushing and disrupting your workflow later when orders start to compile.

To prepare ahead, you could:

Make cold dishes first – prepare salads beforehand and keep them covered on the countertop or within the fridge. Prepare high-risk components later, like Caesar dressing, which contains raw eggs and can’t be overlooked for too long.
Prepare in advance for fruits and vegetables – chop peppers, peel potatoes and onions, etc.
Polish and clean your cutlery and dishes during downtime and confirm you’ve got many extras. Set tables beforehand and supply a couple of spares on tables reserved for giant parties. Put water glasses and jugs out.
Ensure there’s plenty of space within the fridge – discard anything you don’t need or that has deteriorated in quality. If you receive orders beforehand, organize the fridge so you’ll quickly access what you would like first.

Early preparation is particularly beneficial when catering for giant parties or when working busy nights (such as Saturdays). You’ll continuously send quality food without concern about small prep tasks and without keeping people waiting.

Listen to your guests

Comments and complaints are a chance to enhance your Kolkata caterer recipes and service. Rather than reacting defensively, utilize them constructively while hosting an event. You’ll earn the approval of return customers and receive great reviews about the standard of your catering business.

Display customer comment cards at the front desk and include comments and complaints section on your website. Also, create a social media page for people that want to speak to you directly.

Above all, answer feedback as much as possible and thank people for that comment. Guests who feel like you listen and value their custom will eagerly come for seconds.

Prioritize food hygiene

If you host a personal party, legal requirements are less stringent. Once you prepare and sell food commercially, however, you want to source, store, handle, and display food to consumers in accordance with food hygiene law.

Food hygiene tips for catering:

Use color-coded chopping boards to stop cross-contamination – red for meat, blue for raw fish, green for vegetables and fruit, brown for root vegetables, yellow for cooked meat, and white for bakery and dairy products. Also, use a separate board to organize allergen-free food.
Fridge hygiene: keep meat on the bottom shelf, make sure the temperature is between 1 and 4°C, and clean it regularly. Label everything with best-before and use-by dates and use a FIFO system to arrange food.
Clean as you go: Working in a mess isn’t only stressful but also an enormous hygiene risk. It’s also a time-waster: you ultimately need to stop and clear off a pile-up, which interrupts service and therefore the timing of food. While you work, throw away empty packaging, unused bits of food, and other waste to release space. Quick, frequent wipe-downs prevent bacteria and allergens from build up.