Drastic violation of Human rights and labor rights in catering business which stands non regulated
Excalibur stevens Biswas
Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house (pub), or other location.A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle, cart or truck which is designed for the purpose. Mobile catering is common at outdoor events (such as concerts), workplaces, and downtown business districts.
Modern times in the global free market economy may be marked with party and dinner culture.Traditionally Indians observe rituals very often and every ritual ends in party and dinner.Catering is the most vital part of this phenomenon.
In kolkata, catering business is full bloom.There are big names in kolkata catering business as Munna Maharaj , Ganapati and many more. The money invested is no doubt big but it is unfortunately a saga of domination and exploitation.
In Bengal,the environment of industry and business remains dark where employment is very very rare.Any vacancy would create applicants from all quarters.The unemployed youth in Bengal have very remote chance of employment whatsoever. Catering business gets the advantage here.It is all about local networking.It generates local employment and the unemplyed masses have no other option but to join it without any formal placement.
Nevertheless, these caterers provide services for big celebrations like birthday,religious and social occasion, marriage of super riches , celebrity parties, and many more . The amount involved is big. They do gather people locally to serve for minimum cost and feed them with left out whatsoever.
The payment is always below the minimum daily wage.
The two kind of service is provided in catering services .First kind of service engages those who serve dishes to the guests .Secondary service is all about cleaning,washing, picking up the dishes and clear the leftovers.
Even in high level parties,those who serve, they receive payment of 700 rupees and the one who do pick up job get something like 500 for erving 12 hours in a full shift continuously.
The payment seems quite tempting,but really the truth is this that the working people receive half of the payment.
Because of the syndicate involved.
The syndicate works on the basis of level just like chain marketing.Just like the lower level recruits who has to get boys together.Recruited people have to recruit others. The business is a chain system depending on each other.
Now here comes the story of human rights violation.
According to labor rights a manual labor work timing can't exceed of 12 hours but in catering business, the actual timing is much more just over 16 hours irrespective the huge physical stress, like carrying a dishes, serving drinks in heavy glass with containers which weighs more than like 5-7 kilos.
You need to carry it on one hand.
Others who carry the containers much heavier than those of drinks, they happen to be loaded with containers weighing over 10 kilos.
It is again with the same precondition that one need to carry on one hand ..And the shift continues and there is no break, no drink and the people who serve they just try to fuel themselves by stealing food and drink. Just because whatever may be catered,nevertheless,they are not given any food or drink.Whatever left out they get,it happens only after the party is over.
The business remains deregulated at every part of the country.
Misbehaviour,mishandling and even beating is the complaint.Non payment is often the grievance.Less payment is the trend.
The market knows no bound.
The manpower involved is amazing.
But no labour office is involved anywhere just because it is a part of disorganised sector.The situation worsens as the job is on asignment basis and it involves no contract at all.Youths are picked up at random.
As the party is over,the workers have to wait for another party.Until getting that the group is disbanded.
With such a large variety of catering available it is difficult to decide on which is the best for your guests.
Events range from cheese lunch drop-off to full-service catering. Caterers and their staff are part of the foodserviceindustry. Catering services provided vary depending on the event and can include: cooking and delivering food to an outside location; cooking, delivering and serving food; and full-service (preparing food, providing service staff, decoration of event location, prep and clean-up). In some cases of full-service catering, the caterer is called an event managing company.
When most people refer to a "caterer", they are referring to an event caterer who serves food with waiting staff at dining tables or sets up a self-serve buffet. The food may be prepared on site, i.e., made completely at the event, or the caterer may choose to bring prepared food and put the finishing touches on once it arrives.
The event caterer staff are not responsible for preparing the food but often help set up the dining area. This service is typically provided at banquets, conventions, and weddings. Any event where all who attend are provided with food anddrinks or sometimes only hors d'oeuvres is often called a catered event.
Many events require working with an entire theme or color scheme. A catering company or specialist is expected to know how to prepare food and to make it attractive. As such, certain catering companies have moved toward a full-servicebusiness model commonly associated with event planners. They take charge of not only food preparation but also decorations, such as table settings and lighting.
The trend is towards satisfying all the clients senses with food as a focal point. With the correct atmosphere, professional event caterers with experience can make an event special and memorable.
