Customer Reviews

The Food Service Professional Guide to Successful Catering: Managing the Catering Opeation for Maximum Profit (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 12) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To)

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One of the newest additions to the Atlantic Publishing Group's outstanding "The Food Service Professional" series, The Food Service Professional Guide To Successful Catering: Managing The Catering Operation For Maximum Profit. Here revealed are 365 "insider secrets" showcasing everything necessary to launch a successful catering business; practical "real world" examples for maximizing profits; and clear, accessible instructions on how to sell, market, and operate a catering operation profitably no matter what part of the country it is located in. If you are considering your own catering company as an entrepreneurial small business, then give a close and careful reading to Sony Bode's The Food Service Professional Guide To Successful Catering: Managing The Catering Operation For Maximum Profit!

As a primer for someone who is contemplating the launch of a catering business, this book is a decent guide to things one might need to think about: Menu, food safety, project management of jobs, insurance, extras, pricing, etc., but it's far too short to delve to any of its subjects with any useful depth. You would do just as well - or better - with a few hours of Googling. In fact, the authors of the book rely significantly on the reader charging off to the web to supplement the book's information. Pardon me, but if I'm going to do that, why do I need to give you money for this book?

Add to the shallowness of the subject matter the issue of errors in the text. There are countless typographical errors, misspellings and other mistakes that lead one to conclude this book was rushed to print with little in the way of competent editing. At one point, for example, in discussing pricing and profit calculation, the author offers a sample menu and labor cost which comes to 44% of the selling price, then announce that one's profit would be...44%. Uh, no, that would be a 56% gross profit, fella. Worst, cost and price are used seemingly interchangably, leading to confusion about upon what one is supposed to base one's pricing. An inexcusable lapse on a topic that is, after all, at the core of what opening a business is all about: Making money.

In short, if you're thinking about opening a catering business, you should really look elsewhere for usable, accurate information.

I'm so happy this book was written particularly since I'm new to the catering business. I found this book to be extremely helpful. There's a huge amount of work that goes into just preparing to go into business for yourself as a caterer and this book did a wonderful job of providing website resources for further research as well as providing very useful tips. It's easy to read and understand. This is a great reference book and I'll be sure to look at it often.

This book had everything possible that I needed to know to start my own business. I am so glad that I chose this product!!!

The table of contents lists all the aspects that one would need to know about but the chapters and subchapters are brief in their explanations. More attention is needed in the area of paperwork, laws, and regulations since that is where most people need the help.