Generally the most cost efficient way for catering businesses to prepare their food for events is to ready their dishes in their own commercial kitchen, transport the dishes to the venue and then reheat or transfer to warming plates once they have arrived at the location. This is a perfect system for menu items such as cold pasta dishes, salads or soups etc. however not all dishes can be treated similarly.
If your business prides itself on quality products sometimes the only option to achieving these standards is to invest in some portable catering equipment that will enable you to cook certain items freshly at the venue. The food will be perfect, and the guests will be happy meaning that your catering business can retain its excellent reputation.
If you know that this option would benefit your business you will need to assess certain aspects before making any purchases.
- What is your budget?
- What pieces of equipment do you need?
- Do you have the means to transport these items from venue to venue?
- Do you have a place to store the equipment when it is not in use?
Before you go crazy and buy every piece of portable catering equipment on the market you need to assess which pieces you actually need and what your budget is. It would be pointless, not to mention a waste of money, to purchase everything regardless of whether you need it or not, just so that you look good in the eyes of the guests. Although having a full catering kitchen in portable form will be impressive, if you have invested in items that are never used and have exceeded your budget in the process you may look professional to others, but your business may suffer financially in private. Only purchase items that you deem necessary and once you have calculated your budget you should rigidly adhere to it.
Obviously portable items are just that; portable and so should be fairly easy to transport. You will however need to look into your current methods of transportation. Do you use a car or a small van to travel to locations? Making more than one trip to transport all supplies and equipment will obviously mean that your overheads will be increased and your catering prices will need to reflect this. Aim to purchase items that you can accommodate during transportation. Take into account the space that you have on average after the food is loaded in direct correlation to the dimensions of the equipment you are looking at.
If you have your own commercial catering kitchen you should have the space to store your portable equipment when it is not in use. If you are a catering business that utilises the hosting venue’s kitchen, finding safe and adequate storage may become tricky. The venue’s kitchen should already contain the majority, if not all, of the equipment that you may need however occasionally, especially if the kitchen is not in regular use, there may be crucial pieces of equipment missing that are vital for your menu preparation and cooking. By visiting the venue’s kitchen prior to the event you will be able to assess if all the necessary equipment is present and in full working order. If it is not, rather than purchasing pieces outright that you may not need again in the future you could consider hiring them out for a day or possibly a week. This would give you time to practice your dishes to guarantee perfection on the day, would reduce your costs by hiring rather than purchasing and would take away any storage worries when the item is not in use.
Deciding which items of portable catering equipment your business needs will rely on the type of catering you offer and the requests that your guests predominately make. Listed, are some portable equipment ideas that are available and how they could be of use to your business.
Portable gas stoves
These items are a more compact alternative to outdoor grills and are perfect for cold weather events. Gas stoves can be used to cook rice or pasta fresh whilst at the venue or quickly cook fresh fish dishes etc. They are smaller than outdoor grills, so this must be taken into account when assessing the quantity of foods that will need to be cooked on it.
Outdoor grill
This equipment looks great at an open air event and exudes tempting aromas that will catch the attention of guests. It provides a great way to demonstrate your cooking skills live in an eye-catching form and can become something of a spectacle and centrepiece in itself. Although outdoor grills are portable they are larger than a gas stove alternative.
Hot plates and Induction hobs
The heated plate, boiling top or hob gently warms the dish placed on the top and once the service commences. These make great portable alternatives to a full commercial cooking range found in all kitchens. Induction hobs do exactly the same job as hot plates do except that a magnetic field is utilised to warm the pan and its ingredients. Only specially designed pans will be able to conduct the magnetic field and therefore the heat when using an induction range. The beauty of an induction range is that only the pan gets hot and not the surrounding surface of the range. When preparing food in a public area this cuts down any health and safety risks for chefs, servers and guests.
Hot food tables
These provide a more attractive and an easier way to present heated food items. Hot food tables, although they come with castors, are more bulky to transport than numerous chafing dishes and the required fuel. If you need a similar display to that of a hot food table, but that can display chilled items instead there are portable cold food tables available to purchase that will happily accommodate pasta, salads and fresh fruit etc.
Portable bars
Not all catering businesses offer the option of the supplying and serving of beverages but if you are one of the number that do you may often find that your beverage service does not quite meet your standards of quality. If your client requires a beverage service, and you wish to make a statement and carry your ethos of quality through to every last detail you may wish to include a small portable bar from which the guests can be served their beverages. Portable bars are well insulated and can keep chilled items cold for up to four hours. There is also space to store any vital bar tools such as corkscrews, ice and cocktail shakers etc. should you require them.
If you want your catering business to be able to offer anything that your client may require you may find that investing in some portable commercial catering equipment will guarantee that you are in a position to meet demands despite how excessive they may at first appear. Choosing the perfect equipment for your business will ensure that the quality that you provide and what you have based your good reputation on will not be affected only reinforced. By deciding which pieces you will utilise and the budget that you have to spend you will be able to offer freshly cooked items with the perfect flavours, aromas and textures no matter where the function is held. Your business will soar and so will your profits.