catering

Everything Guide to Starting and Running a Catering Business: Insider's advice on turning your talent into a Career (Everything: Business and Personal Finance)
$14.95

I stumbled across this lovely little book a couple of weeks ago. At first I was disappointed that it was written in 2007. I normally only review "just released" books on Amazon. But I'm making an exception for this book because I want to have a record reminding me that it exists and is worthy of recommendation to my SCORE clients. I found the book to be both well organized and well written. It includes an introduction, 20 chapters and three appendices as follows:

0. Introduction
1. What is catering?
2. Understanding the catering industry
3. Required skills for a caterer
4. Getting started as a caterer
5. Researching your business opportunity
6. Developing a concept
7. Being a personal or private chef
8. Developing a catering menu
9. Pricing your services & menus
10. Developing a catering plan
11. Proposal writing
12. Marketing yourself
13. Marketing your business
14. Dealing with clients
15. Considerations as you grow
16. Partnering to grow your business
17. Catering challenges & equipment recommendations
18. Useful catering tips
19. Outsourcing
20. New trends in catering
A. Resources & suggested reading
B. Glossary
C. Personal chef client info form (LDA Form)

It would be so nice if there were more business books written using the Table of Contents for this book as a guide for startup guides on various small businesses. This book could easily be re-written for hair salons, landscaping companies, pizza shops, law offices, etc. It's really an outline for any startup and what should be considered when investigating, researching, and writing a sound business plan to use as a roadmap to success in starting a company.

The business plan provided in this book included the following 8 parts: (1) Exec Summary, (2) Mission Statement, (3) Biz Overview, (4) Market Analysis, (5) Competitive Analysis, (6) Marketing Plan, (7) Operations Plan, & (8) Financial Plan. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to start a small business. Read it and rewrite it for the company you want to start. 6 stars!

PS. I especially liked seeing the plug for SCORE-dot-org at page 126!

Do It for Less! Parties: Tricks of the Trade from Professional Caterers' Kitchens
$19.95
My mother, the hostess, was very exited when she came across this book. She loves to decorate, host parties and looooves to make things perfect. I, on the other hand, really did not care for party planning or anything of the sort. But when I read this I was amazed. I could not believe how simple everything is. And since I will start hosting dinners I need some type of hosting skill. Thanks to Denise Vivaldo I have some expertise on how to set dishes on a table, and overall how to make arrangements (location, menu, style, etc.)This book is fun as it is simple, with a plethora of great ideas/tips. I'm not afraid anymore! Excellent book. Great buy.

How to Start a Home-Based Catering Business, 5th (Home-Based Business Series)
$18.95
When I made the decision recently to start my own catering business I immediately turned to this book. It's filled with invaluable tips and clear explanations of every facet of the catering business. Vivaldo not only shares her equations for success but also reflects on her mistakes. Her clear and direct style make this book easy to read and understand. I especially appreciated Chapter 5: Setting Prices, Estimating Quantities and Writing Proposals. This section is full of food costs analysis, proposal examples and pricing information. I'm a seasoned cook but I still have a thing or two to learn on the business side. If you're even considering starting your own catering business read this book. Thank you, Diane!!!

Off-Premise Catering Management
$80.00
There is nothing this book has left out. I had gotton so many books before this one but this one literally answered all the questions i needed answered. I use it as a point of refernce daily.
It is clear Mr. Hansen is an expert amoung experts in his field. He speaks to you like you were in a room. Explains thoughrally. Leaves no stone unturned. If you are like me and starting your own business or want to be in the industry, this is surely the book.
Sometime I read it just for my reading pleasure. That is how much I love it.