Secrets of the Caterer

Discover how to put your cooking and party planning skills to work in an exciting and creative career as a caterer. Learn fundamentals of catering business including how to cook for large crowds, organize your kitchen, manage your time, and work with clients, as well as some great recipe ideas to jump-start your career.

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6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs
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Secrets of the Caterer

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Course code: bac

Catering is a business that has become very popular, especially for those who love to cook and plan parties. From weddings, to showers, to business parties, catering is a home-based business that gives the caterer an exciting and creative career.

In this introductory course, you will learn how to put your cooking and party planning skills to work. Learn the fundamentals of the catering business, how to cook for large crowds, organize your kitchen, manage your time, and work with clients. The course focuses on cooking skills every caterer needs, with an introduction to the business side of catering. You'll also receive many unique and tested recipes that you can use to jump-start your business. Build your catering skills and begin a new and exciting career today.

What you will learn

  • Learn how to put your cooking and party planning skills to work for you
  • Learn the fundamentals of the catering business
  • Understand how to cook, for large crowds, organize your kitchen, manage your time, and work with clients
  • Get an introduction to the business side of catering

How you will benefit

  • Receive unique and tested recipes that you can use to jump-start your business
  • Build your catering skills and begin a new and exciting career today

How the course is taught

  • Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
  • 6 Weeks or 3 Months access
  • 24 course hours

Have you dreamed of having fun and making money while cooking delicious food? Well, dream no more! In this lesson, you'll learn all about the wonderful world of catering. You'll find out what the catering business is really like and look into the ups and downs of having a home-based business. You'll get to explore your personal skill set, and finally, you'll do some cooking.

Chefs often say that the key to great cooking is using quality ingredients. But what exactly are quality ingredients anyway? After this lesson, you'll know what they are and how to choose them. You'll also learn how to build your personal pantry so that you always have the right tools on hand for any kind of catering activity. You'll then work on collecting what every caterer needs: several exciting and delicious recipes.

Since people are first attracted to food with their eyes, delicious food also needs to be beautiful. In this lesson, you'll discover techniques for making any dish visually attractive. You'll learn how to arrange and present food in creative ways. You'll find out about easy and effective garnishes and how to work with them. Finally, you'll get to practice your new skills with several recipes.

Appetizers and hors d' oeuvres are an important part of any catered meal. So in this lesson, you'll learn how to pair appetizers and hors d' oeuvres with entrées. You'll see how to make them attractive and how to present them to your guests. Last but not least, you'll get several tried-and-true appetizers and hors d' oeuvres recipes.

In this lesson, you'll learn the secrets caterers use to prepare delicious main courses. You'll find out how to choose the best main course, select the right ingredients for it, prepare it, and serve it to your guests.

From brownies to cheesecake, everyone loves dessert! So, in this lesson, you'll explore different kinds of desserts and how to choose the right one for your event. You'll learn a number of dessert-making secrets and you'll have an opportunity to prepare several of them.

Drinks are an important part of any meal. As a caterer, you'll always want to serve beverages that are refreshing and unique. So in this lesson, you'll learn all about teas, coffees, and punches. You'll get delicious recipes you can try and you'll see how to garnish drinks for that extra special touch.

Stemware, flatware, dishes, oh my! Don't worry: serving dishes don't have to be cause for great concern. With just a few tips and tricks under your belt, you'll learn how to choose the best serving dishes and flatware for any occasion. In this lesson, you'll see how to keep things practical, but still make everything beautiful. You'll also learn how to formally arrange flatware for any occasion and receive another round of recipes.

Condiments and sides are a critical part of a great meal, but they can also be a big headache. Thankfully, with the skills that you'll learn in this lesson, you'll be able to provide condiments and sides without any fuss. You'll find out how to serve them easily, safely, and without a bunch of problems.

Menu planning may seem a bit overwhelming. After all, combining the right items with the right event can be difficult. But you can master this planning skill! In this lesson, you'll learn to create the perfect menu for the perfect event. You'll see how you can manage menu items and keep your menu from becoming boring or too complicated. You'll even find a number of sample menus and recipes you can use for your events.

Since catering is a business, you'll need to manage expenses and turn a profit. In this lesson, you'll learn about managing the business of catering. You'll learn how to price menus, figure profit, track your income and expenses, create contracts, and arrive at a healthy bottom line. The lesson will also teach you how to set personal boundaries and take care of yourself so that your catering business doesn't overwhelm your life.

In this lesson, you'll explore the daily life of a caterer. You'll see how to work with your client, how to help your client choose the right food, and how to get a signed contract and down payment. Next, you'll discover how to organize your time, plan the event, and deliver your first job with great success. Afterwards, you'll be able to plan and complete your first catering job!

Dawn Simmons

Dawn Simmons is a private caterer who has provided a number of catering services for individuals and businesses. Before starting her own home-based catering business, Dawn worked for various restaurants and worked as a caterer for a major hotel chain. Dawn is skilled at presenting great food with flair, and eagerly shares the tricks of her trade with her students. Take her course, and you too will know how to create food that looks as good as it tastes.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

  • This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

  • PC: Windows 8 or later.
  • Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
  • Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  • Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

  • Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Notes:

  • Food preparation laws and licensing vary from state-to-state. It is important to always check your local and state government for licensing information and restrictions.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.​

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.​

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.​

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.​

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

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