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One of the extremely vital equipments for a caterer is their capital equipment that includes ovens, fryers, grills, and microwaves. These come along with the finest chafing dishes and warmers. Catering establishments serve drinks and meals of two general types of catering, on premises and off premises.
The food serving industry also known as the catering industry consists of establishments largely involved in delivering food assistance for single events. Catering firms commonly service events from small, intimate gatherings to more prestigious ones such as birthday parties, wedding receptions, housewarmings, product launchings, graduation bashes, corporate luncheons, and gala awards.
This industry has over 10,000 firms with joint yearly returns of 5 billion dollars. Abigail Kirsch, Along Came Mary, Catering by Michael's Family of Companies, and Jackson and Co., (Jenna Bush's wedding caterer) are among the catering companies of today that provide food service to big events. Caterers typically have catering equipment and supplies as well as automobiles to carry food and beverages to the venue.
One of the most important tools for catering establishments are their capital equipment that includes convention ovens, fryers, grills, microwaves, pasta boilers, coffee machines, as well as food making equipments such as mixers and juicers.
Caterers also have to invest in the finest chafing dishes and warmers such as chafer and accessories - oval flats, platters, soup tureens & ladles, relish servers, sauce boats, shakers and pourers, condiments and grinders, as well as cake stands and plates.
Beverage Service and barware equipments like tumblers and pitchers, juice dispensers, wine buckets and stands, are a must-have too for caterers serving for large celebrations. They also have to provide for utensils, trays, serving trolleys and table runners.
Catering establishments supply drinks and meals for clients for on premises and off premises catering. On premises catering involves preparing meals and beverages at the same event setting while off-premises catering means preparing meals and beverages away from the venue where it's being dished up. Food for on premises services are usually provided in the buffet style. Off premises may comprise of fingered food, packed meals, seated food, and buffets. Some caterers supply food and beverages only whereas others supply assorted blends of waiter services, seating space, and supplementary facilities like entertainment.
A moveable kitchen complete with equipments is normally needed for big off premises events. Depending on the services rendered or occasion types, kitchen amenities may be small or big. And for bulk amount of food, caterers generally buy food from the wholesalers. They may also obtain specialty food such as cakes and desserts from other sources. Caterers also offer ready to serve (or pre-prepared food) of good quality.
Catering for an occasion would generally begin with a discussion with a client to evaluate details such as how many guests, site, and particular meals request. Some clients may normally require caterers to not only provide food but manage venue rentals, entertainment, and decorations as well. The catering firms create a proposal and price quote for the menu, rental, and the like. And they would typically make every effort to provide for the wishes of the clients.
Catering chefs and cooks play an extremely significant role for the success of an event. Their job involves preparation, cooking, and transferring meals. They also help serve food at chef stations.
Waiters or waitresses are important for a catering occasion to do well. They are the ones that generally arrange the event setting, dish up meals, and clean up everything from tables to equipment as soon as the affair is concluded. Ideally, the ratio of waiting crew to guests is one for every 10 to 15 guests to ensure best possible service.
Special time of the year such as spring and Christmas days are considered the peak seasons for the caterers. Catering establishments have the standard policy of preparing for approximately ten percent food spare to ensure that every guest goes home contented and full.
Caterers can leave their clients delighted by combining sophisticated service with great food.
Day Care Centers serve as a nursery for pre school children. They provide paid care for infants, toddlers, pre-school children or older children. They supervise these kids while their parents work. Although there are companies that have day care centers as an incentive for their employees, most companies do not allow their employees to be disturbed by parental obligation while at work.
There are companies that do not have this type of work incentive, so an institution that can take care of their child while they are away and busy working is essential for parents. This is where a Day Care Center comes in handy.
In the United States, this is one of the fastest growing industries.
The demand for child care program will grow significantly because the number of children under the age of 5 is expected to grow. It will continue to grow because more parents decide to both work, and the number of single working parents is increasing.
Mother's of pre-school age children are forced to work on different industries today. This means that there is a definite need for day care centers. Many experts believe that there is a big increase in the popularity of this type of business. The basis of their forecast is continuing need of young mothers to work outside of home. Thus, profitable Day Care Centers are more glorified than baby-sitting services.
Mothers of today are more aware of these needs. They demand the structured pre-school education. They want the learning stimulation given by modern day care centers.
Finding quality and affordable child Day Care Center, especially for children younger than 5, is a major concern. Child Day Care helps by providing care in:
- A Child's home
- An organized child Care Center
- A Provider's Home
Types of Day Care Services
There are 2 types of child care that make up the services for child day care industry:
1. Center-based care
2. Family child care
There are Formal Child Care Centers that are:
a. Pre schools
b. Care Centers for children
c. Head Starts Centers
There are also non-profit Child Day Care Centers which are provided by religious institutions. Examples include YMCAs and other social or recreational centers.
Most centers are usually open 12 hours or even more during the day. Some do not close until the parents pick up their children. Some reasons that can cause parents to be late include traffic jams, unscheduled overtime, and other emergencies. In fact, almost 18% of all full time employees in day care services work more than 40 hours a week.
Staffing
Pre-school Teachers make up the biggest occupation in the child day care industry today. Pre-school Teachers teach pupils basic physical, intellectual and social skills required in order to enter primary school.
Working with children can be very rewarding. Helping children grow, learn, and gain new skills is a glorified feeling. Most Pre-school teachers and child care workers have already improved their communication, learning and other personal skills.
Child care workers must be always alert, anticipate and attend to each child's needs. They must be able to anticipate and prevent trouble. They must deal effectively with unruly children and must give fair and firm discipline.
Child Care Workers build:
1. Objectives and standards for their centers
2. Provide day-to-day supervision of staff and
3. Bear all responsibility for program development, marketing, budgeting, staffing and other administrative tasks.
A lot of day centers enroll from 35 to 65 students. This is because of the regulations imposed by the state government.
Many states require the day care center to provide:
- a minimum area per child inside and outside the building
- one hot meal a day
- Licensed teacher for every 15 – 20 children
- Licensed Nurse
States and Insurers impose staffing requirements for Child Care Centers. In most cases these requirements are:
- Minimum age of 18 years old is required
- 21 yrs. Old for Directors or Officers
- 14 or 16 yrs. old for Assistants
- Minimum educational or training requirements must be met.
Training requirements are most rigorous for Directors, less for Pre-school teachers and minimal for Child Care Workers and Assistants
Teachers must possess :
- A High school diploma,
- A combination of college education and
- Experiences.
Schedule of activities
In a typical day center, the day begins with a play period until 9 a.m. From 9 – 10 the children are separated into groups or by ages. Between 10 -11, snack time for the mid morning is scheduled. You can add a mid-morning nap for younger ones. After snack time, academic sessions are usually held. Lunch break is generally from noon up to 1 o'clock. Another type of learning session is from 1pm up to 2pm. In the afternoon, they usually offer rudiments of 3Rs– reading, writing, and arithmetic.