Catering as Told By a Cordon Bleu Chef

My name is Casey Bumpsteed, I’m a qualified Cordon Bleu Chef based in South Africa, and I have 25 years of experience in the food industry.

In this article, I share what I know about how to start a catering business, as well as a few insider stories from my personal journey.

For more information on my career, check out this article, which shares my thoughts on culinary school versus learning on the job .

In the Beginning: My First Taste Of Catering

Say what you want about working in a restaurant or hotel, the true test (in my experience and opinion) of strength and mental fitness is as a catering chef.

Cooking within 4 walls is one thing, having to move mountains of ingredients, equipment, and staff offsite to your clients’ venue is another.

My first experience with catering occurred over three months while I was in cooking school.

Part of my culinary training at Silwood Kitchen, was a second year of intense, in-service practical experience.

During this time, as students, we had to rotate every 3 months so that we got to work in at least one restaurant kitchen, one hotel kitchen, at our culinary academy, and in one catering establishment.

My catering stint was during my fourth and final rotation of the year.

So by this stage, I already had a fair amount of experience under my belt. I can’t even remember the name of the catering company I worked for... “Something” And Lemons.

Whatever it was called, it was a very busy company, owned by two female chefs in Cape Town who were dominating the event catering scene at the time.

I worked there with another Silwood student (and wonderful friend, Anica). Anica and I arrived on our first day and were immediately instructed to pack up 20 platters of finger foods that we were to deliver to an event.

In addition to delivery, we were to set up the platters and serve the guests, clear up, etc. What we didn’t realise at the time was that the venue was a 1 km (0.6 miles) hike up a side section of Table Mountain — through a forest.

Six hours later, the food was set up, minutes before the first guest floated up to the snack table – Anica and I were close to death.

Despite this, I would go on a few years later to establish a very successful catering business in the South African East Coast city of Durban.

Durban, South Africa is a melting pot of cultures, and its culinary scene reflects this diversity.

Setting Up My Catering Business

I never set out on my culinary journey with the thought of “how to start a catering business” in mind. It was probably the last thing I asked myself as a culinary student.

So how did I land up with my own catering business, then?

Well, the business was born out the following:

• 1. I had moved back to my hometown and needed to work.

• 2. I was well-connected in that town, via my mother, who was a prominent businesswoman in Durban.

• 3. I had a young daughter and wanted to set up a business that allowed me a fair amount of flexibility.

• 4. Catering is extremely lucrative.

For all these reasons, catering was the number 1 best option for me as I had a bank of “instant” clients to tap into.

I wanted to focus on small to medium sized events and the bulk of my “jobs” were the following:

• • Workplace events: Catering for meetings and training workshops. As my stepdad was a doctor at a busy hospital, I easily captured this client and was soon catering anything “too upscale” for the in-house caterers.

• • Packed lunches and meals for tours: During 2010, South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup. During this time (I think over a 5 week period), I made my annual income. In 5 weeks. It was manic – I worked 20 hours a day and aged 10 years (not really).

• • Small weddings and special occasions were always my favorites. I would customize the most beautiful menus for clients according to their theme.

My Catering Business: What I Loved and Didn’t Love

With hindsight, I really loved how much I learned as a caterer.

Much like my work experience as a food stylist, I got to cover a ton of business administration skills.

Beyond cooking and recipe costing, I learned how to market my business and how to manage cash flow (I became the queen of debtor/creditor management).

These are business skills that I have gone on to use to this day.

Here are some of the elements of managing my own catering business I loved:

• • Working from home. I was blessed with a large kitchen to work from and I absolutely loved the routine of working from home.

• • The creativity and stimulation: Not one event or day was the same. I thrive on this type of work. For anyone who gets tired or bored easily, catering will keep you excited and engaged in the creative process of conceptualizing and executing a one-off food event.

• • Flexibility: As a single mom with a little girl, I was super lucky to be able to drive her to daycare, pick her up, and have her at home while I worked the rest of the day.

  On the flip side, there were a few things that drove me nuts at times and didn’t always suit me:

• • Difficult clients: Catering is a lot more “front-facing” than cooking in a restaurant or hotel. What I mean by this is that a caterer typically interacts more with clients and guests than a chef or cook tucked away in a restaurant kitchen.

  I had a few interactions with rude clients and guests, often under the influence of something. These moments were difficult for me and certainly stand out more in my catering days than in my food styling era.