Beautifully prepared food alone can appeal to the senses of taste, smell, and sight - perhaps even touch, but the decorations and ambiance can play a significant part in a successfully catered event.
Catering is often sold on a per-person basis, meaning that there is a flat price for each additional person. However, things like lighting and fire permits are not scaled with the guest count, so per-person pricing is not always appropriate. It is necessary to keep the cost of the food and supplies below a price margin in order to make a profit on the catering.
As many others in the food service industry, caterers and their staff work long hours. It is not uncommon for them to work on holidays or 7 days a week during holiday event seasons.
A comprehensive, formal full-service catering proposal is likely to include the following time-line matters:
- Rental arrival time
- Staff arrival time
- Bar open time
- Meal serve time
- Bar close time
- Rental pickup
- Out-of-venue time
Each of these factors affects the catering price.
For example, a rental quote for an "anytime" weekday delivery is usually much more economical than an "exact-time" delivery.
- General menu considerations: Clients may have specific dietary or religious needs to consider. these include Halal,Kosher, Vegetarian, Vegan and food allergy requests. Increasingly, clients are interested in food sustainability and food safety.
- Hors d'oeuvres: it should be clear if these are passed or stationary. Most caterers agree that three or four passed items are appropriate for the one-hour period prior to a meal.
- Meal Rentals: May include tables, chairs, dance floor, plants, tabletop (china, flatware, glassware, linens, chargers), bar glassware, serving equipment, salt/peppers, etc. It should be clear whether table and chair setup and take-down is included. Most rental companies do not automatically include setup and take-down in the rental charges.
- Labor: varies from caterer to caterer, but generally speaking, an event will have a Lead/Captain/Event Manager, a Chef, perhaps a Sous Chef or Kitchen Assistant, Wait staff and Bartenders. The labor on a plated dinner is generally much higher than the labor on a buffet, because a plated dinner involves double the china, and usually a minimum of three served courses, plus served coffee. Simply put, there's a lot more to do. To do it properly requires roughly 10 to 50% more staff. On a large event, this can be substantial, especially if overtime or doubletime applies.
- Service Charge: Sales Tax, Some quotes will include lighting,liquor permit, fire permits, draping, florals, valet and coat check. Many venues discreetly get a "cut" of the catering bill. Caterers are contractually committed to not disclose this fee specifically in their contracts with the clients. Therefore, catering will sometimes cost substantially more at one venue versus another. Also, caterers must compete with illegal operators. A legitimate caterer will have a business license and a health permit both showing the address of the place from which they do business.
In addition, many caterers will provide partial catering services in addition to full-service. Partial catering can include cooking and delivery of prepared foods, pre-cooked dishes for pickup at the caterer's location, and cooking, delivery and setup without service. In many cases partial catering can be an excellent and economical option to full-service catering.
Increasingly, restaurants are providing catering menus and services in addition to their regular menus. Restaurant catering can be either on-site or off-site, depending on the services offered.
Catering company
Wednesday, 2 February 2011 | By Michelle Hammond
The catering business is considered one of the most lucrative and profitable home-based business ventures, with a high potential for expansion and growth.
While most of us simply enjoy the culinary delights dished up by catering companies, those with a flair for food and an entrepreneurial spirit will be keen to know what business opportunities lie beneath the silver serving trays.
What is it and who is it suited to?
Catering is the business of providing food service at events. The catering company usually prepares the food at its premises and delivers it to the event when needed. It may also provide drinks, crockery, cutlery, glassware, decorations and service staff.
As an independent, there are two main sectors you can target: private and corporate events. The former category will consist of family occasions such as weddings, parties and funerals.
Operating within the latter category means you are more likely to provide food for board meetings, functions and award ceremonies. Some caterers specialise in one or the other while others cover both.
Obviously, an extensive knowledge of food is a key prerequisite. Not only are customers' tastes becoming more sophisticated, your offerings may need to be both imaginative and appropriate for the event you are catering for.
It is also important to ensure the food you serve is fresh and of good quality.
A background in food should be combined with some degree of business acumen; it's not enough to be passionate about food but have no concept of controlling costs.
