TOPIC 4: CAREER IN TOURISM

UNIT 1

1. Study the glossary to the topic.

2. Make a presentation in Russian on the specific features of the work of caterers. Make use of the text “Caterers”.

Caterers

What do they do? Caterers prepare & serve food & drink at parties & other functions. Specializations : Particular types of food or particular types of functions. Preferred education : Varies from HS diploma or GED to bachelor's degree. Certification & licensing : Catering businesses need to be licensed like other food service establishments; many employers prefer employees with food safety certification. Getting ahead : Moving from low- to high-skilled jobs, or from less prestigious to more prestigious companies. Many open their own businesses. Skills & knowledge : Vary by job, but almost all catering jobs involve working well with customers and clients, working under pressure, crisis management, and multi-tasking. Where they work : Private homes, reception halls, anywhere parties are held. Work for catering companies. Job outlook : Good in the long run but usually worse during a recession .

WHAT DO THEY DO?

What's a wedding reception without a wedding cake? Or a black-tie fundraiser without a six-course meal? What's a corporate meeting without coffee and donuts, or an art opening without wine and cheese?

Catering companies provide the goodies that help make special events special. They may provide simple refreshments for a film crew on a movie set or caviar and blini at a film star's party. Or a buffet for a Christmas Day open-house in a private home. Or basic hors d'oeuvres at a reception for a retiring professor.

Just about any sort of event you can imagine – sporting events, private parties, church functions, government events, press conferences, fashion shows and more--are catered by catering companies. Some events are bare bones. Others are elaborate affairs.

While many restaurants offer catering services as a sideline, many caterers are businesses completely independent from restaurants. Some caterers are small companies that mostly cater home parties and receptions. Others are large establishments that cater Hollywood, embassy, and government events. These independent businesses operate out of premises of their own equipped with offices, storage space for supplies, and kitchens.

Catering involves a variety of jobs, most of them also found in the restaurant and hotel-banquet trade. Chefs and cooks prepare food and drink. Bus staff help transport food, set up, and pick up afterwards. Wait staff serve. Dishwashers deal with the mountains of dirty plates. Sales staff find clients and customers.

Catering companies also have staff who aren't directly connected with cooking, serving, and cleaning up. Event designers work with customers and sales staff to plan and design events and act as liaison between customers and other catering staff. Stylists select linens, table settings, flower arrangements and all the other embellishments that create a party atmosphere. Purchasing staff work with suppliers to buy goods the firm needs at the best possible price. Managers organize all the others.

In very small firms one person may do almost all of these jobs, or the company may not offer all of these services. In cities like Washington, New York, or Los Angeles, where lavish entertaining is a way of life for major corporations and the elite, there are large firms that employ hundreds of people.

SPECIALIZATION

Some catering firms are generalists, providing food for everything from weddings to tailgate picnics. Some specialize in particular types of cuisine, like Chinese or Italian food. Still others specialize in particular kinds of events, from weddings and corporate functions to sports events and feeding film crews working on location.

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION, & LICENSING

Catering firms employ many people in jobs that typically require little education or experience – wait staff, bus staff, and prep cooks, for example. However, for other jobs, catering managers usually want more education and experience than the average employer. Catering firms do most of their business providing high-end services for special occasions. Clients have high expectations about the quality of food and service and are much more demanding than they would be on the average night out at a family restaurant. Managers therefore try to hire staff with the personal and professional experience that will help them meet these expectations. Experience in high-end restaurants and hotels is particularly valuable.

Large firms usually want their head chefs to have culinary-school degrees, significant high-end chef experience, or both. Other sales and managerial jobs usually require a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field, such as hotel and restaurant management or marketing.

GETTING AHEAD

People in catering get ahead in several ways. They may move up from the less-skilled, lower-paying jobs like prep cook or Wait staff to higher-paying jobs like chef or sales. Or they may advance by moving from less prestigious to more prestigious firms, from a small-town firm that does mainly local weddings to a major city firm that caters charity balls. Many also seek to move up by setting out on their own as independent entrepreneurs.

OUTLOOK

Demand for catering services expanded considerably during the 1990s, providing a steady stream of work for both private and corporate clients. The field is no longer growing at such a rapid pace. Many jobs will continue to be available however, since there is a high turnover in this business, as there is throughout the food service.

http://www.careerprospects.org/briefs/A-D/Caterers.shtml