• • Travel and difficult locations: For the life phase was in, the domestic travel within my province was sometimes difficult for me. I had to travel a lot at night – South Africa is not a particularly safe place, which meant I always had to have male staff with me at off-site, late night venues.

  Having said that, nothing serious every happened to me and I made it work.

• • Physically tiring: Although it did give me the best definition in my arms of my life, carrying platters, equipment, and containers was exhausting. I’d often have to clear up and “breakdown” a function at 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM.

How to Get Started in Catering

As with anything, there are a couple of ways you could get started in catering.

If you have qualified as a chef via culinary school, I suggest working for a busy catering business for a year or two to gain some experience.

The parts you really want to pay attention to are:

• 1. Costings and how your boss/manager costs their menus. This differs all over the world – the markup allocated in the US is different from the markup in South Africa.

• 2. Safety and food sample collection. There is a fair amount of liability when it comes to catering events – understanding off-site food safety practices and laws (also country-specific) is key.

  In my catering business, I would keep a sample (frozen) of each item I cooked. If anyone complained of being sick (which luckily never happened to me, but did to colleagues and friends of mine), I would be able to supply a sample of the food for testing.

  Understanding the laws and regulations in your state and country is important.

• 3. Planning and logistics. You can make the most perfect pavlova on earth, but if you can’t plan a function properly, your business will fail.

  You need to learn about prep and setup timings relevant to catering, packing, cold storage, cold chain complexities (keeping the food at a safe temperature during transport), and more.

  The best way to do this is to work for a caterer you respect.

Once you have closed these gaps in your knowledge, and if your boss allows it, go ahead and take on one or two small events on your own. A birthday party or plated dinner party for 8-10 people is a good place to start.

I don’t suggest starting with a wedding!

In South Africa, it’s totally acceptable to prepare and deliver food made in your home kitchen.

If the same can be said for the US, then starting your catering business from home is the most cost effective way to start out.

Having a designated cupboard or space for your catering equipment, boards and plates at home is a good idea!

8 Tips for how to start a catering business successfully

Things have evolved somewhat since I was a caterer. Here are my top 8 tips for anyone thinking about starting up their very own catering business:

• 1. Find and define a niche: This is especially true if you live/operate from a busy area or city. You want to stand out and be known for something.

  Choose a niche you know will last long-term and that reflects your true passion – your niche could be led by your food and menus or by the types of events you get into.

  Plant-based menus, locally sourced, gluten-free are examples of food niches.

  Or you could become the go-to wedding caterer in your area.

  My business went through a phase of catering children's parties before evolving into weddings.

• 2. Test your process before scaling up: Start with a small numbers of people – like 8-10 people max. Test the food, the menus, the costings, logistics, and prep flow.

  Once you are happy with the process and results, slowly increase the number of people you cater for.

• 3. Legitimize your business. Check with your local food licensing department and health inspector if you need to. Also, check out what you need in terms of insurance.

  A certified catering business with correct permits will protect you and your clients.

• 4. Spend time on branding: Get input and feedback from those who “know”. Your visual identity is so important and should quickly reflect you, your style and offering.

• 5. Work out a seamless enquiry and booking system: I cannot tell you, up to today, how many caterers I see losing out on potential business because their booking systems are difficult to navigate.

  Clients want answers fast!

  They want to know if you are available and roughly what the cost will be – instantly. Figure out a way to communicate that – either via your social media or a website.

  Something as simple as a quick enquiry form and sample menus with pricing can help.

• 6. Build relationships with other suppliers: Other event suppliers include photographers and videographers, dress designers, florists, décor and setup suppliers, and event coordinators.

  Take time to invest in these business owners. You will eventually find that you refer new clients to each other.

  I estimate that at the busiest point in my catering career, 40% of my new clients came as referrals from other suppliers I knew and had worked alongside.

• 7. Collect reviews: Ask every satisfied client for a brief, written testimonial. These are GOLD. You can then use them on your social media platforms and website, if you have one.

  You will find prospective clients might ask for a referral, so these should be easily available.

• 8. Start lean but make space to grow: Buy lean when it comes to your setup, but not cheap. Buy equipment and tools that will last long and withstand pressure to save in the long run.

Wrapping Up

If you’re considering starting a catering business, I hope this article has been helpful.

Remember that a career as a caterer can be extremely lucrative and exciting, but you need to build mental and physical fitness to do it well.

Work hard on your relationships, as building trust is so important. With a solid foundation and a clear vision, you are likely to achieve great success!

Catering is big business. There's no reason you can't succeed in it with the right mindset and approach.