BITES
// behind the scenes
The Backstage Man // photo and story by Amber Helsel
P
icture this: You walk into a wedding reception, and you see tables upon tables of food. Sweet stuff, spicy stuff, fun little party snacks. The food is there suddenly, and you wonder exactly how it got there. You occasionally see a member of the catering staff walk by and check on the temperatures of the food or refill a dwindling Peter James dish, but other than that, you carefully lays see no indication as to how out the buffet in preparation of the food arrived. an event he is Or maybe you go to catering. a luncheon, and you see a buffet line of delicious food, but no catering staff in sight. Sometimes we don’t think about how much effort goes into getting the food ready for an event. Even an event as small as a luncheon requires a lot of effort and a great attention to detail. But it’s about more than just setting the food up. A caterer works a day ahead. He has to if he wants to be successful and build great rapport with the client. It’s all about easing the customer’s mind and guiding her to hosting a great event. “The less they have to worry, the better they are,” says Peter James, a catering trainer at Catering by George’s. “With customer relations, the most important thing is to establish rapport.” James accomplishes this by connecting with the customer. He says the first step in establishing a good relationship is to talk to the person in charge of the event. “You have to make your presence known,” James says. “You’re there. They know why you’re there.” The second way is to always stay ahead of the game. This means working a day ahead, no matter what. Chris George, co-owner of the Catering by George’s, says it’s important to do all of the set-ups the day before. A good caterer is prepared if anything pops up randomly. The third way to build rapport is probably the most obvious: Follow through with everything. “It takes the same amount of time to talk 48
January - February 2014 // The City’s Business and Lifestyle Magazine
your way out of something,” James says. That’s why consistency and having a forward-looking eye is always best. James demonstrates a day in the life of a caterer. He starts by getting ready for the day’s orders, checking the order’s ticket, writing notes next to everything. His instincts kick in as he scribbles on the sheet of paper, sometimes writing so much that it would look like a jumbled mess to an untrained eye. For example, he knows that more than 35 people require five gallons of sweet tea. George’s uses a 5-gallon drum and two gallons of unsweet tea. If he’s catering for 60 or more people, he needs two 5-gallon drums and three unsweet jugs. He knows not to make the tea until the day of the event, as tea can be considered a hot item. James’ instincts are keen because he has been in the business for years. He moved to Mississippi after his daughter Delores Anne got a job as the director of marketing at the Mississippi Natural Science Museum. This particular day, James is training a future caterer at an event for the Mississippi Hospital Association in Madison (116 Woodgreen Drive, Madison, 601-9823251). George’s caters for the organization at least two or three times a week, so he’s well-versed in this type of event. As he looks at their ticket, James begins loading his truck with the set-ups, food and linen he’ll use. When everything is loaded up, and he has checked his list two and three times, James departs Reservoir Pointe, always 15 minutes ahead of when he’s supposed to leave. For example, for a job at noon, he leaves at 11:15 a.m. instead of 11:30 a.m. During these extra few minutes, he can account for any backedup traffic, tire blowouts or anything else that may slow him down. At the catering site, he wheels out the cold items—ice, lemons, salad dressings, crackers, etc.—the linen, plates, cups, napkins and cutlery and the hot food, which is kept in giant hot boxes with tight locks. That food will be dropped last. boomjackson.com