Catering is a competitive market and business is predominantly driven by word-of-mouth recommendations. How you price your food and service will therefore have a huge impact on the success of the business.
Because you are dealing with a perishable product in a high-pressure environment, you need to be highly organised. There are plenty of courses in event management to ensure your skills are up to scratch.
Finally, it is important to remember that catering is not a nine-to-five job; you will be working when everyone else is partying. It is important to bear this in mind when deciding if catering is right for you.
Rules and regulations
The fact that you're dealing with food and potentially employing a high number of staff not only means that you will have to deal with an array of rules and regulations, outlined by the Restaurant & Catering Association.
The business premises should be clean and in good repair, with adequate drinking water, pest control, lighting, ventilation, restroom, hand washing and drainage facilities.
The room in which food is prepared should have surfaces that are easy to clean and disinfect, with adequate facilities for washing food and equipment, storing food and removing waste.
Food handlers should wear clean clothes and observe good personal hygiene. They should not smoke when preparing food and should be trained in all areas of food hygiene.
Equipment, containers and vehicles used to transport food should be designed to be easy to clean and kept in a good state of hygiene. Vans will often need to be refrigerated if transporting cooked food.
Food and food waste should be immediately cleared from surfaces and stored in a closed-lid container. Temperature controls apply to dairy products, cooked products and prepared ready-to-eat uncooked food, which means many caterers have to use refrigerated vehicles.
Food hygiene law is rigorous and anyone setting up a catering business will have to think very carefully about where they set up and what equipment they buy.
Remember that environmental health officers make regular inspections of food businesses and have the power of closure if they think you are not up to scratch.
The other area of red tape that will affect your catering businesses comes from the fact that you may employ a large number of staff, especially if you serve the food as well as simply deliver it.
This means becoming familiar with the raft of employment regulations covering the recruitment process, pay, leave, discipline and dismissal as well as administrating payments.
Research and competition
The key to finding a successful formula for any business is good research, but this is especially important in the fiercely competitive world of catering. You will need to focus closely on who your customers are, what they want, and what you can offer that no one else can – your unique selling point.
As stated above, your possible client base will be corporate or private, although you may target both. Serving the business sector will predominantly involve lunches for business meetings and training courses but may extend to business breakfasts and evening receptions, which may involve providing drinks and servers as well.
The major advantage with corporate clients is the opportunity for repeat business. Businesses like having a regular supplier, so if you provide a good service at a good price and you're reliable, you'll become invaluable to them.
They will remember you and call you whenever they need some catering. Arguably, organisational skills are more valuable than culinary skill in this regard.
Alternatively, you could aim your catering service at the private sector, which typically involves catering for large family occasions such as weddings, funerals and birthday parties.
To run this type of business will require good culinary skills since the quality and range of your menu will be a major selling point, and you will have to be flexible enough to cater for any special requests from clients for their big day.
Think about offering extra services in order to stand out in the highly competitive private market. For example, if you provide crockery, cutlery, servers, decorations and marquee hire, you'll attract business much more quickly.
If you don't want to focus on weddings, you can find a niche through specialising in a certain type of cuisine, offering theme events such as Mexican nights or gourmet cuisine for dinner parties.
Costings and earnings
According to Jennie Blake, director of Blakes Feast Catering, you're looking at around $100,000 to start up in the industry.
"To start off with, you will need a shop front with a commercial kitchen, complete with a cool room and freezers, in addition to cooking and packaging materials," she says.
In order to cut down on costs, Blake advises start-ups to lease vehicles rather than purchase them, and complete office work from home.
With regard to earnings, she says you should be aiming to make a profit of at least $500,000 in your first year, but you will earn considerably less if you don't put in the work.
According to Blake, your biggest expense will be staff, so a family business or a husband-and-wife team is the perfect candidate in this regard.
An average day
In the beginning, Blake says your days will be filled with office tasks such as choosing an accounts program, marketing, and hiring staff if and when necessary.
Blake says depending on your size, you could be catering for up to 10 clients on a busy day, but that is preceded by weeks of preparation.
"If you've got a wedding for 120 people, you could be constantly on the phone to the bride and/or groom and sourcing the best prices, which means contacts in the industry are very valuable," she says.
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