Your catering team is struggling with cost efficiency. How can you effectively get them on board?

- Fixed vs. Variable: Distinguish between fixed costs (rent, utilities) that remain constant and variable costs (ingredients, labor) that fluctuate with activity. - Direct vs. Indirect: Identify direct costs (food, beverage) directly tied to the menu, and indirect costs (marketing, administration) that support overall operations.

To improve cost efficiency in your catering team, start by fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration. Clearly communicate the financial goals and the importance of cost-saving measures to everyone involved. Involve the team in brainstorming sessions to generate ideas for reducing waste, negotiating better deals with suppliers, and optimizing menu planning to use seasonal and cost-effective ingredients. Provide training on cost management and celebrate small wins to keep the team motivated. By making cost efficiency a shared responsibility and recognizing their contributions, you can effectively get the catering team on board with the necessary changes.

Getting the team involved in finding areas they see is key. They will be able to find areas and it will open areas that you don't see. It helps bring the team together and is a way of developing their skills.

It all begins with an internal audit. Sit down with your leads and who are in charge of ordering and coordinating with COGs goals. Suppliers have myriad tricks they pull and not to put them all in the "shady" box, but many try and take advantage or simply won't outright offer the best deal, you have to pry or scratch at it. Try and negotiate respectfully, look at deals in if you bundle other orders or ways to unlock better discounts or getting exclusive access to product for your events. Do a supplier review and go through several crucial expensive categories and solicit quotes from multiple vendors to compare. This is one crucial way to start examining failing areas of the event operation.

Catering can be difficult for many teams to execute efficiently because scaling up for the larger quantities of fulfillment for events often surpasses what many chefs and their teams had been used to preparing for. Establish serious standards with your teams and dial in costing out items and the sticking to correct prep for quantities you're executing for. Order your product in scrutinizing detail, factor in for small percentages of needed overage for guests who will always indulge more than others. Cross utilize items to minimize your wastage, say you're doing a wedding; you have a wonderful short rib dish you maybe take some of that extra and do a late night snack of "birria" pizza or tacos. Be creative and always think like an owner.

Having trained hospitality apprentices I have seen first hand how it helps develop them into better leaders. Giving them knowledge on other areas helps them understand other departments and roles. A housekeeper understanding customer service helps bring the values together. One housekeeper I trained valued the interactions and was amazed at the tips she was given, it made her more friendly to the guests and a buzz when mentioned in a review, gaining a bonus as well.

There are many financial and cost evaluating measures that can be studied and fixed to help your even company flourish once again. The most crucial element of all of this is consistency, and to build the right work ethic ethos and culture you need to comprehensively train your teams. In not only training them in high end, high volume event service, you need to cross train them to have the mindset of a leader or boss in how they look at anything and approach keeping the business in good fiscal standing and flourishing. You caring, as the operator or leader isn't enough, you need to get your teams to buy in