PROFESSIONAL CATERING equips readers with the knowledge and tools to start and position a competitive catering business. It addresses industry best practices and emerging trends while taking a practical approach to resources that can be used in implementing business plan. Beautifully illustrated with four-color photography, this easy-to-read resource is packed with Tips from the Trade, Ingredients for Success, standard operating procedures, checklists, forms, and hands-on applications designed to develop critical thinking skills. Comprehensive information is provided on each functional catering management task--planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling--helping readers strategically craft a long-term strategy to create a profitable catering operation. It also offers thorough coverage of the business plan, finding and keeping the right client, designing a sustainable operation, resolving conflict, social media, managing risk, understanding legal issues, adhering to FDA and OSHA guidelines, partnering with the event planner to exceed a client's needs, and much more. PROFESSIONAL CATERING is the ideal resource for managing catering profitability.