Catering is preparing and serving food to groups of people gathered for a specific purpose, such as a meeting or a wedding. Some caterers prepare and serve food only in their own halls; Others prepare food in their own kitchens but serve only on premises provided by their clients. Some will both prepare and serve and serve on premises provided by the client. Some will agree to any of these arrangements. Those in the catering business are normally very flexible and are willing to meet any reasonable requests for particular foods. Catering has several advantages over normal restaurant operations. Most caterers are prepared to offer the client preplanned menus at various price levels for various type of functions, and most will adjust any of these to meet the client’s particular needs or desires. Functions are always booked in advance, so management knows the number of people to expect and can easily determine the proper quantity of food to serve. Staffing and food purchasing, therefore, can be planned precisely, making it possible to estimate costs accurately in advance and thus plan a predetermined profit on each function. In the hotel business, catering is done by what is commonly known as the banquet department.
Table service may take place in food outlets like restaurants in function rooms for banquet functions or in a guestroom if it involves room service. Whatever is the venue, service must be executed in accordance with professional standard and with graciousness and courtesy. A table service establishment is one in which customers are seated and served at tables. Individuals may be escorted to their tables by an employee known by a title, such as host or hostess, or may select their own tables. The service station must be equipped with complete par stock china wares, utensils, linen, hollow ware, etc. It is the duty of the captain to check the availability, cleanliness and condition of all required stocks and supplies. The captain must review the event order to check the client requirements for the function and to see to it that said requirements are available, clean, in good condition and installed at least one hour prior to the function. Once these requirements are ready, the waiters must be given a briefing about the details of the function and the serving instructions, after which the captain or headwaiter shall inspect their grooming, insuring that everyone complies with the grooming standard and preparations.