2017 trend: Catering to current tastes

Noncommercial chefs are getting more involved in off-site or off-hours catering to boost revenue and strut their stuff, with almost half saying they intend to grow their catering business in the year ahead. While items such as sandwiches, barbecue and buffets still are popular, they continue to experiment with new menu items and concepts as catering competition heats up. 

“Our unit is unique in that it is open to the public. We do quite a bit of catering and each year our business increases, mostly by word of mouth. I am going to start offering cooking classes and hope that will generate even more business.”

—Jennifer Leamons
Sodexo at Carolina Health Care

Top dishes:

Crab cake-stuffed portobellos with lemon aioli; Witch Doctor BBQ ribs with three-cheese mac and cheese; chicken over herb couscous with tzatziki sauce

“We have changed the catering menu this year to include dining packages with themes. We are really trying to showcase the skill set of our staff and offer all of the students’ favorites.”

—Callie Fowler
Union Public Schools

Top dishes:

Baked potato bar with soup and salad, and a personalized panini station

“For our adult catering events—which range from school board meetings to parent- teacher meetings— we offer a more chef-driven selection.”

—Eli Huff
Salt Food Group

Top dishes:

Bamboo fruit skewers; Mediterranean platter with sesame hummus, pickled peppers, olive tapenade and grilled pita; picante beef taco salad bar with avocado pico de gallo; baked chicken penne parma rosa

“We plan on updating our [catering] menu to better reflect current market trends and our focus on healthy, nutrient-dense items.”

—Kevin Frank
Detroit Public Schools

Top dishes:

Lots of entree salads that feature locally sourced vegetables and housemade dressings

“We will be catering more upscale functions this year with the addition of beer and wine.”

—Darla Mehrkens
Carilion Clinic

Top dishes

Fajitas; crab cake sliders; chicken and broccoli Alfredo; Black ’n Bleu salad