Careers in Catering

It was a beautiful wedding. The bride looked lovely, the groom was handsome, and the new in-laws are getting along. It's time for the reception. This is where you come in, if you've chosen a career in catering. If you love to cook, love to feed hungry people, and love to help plan special events, a catering career may be perfect for you.

Catering Careers: From Funerals to Film Sets

Careers in catering can take you to country clubs and exclusive hotels, see you working for catering companies or for yourself. Caterers are on the set at movies, feeding hungry actors, and in recording studios where rock stars replenish between takes.

Everyone needs food. Caterers provide food- with a touch of class. From elegant meals catered in the client's home to convention centers where hundreds of people need to be fed, caterers work to feed hungry people.

A Touch of Class from Catering School

If you're thinking about a catering career, you should be thinking about catering school. In catering school you learn everything from how to make food taste good to how to make it look pretty. You learn food safety, handling and preparation as well as:

food and beverage management
basic food preparation
how catering works
quality food preparation
sanitation and safety
baking
career development
basic human relations

When you're a career caterer, you're responsible for more than just the food. At many events you also provide:

linens
plates and glassware
wine and soft drinks
flowers and centerpieces

Caterers provide a touch of elegance to an event held in a client's home. According to the National Restaurant Association, social catering is among the fastest growing of catering careers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the food preparation careers to be in demand through 2012, but competition will be keen. One way to better your odds at getting exactly the career in catering you're looking for is to check out a catering school- it might just lead to a tasty career.

Balancing Act, by Sarah Smith Hamaker

Bureau of Labor Statistics