Roman says, however, that the
“cheffing” concept in catering is unlike
that in restaurants. “In catering, it’s a
manufacturing business, not a service
industry. There’s an advantage over
restaurants, because caterers can plan
ahead and cook ahead. There are no
surprises and no staffing issues with
catering. I always say restaurants deal with
today and caterers deal with tomorrow.”
He believes that a chef getting into the
foodservice industry today can go faster
and farther and do better in catering than
in the restaurant business. “The politics
and seniority systems in restaurants are
not the same in catering,” Roman says.
CARVING OUT A NICHE
Chris Bybee, chef/owner of Sublime
Catering in Longmont, Colo., is one chef
who decided to strike out on his own
about four years ago. Previously, he was
corporate chef at a food brokerage house,
Sublime Catering
and has worked for various restaurants
and catering companies.
Bybee always loved to play in the kitchen,
and decided to get a modest business
loan to open his catering business. “The
capital it takes to have a successful catering
company is way less than the capital it takes
to own a restaurant,” he says. “And to open
a restaurant, you need a good location in a
busy area. You have to keep a significant
amount of inventory, and staff the same
whether one table or 20 tables are full.”
He was also drawn to catering because of
its creativity. “I can do Indonesian food one
day and then Indian food the next day, and
do an Italian wedding on the weekend.”
One reason for Bybee’s success was his
ability to carve out a niche for his catering
company. An important aspect of Sublime
Catering is its focus on sustainable food
and products. Bybee tries to get all the
company’s produce within five miles of the
business, and purchases local dairy and
meat, when possible. Waste is another
focus, so he buys in bulk to eliminate
packaging, and uses compost buckets at
all events.
The niche played especially well in Denver.
Bybee and his wife moved there before
he opened the business, when Amanda
Bybee took a job in the renewable-energy market. “This paired well with the
Chris Bybee puts finishing touches on
plates for a Sublime Catering function.
Sublime Catering
Gazpacho awaits Sublime Catering customers.
market we lived in and the surrounding
businesses,” Bybee says. “The renewable-energy industry is huge here, and I was
able to network with them and let them
know I was into sustainable food and zero
waste. The City of Boulder and many of
the energy companies use us a lot to feed
their trainings and meetings.”
Weddings, however, are his bread and
butter. “From June to October, we are busy
with weddings. These are bigger events
with bigger budgets, and we get to play
with the food more.”
Bybee admits there are challenges
to the job, such as dealing with food
cost increases and the responsibility
of being an employer. “What I love and
find challenging is the same thing—the
unbelievable workload it takes to run a
small business. I love it, but it can keep me
up at night.”
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