Whether it is a wedding, dinner, holiday party or any other special event it is important to assemble a team of experts that will help you produce your event with style, taste and great food.  To many people, the food you serve at your party is one of the most important elements of the celebration.  Therefore, it is imperative when selecting a caterer or private chef that careful thought, consideration and research is done before you hire him or her.

One of the first things I tell my clients when they consider a caterer or chef for their event is to first interview him or her.  Get a sense and feel for who they are, what type of food they are passionate about, their cost and presentation.  Ask for sample menus and ask if you can observe them in action.  It may be difficult to watch them at a small event, but many times prior to an event starting, I will be “backstage” observing the caterer, his kitchen and service staff and presentation.

Also, ask for references, and more importantly CALL THOSE REFERENCES.  I can’t begin to tell you how often people don’t follow up on a reference and then they are disappointed when the service or food doesn’t meet their expectations.  It is also important, especially if you are serving a particular type of food at your party, that you use a caterer or private chef that specializes in the type of food genre you choose to showcase.  Of course, any trained or experienced chef can prepare and cook any type of food but I believe that if you are looking to create an “Eco-Friendly” themed dinner, you need to hire a chef or caterer who specializes in macrobiotic vegan food.

Determine your food and service budget prior to meeting with your chef or caterer.  When you meet with them, be honest and realistic.  Don’t present them with a hamburger budget and expect to eat Kobe beef and Maine lobster.  Remember, service is a secondary component of the catering budget and with workman’s compensation insurance, business insurance and other business costs your food budget most often is higher than you first estimated.

In addition, many catering companies include a service fee that may range from 10% on up to 22% or higher.  This fee may cover operating costs such as transportation, refrigerator trucks (if it is a large event), commercial kitchen fees, trays and service items, tips for the staff or prep staff to name a few.  When you are presented with a bill and it simply states staff with a price, don’t hesitate to ask what the breakdown of staff is.  How many servers, kitchen help, scullery crew or prep personnel does this fee include?  After all, you are paying for a service; you need to know what you are paying for.

All caterers or private chefs and their staff should clean-up their work area when they finish the job.  If their kitchen is set-up in an area other than your kitchen, then it is best to cover the ground with Astroturf or another type of non-skid carpet to prevent an accident from occurring.  It also makes clean-up more efficient since the ground covering with the food scrapes will be taken away after the event finishes.

Therefore, when selecting a caterer or private chef for your next event, consider the above mentioned factors.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions whether it is a menu or price item.  Give your caterer or private chef a true and accurate guest count to prevent them from an embarrassing situation such as running out of food.  Remember, you are the host, make sure the team behind you supports you and makes you look like a star host or hostess.

To find more cost-saving and helpful party planning tips, menus and recipes, advice, pictures and more go to www.budgetbashbook.com – Budget Bash – Simply Fabulous Events on a Budget.

Go to Not Marta for this delicious Meat Hand Recipe [Via Boing Boing]

]]> http://www.bookofcooks.com/blog/2009/10/29/a-deliciously-gruesome-halloween-menu-idea-halloween-recipe/feed/ 0 http://www.bookofcooks.com/blog/2009/10/28/find-local-retailers-catering-to-persons-with-dietary-restrictions-food-health-and-nutrition-resources/ http://www.bookofcooks.com/blog/2009/10/28/find-local-retailers-catering-to-persons-with-dietary-restrictions-food-health-and-nutrition-resources/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:38:45 +0000 Julian http://www.bookofcooks.com/blog/?p=1091 Here’s a very practical resource for those of you searching for local retailers that cater to persons with dietary restrictions. Also very convenient for private & personal chefs, and dietitians in need of specialty supplies/ingredients that can sometimes be hard to find at most grocery stores.

This Google Maps mashup is for those with dietary restrictions, such as celiac disease, autism and food allergies. The site shows the locations of restaurants, shops and hotels with gluten free, dairy-free and food allergen free options. The map currently holds over 15,000 restaurants and shops all over the world and the site is available in three languages (English, Portuguese and Spanish).  It is possible to search the mapped retailers by dietary requirement (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Peanut, Nut-free, Shellfish free, Egg-free and Soy-free). It is also possible to search the map by type of establishment (restaurant, shop or hotel). [Google Maps Mania]

TubeRadio.fm is a web application that looks & feels like a music player where users can quickly find, listen to, build, and share playlists of their favorite artists’ music. Since TubeRadio based on the music library of Youtbue, it makes it easy to find just about any songs you want - Millions of them.

TubeRadio.fm organizes everything into albums that you can grab by simply click on them. A quick test show me that it only takes few minutes to built an entire music collection, and once you have your playlists ready, you can listen to songs, see other releases, read the lyrics or bio, and find similar music. (All data content provided byLast.fm) [Read the full article on GotoWeb20]

What an awesome, creative idea!….

Listen to it on Choq.fm (Archives d’émission: 2009-06-26 – commentary starts at minute 0:08:45 of the show archive!)

ON AIR: Ça peut chémar- Book of Cooks, what’s cooking in your neighborhood?
Cuisine maison,  chez vous ou carrément cuisinez à la maison.

Download What’s Cookin’—What’s Cookin’ ringtone at audiko.net.

Serious Eats:

“If you have a passion for cooking but don’t know how to get your foot in the door, head to Eggbeater to read professional chef Shuna Fish Lydon‘s guide to getting a professional cooking/baking job in a restaurant.”

Lifehacker:

“If you’re looking to switch careers into the culinary field, or pick up some part-time kitchen work, it takes more than a white hat and comfy shoes. Take some tips from a trained chef“

But if on the other hand you are leaning more towards a career as self-employed or business owner, consider taking full advantage of the Book of Cooks web-based directory. You will find that it can be a great and cost-effective resource in starting a career as personal chef, caterer, baker, or food business owner. In Book of Cooks, culinary students can set up a virtual storefront, get some visibility in the marketplace, and begin to build a solid customer base. Not only is Book of Cooks very easy to use (and free)…now with Facebook Connect it is possible to create a cook listing in just seconds.

If you are undergoing culinary training (or have friends who are) please give Book of Cooks a try or share this post with them! While setting up a listing, don’t be shy or afraid to mention that you are a student! Many customers enjoy scouting for and discovering new talents (you!). Also, in this challenging economy price sensitive customers might consider turning to less experienced professionals in order to get the help they need around the kitchen, or for an event or special occasion. This might give you a foot in the door with customers whose business might be difficult to earn in better economic times.

Thanks Emily Rose, Elena Davis, and Lexie Hutchcraft (future culinary stars of Charleston, Illinois :=)) for this picture taken last week at the National Restaurant Association's show!

Chicago Up & Coming Cooks