Food Preparation and Presentation Tools

While most caterers know to invest in the quality of food items and ingredients, it is also important to invest in high quality kitchen equipment and accessories which will be used for expertly preparing and displaying the items on your menu.

Cutting and Chopping

To begin, your catering company will need to be equipped with the ktichenquipment, tools needed for chopping, dicing, slicing, and carving the food you will be serving to clients. Most caterers use over thirty different cutting tools for a single job. Because you will be required to prepare a large quantity of food in a relatively short period of time, a high quality set of knives and cutting accessories is crucial. Choose industrial strength knives that will not become dull or unusable over time. You will likely need knives for chopping vegetables, slicing fruit and cheese, carving meats, slicing bread and rolls, and even dicing meats and vegetables for use in prepared dishes such as soup.

If your catering jobs tend to be especially large, you can invest in equipment such as food processors and chopping accessories that will help to make the job go more quickly. The key to selecting cutting and chopping tools is to invest in quality and efficiency.

Mixing and Blending

Every caterer needs a variety of electronic kitchen accessories for quickly and efficiently handling the complex mixing and blending requirements of a catered event. Large,commercial mixers and commercial blenders are perfect for preparing soups, dough, pureed dishes, and a wide variety of other menu items. It is important to purchase commercial kitchen equipment, because your kitchen utensils will have to handle a much heavier load than what is expected of consumer-sized electronic devices.

Beverage Tools

If your catering service offers custom beverages such as coffee or tea, you will want to invest in high quality brewing devices that can handle large quantities of these beverages. It is not feasible to use a consumer coffee pot or tea kettle to brew large quantities of coffee and tea for a catered event. Instead, find large, industrial brewers and coffee urns that can handle thirty or more servings of each beverage. You can find tea bags and ground coffee filters that are pre-filled with the appropriate amount of tea or coffee needed to brew in large quantities.

Serving Dishes and Utensils

Just as important as preparing food, caterers need special tools and accessories for presenting their signature dishes. The dishes and utensils that you use to present the food you have created must reflect the quality of your catering company. Therefore investing in attractive dinnerware, serveware, catering displays and other accessories for food presentation and serving will give your catering company a professional, high quality appearance and reputation.

Food Warming Equipment

Finally, you may need to invest in accessories that are used to keep food at specific temperatures during an event. The hardest part of being a caterer is ensuring that all food is kept at the correct temperature in time for the event to start. Using food warmers and chafing dishes that rely on steaming hot water will help you keep food hot and appetizing.