Consider catering as career
IF you enjoy preparing meals, planning events, and helping people celebrate special occasions, a catering career might be an excellent option.
A caterer should:
- be artistic, creative and innovative;
- enjoy food preparation;
- be able to take pressure and hard work;
- have good business sense;
- get along easily with other people;
- possess organisational skills; and
- supervise the work of others.
There are many career opportunities for a caterer, from owning a business to working in establishments (including hotels, restaurants, factories, and hospitals) that have catering services.
A caterer helps a client to plan a social gathering by:
planning the details of the menus;
deciding on colour schemes and themes; and
providing quality service while staying within the budget.
Even if planning doesn’t appeal to you, yet you have a passion for food; perhaps you should look into a career as a professional chef. A chef supervises and co-ordinates activities of other cooks and kitchen helpers.
To qualify as either a chef or a caterer, one requires training at an FET college or culinary school.
Training usually consists of one to three years at an FET college, and at least six months of experiential learning.