Do You Know a Good Caterer?

Whether at a wedding, graduation party, or even a funeral, a good caterer can add joy to a special event. That's why there always seems to be someone asking: "Do you know a good caterer?"
But what's the difference between a good caterer and a not-so-good caterer? Besides cooking a variety of foods suitable to big crowds, there's a lot of business knowledge and planning that goes into catering an event. An online degree program in catering can help you distinguish yourself from the crowd.

Available Degrees for Catering

Catering degree programs can include restaurant & catering management and professional catering as well as culinary arts. You can obtain many of these degrees through online education. Coursework for an online degree in catering typically includes classes in:

• Management
• Business
• Organization
• Cooking
• Nutrition

Get Your Degree Online

Catering is definitely a hands-on profession, but that doesn't mean you can't learn a lot from a computer. After all, catering is as much about marketing as it is cooking. To augment the online education aspect, some schools help you arrange an "externship" with a local catering company, so that you can combine craft knowledge with real world experience.

Catering Careers

Catering is a team sport. Here are a few of the common and important players from the catering team, along with 2007 median annual salary estimates from PayScale:

• Catering Sales Manager--$40,086
• Executive Chef--$51,296
• Event Coordinator--$34,579

At smaller companies or when you are just starting out in your own business, the catering sales manager is sometimes the same person as the executive chef, who is also the event coordinator. In other words, you run the show.

Employment Outlook for Caterers

Job opportunities for caterers are expected to be plentiful in the coming years. But competition is strong. There is never a shortage of people trying their hand at catering. What there is a shortage of is truly good caterers.
Sources:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Chefs, Cooks, and Food Preparation Workers
PayScale

Andrew Freiburghouse is a writer and businessman. As a partner at Los Angeles tax preparation firm Pronto Income Tax of California, Inc., Andrew learned the fine art of growing a small business into a not-so-small business. Currently, Andrew lives in Brooklyn, NY.