Need a quick consultation about some aspect of your business? The Certified Catering Consultants (CCC) will offer free half hour appointments on site during Catersource + The Special Event (March 27-30) to address your catering-related challenges, identify your highest value opportunities, and/or help you improve your business and ROI.
The CCC team has been consulting with caterers for over 20 years and many of them ran businesses of their own—or still do!
Because of limited time and space availability, in order to sign up for a complimentary session with CCC please complete the appointment request form here.
Or if you are on site, please head to room W233 to sign up for a free consultation during show hours Tuesday and Wednesday.
If applicable, the CCC office will then ask for confirmation of the appointment by 5PM the day before the appointment. Any unconfirmed appointments may be canceled, and offered to waiting list applicants.
Consultants and Topics
Carl Sacks
Widely regarded as one of the top experts on the business of catering, Carl Sacks focuses on optimizing financial results through in-depth analysis of the operating results of any caterer. He also focuses creating value from the assets of a catering company for potential acquisition, and helping with long term strategic planning, including exit strategies. Carl is also an expert on all things catering venue related, from responding to RFP’s to helping with financial justifications for venue projects.
- Financial Analysis & Recommendations
- Exit/Transition Opportunities
- Strategic Planning
- Venues & RFP Response Creation
Meryl Snow
A highly popular speaker and consultant, Meryl provides her clients with necessary insight and knowledge on all things catering sales related. Particularly during this time of recovery for the industry, her insight is invaluable for all sales driven caterers.
- Sales Team Training
- Sales Compensation Planning
- Style: Redesign Buffet, Stations and Culinary Presentations
Anthony Lambatos
Anthony is passionate about helping businesses create a culture that allows their team members to thrive and the organization to reach new levels of success. As events come back and businesses rebuild, now is the time to create a culture by design and not one by default. Anthony specializes in heart leadership and management of teams with a focus on operational structure and employee engagement. He has helped many companies with recruiting and hiring processes, retention strategies, and the alignment of team members and company goals. He also assists organizations with the training and development of their leaders.
- Hiring and Onboarding Process for Key Employees
- Creating a Culture of Innovation
- Employee Engagement and Retention
Bill Hansen
Bill Hansen has been one of the most successful caterers in the highly competitive South Florida market for many years. As a consultant he focuses on helping smaller caterers grow their businesses.
- Planning for Your Catering Firm’s Future
- Strategic Development for Small Businesses
- Expert Witness Services
Chef Peter McCaffrey
Peter McCaffrey has had a long and distinguished career as a catering focused chef, including many years operating one of the most successful caterers in the Wine Country area of Northern California. He now consults for caterers around the country on all things culinary related. Menu development, staff training, original presentation concepts, and many other areas are among Peter’s specialties. In a competitive market, having a highly regarded consulting chef to assist the in-house culinary team can help differentiate any caterer from the competition.
- Culinary Excellence Development & Staff Training
- Quality and Cost Control Programming
- Recipe and Presentation Development
Francisco (Frank) Christian
Frank’s broad skill-set and hands-on experience includes the following areas: enterprise-wide process reengineering and technology implementation, sales force management, inventory and warehouse management, logistics, purchasing, financial analysis and strategic planning—virtually every aspect of running a successful business. His focus is on company mission and vision, while always looking for cost saving and process improvement initiatives to implement as well as new opportunities to create revenue using available resources and talents.
- Business Operations Recovery
- Process Improvement
- Event Lifecycle Management
- Cash Flow, Budgeting and Profit Management
Lisa Richards
Lisa Richards has been a caterer for 40 years in San Diego. With an entrepreneurial heart rooted in hospitality, she has created multiple successful catering brands with vertical integration being the goal. From casual Picnic People, to elevated Barbecue with Cowgirlq, and fine dining with Urban Solace, Richards has experience in all aspects of starting, growing and maintaining a catering operation. She is especially knowledgeable about which pitfalls to avoid! Lisa’s consulting services focuses on emerging companies under 3 years old who need a boost to get to the next level.
- Team & Sales Development
- Family Business Issue Resolution
- Outdoor Events
