March 2004

Features

The Art of the Wedding - 14
It takes both personal and culinary skills to put together a great wedding for your client’s very special day.

Weddings for All Budgets - 22
A wedding on any budget can be a success if you think creatively.

One Special Wedding - 28
Brian Palazzolo created a dramatic wedding by planning carefully, then pulling out the stops.

Special Focus

Buffet Pieces - 34
Start with the table and end with something spectacular to create an exciting and successful buffet.

Poultry - 57
Where would caterers be without poultry? Chicken is the center of thousands of great recipes—but don’t forget turkey and duck.

Departments

Caterer Profile - 8
Liz Neumark turned her love of art
and artists into a unique and successful catering business.

Pricing - 32
When pricing an event, make sure you consider all of your costs, whether fixed
or variable.

Caterer’s Recipes - 42
The client wants a great meal—without
a big bill.

Selling - 44
Making a sale is all about learning how to connect with the potential client.

Ask the Experts - 48
What percent of revenue should you allow for food and labor costs? Should you advertise in the Yellow Pages? How do you measure sales success?

New Products - 50
Four new products go that extra step.

Marketing - 54
Writing a good press release is easier than you might think.

Management - 63
Suggestions for how to put together a job description for an Executive Chef.

catersource voices

Letter from the Publisher - 4
The new year starts out with a big catersource convention and other exciting catering events.

Shelley’s Biz Buzz - 47
News from Baltimore and Florida, and a tribute to Frank Spinarski.

Business Forecast - 63
The economy’s aftereffects are still showing in the catering industry, but Carl Sacks predicts that 2004 will see a return to solid growth.

Roman’s Opinion - 64
Mike suggests caterers take some time to reflect on their current businesses and where they would like to go in 2004.