A career in catering can take a person interested in the culinary arts to many different places from working for a large catering company that prepares food and supplies them to company cafeterias, to working as managers in hotels and casinos or running your own catering business. Catering courses can help prepare you for anyone of these exciting possibilities.

The main responsibility of a caterer in any capacity is to prepare the menu and ensure the quality of the food and in some instances, the service. Various catering courses at culinary schools will train caterers in the fine art of food preparation, customer service, management, as well as specialty training in serving large quantities of food.

Specific catering courses might include catering principles, culinary arts, sanitation and handling, pastry and baking, classic American and/or international cuisine, business management, accounting, nutrition, cost control customer service, ceremonial culinary specialties for specific religious or cultural events, management, marketing, legal contracts, creating menus and personnel management courses. 

There are two main catering careers, both of which include the off-site preparation and delivery of food. When working for a large catering company, caterers may perform a variety of functions, from meeting with clients to discuss contracts and menus, to overseeing the food preparation by a team of chefs and cooks, to hiring and supervising the wait and bartending staff, as well as being responsible for the clean up after the event. These events might include corporate functions, in-house corporate cafeterias, large religious celebrations, parties and weddings.

The second career as a caterer is an entrepreneurial one - owning your own catering business as a sole owner or with a partner, or partners. Caterers in these smaller companies usually perform all of the functions, with little or no help from staff - from preparing the food and delivery, to serving, or hiring contract servers to fulfill the need for a one time event.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Bring on the Food!  
The catering classes you choose should match your aspirations as a caterer. Students can choose their level of education by taking catering and culinary courses at trade schools, to taking catering courses in certificate programs, associate degree programs and even bachelor's degree programs in restaurant or hospitality management. If your ambition is to work for a large catering company, a few year's worth of on the job experience, as well catering courses in a 2-4 year restaurant or hospitality management program will help you attain your goals. A minor, or secondary degree in business management is also recommended.

If your ambition is to own your own catering business, on the job training with another catering company, as well as catering courses at a vocational school, a certificate program or associate's degree program should give you the cooking and culinary skills necessary to manage the food and delivery portion of the business. Extra classes in business management, marketing, customer service and accounting are recommended for this career path.

A career in catering is physically challenging and income levels range from $30,000 to well over $100,000 for well known, established and high demand caterers. If you own your own company, your income level varies, depending on your talent in cooking and business.

Catering courses can help anyone with the dream of being the culinary party planners, so find a school near you, enroll in come catering courses and get cooking!