Already getting inquiries for more parties from the last gig

[Harry Nutczak]

All Summer long I am waiting for catering inquiries out of the resort that we did the wedding at last weekend, and Nothing!!!!

I kept in touch with the wedding coordinator all through the summer, sent her sample menu's of the parties we catered, dropped off cards. nothing, nada, zip!!

We do that one party we had scheduled there since spring and now we start getting inquiries!

I guess I understand why. 99% of the restaurants & caterers around here are horrible! I took a look at what the total catering competition is like and I would not want any of them to prepare my food! So I was probably being grouped into their class of food just by being in this area!
The resort wedding coordinator kept commenting on how we "went above & beyond" for that wedding, and I wondered where that happened because we just do what we always do. all our food is good. I do not feel we went above & beyond or did anything special. but being compared to what might be considered "our competition" I can understand how they might think that way.

here is the menu's that I am up against from the 3 catering business's in this area; (they are all the same, and the same pricing)

Sliced turkey or beef in gravy or ham with pineapple,
canned vegetables or the famously nasty "green beans Almondine" YUK!!
Instant mashed potato's
and fruit cocktail pawned of as fresh fruit.
One place even offers Jell-O!!
WTF!!!

here is what I just sent out for a menu suggestion for an inquiry for a June 2008 Wedding;

Salad;
Either a large tossed Ceaser salad, or a fresh greens salad with a choice of dressings available on the side.

Charcoal rotisserie roasted beef steamship-round carved to order on the buffet,

Marinated grilled chicken breast kabobs with onion, pepper, mushroom, & tomato

Pasta bar with a chef preparing pasta dishes on the buffet to your guests specifications with different sauces like an Alfredo, a tomato sauce, seafood, lobster, or clam sauces, and the guests would be able to add different vegetables to that also.

Fresh vegetables;
Green beans with shallots & butter, or bacon & onions.
Grilled zucchini & yellow squashes brushed with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning while they are grilling.

Potato;
Jarlsberg Au-Gratin: Thin sliced potato's layered with Jarlsberg cheese and heavy cream, lightly seasoned and baked (Jarlsberg cheese is similar to Swiss cheese)

Garlic mashed potato's (made from scratch, we do not use instant potato's)

And I also sent out a BBQ based menu (Since that was the expected direction for this business to go)

Slow-smoked beef brisket or pulled beef (without Fab-B)
Wood-grilled, or smoke-roasted chicken
Barbecue baked beans
Cole-slaw
Cornbread or rolls

it is starting to look like BBQ might be just a sideline item for us, that would really suck!!
I got into this for the love of cooking BBQ, Maybe it will just take a bit more time for people to realize our BBQ is nothing like what the local slop-houses call BBQ by boiling ribs in a vat of liquid till they fall apart and then drowning it with some commercial sauce right out of the bucket.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[StarsandStripes]

Your overall objective is to open a restaurant, Harry. Go with what's making you the cash.

[Thom]

Besides your ambitious and great looking catering menu, I think the fact your serve your stuff dressed in a chef jacket adds a little pizzazz to the show. A pig at a wedding sounds kind of crude, but when it's carved by a chef in a jacket at a carving station, it adds a little class to it.

Is a steamship round the same as a shoulder clod?

T.

[BBQMAN]

That brisket sounds tasty!
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[marvsbbq]

If you want your business to lean toward barbecue, you have to OFFER barbecue dishes and leave the 'other stuff' alone.

If you don't 'OFFER IT' they can't 'ORDER IT'.

If 'full service catering' is the direction you choose to go....great, but I would think a company name change would be in order. The name "Bad Bones BBQ" is kind of misleading.

My company name draws people that WANT barbecue, the name does not intise them to call me for :

Salad;
Either a large tossed Ceaser salad, or a fresh greens salad with a choice of dressings available on the side.

Charcoal rotisserie roasted beef steamship-round carved to order on the buffet,

Marinated grilled chicken breast kabobs with onion, pepper, mushroom, & tomato

Pasta bar with a chef preparing pasta dishes on the buffet to your guests specifications with different sauces like an Alfredo, a tomato sauce, seafood, lobster, or clam sauces, and the guests would be able to add different vegetables to that also.

Fresh vegetables;
Green beans with shallots & butter, or bacon & onions.
Grilled zucchini & yellow squashes brushed with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning while they are grilling.

Potato;
Jarlsberg Au-Gratin: Thin sliced potato's layered with Jarlsberg cheese and heavy cream, lightly seasoned and baked (Jarlsberg cheese is similar to Swiss cheese)

Garlic mashed potato's (made from scratch, we do not use instant potato's)

Quite honestly, I don't see HOW you do all of this 'on site'....I am not even sure you could do it using Gordon's (Gordon's Backyard BBQ) new concession trailer.

[BBQMAN]

I totally agree Marv!

While we do offer other foods besides BBQ and typical sides, 90% or better of our business is....................BBQ!

I also would believe that Harry just hasn't been able to let go of his fine country club up-bringing!

Speaking of the country club, that sounds like it is probably where all these fancy fixin's are being created.

Either that, or Harry is able to command much higher prices than we are due to all the labor involved.
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[marvsbbq]

That is true Mike...We (the forum) have seen a few 'menus' that harry either created or proposed but there has not been any 'prices' posted by Harry.

I know each area is different, but I think it would help others to see if that is a direction they might like to take..

JMO

[Ranucci's Big Butt]

I think it would be very easy to do that menu on site let alone in Gordons rig. His rig can probably produce almost any menu item you could throw at him.

Harry, it may be a regional thing as well. My dad does more of our Italian menu up in NY and I am doing 99% BBQ down here in NC.
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Alex

Ranucci's Big Butt BBQ
www.ranuccis.com
www.bigbuttbbq.com

[Jeff Hughes]

Marv and Mike

Is it about BBQ or the dollars?

Harry seems to have the capability offer a wide variety of good eats. If his market has a major void for quality general catering, why would he not want to fill it?

He does not live in a major metropolitan area. He needs to be able to adapt to the needs of his customer base.

I agree that his menus are ambitious, but he has a culinary background that is far more extensive than anyone on this forum. Why do you doubt his ability to pull it off on site?

He wants to open a restaurant. If I were him, I'd take every profitable gig I could get. He's going to need lots of money.

Regards--Jeff
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Klose 72" Mobile
Big Green Egg
Hasty Bake Legacy
Weber 22" Kettle

[BBQnIL]

Harry,

Your menu rocks!!! Man that made me hungry!!

Todd
_________________
Main Street BBQ
Wyanet, IL
http://mainstreetbbq.biz
http://www.facebook.com/mainstreetbbq
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If you BBQ it.... They will come!

[marvsbbq]

You are correct Jeff. I do NOT condem Harry for his efforts. I just know (from my own culinary expertise) how much laobr it takes to do things 'on site'. From the menu(s) Harry has posted....there is a lot of prep work involved if doing it all on site.

I agree also that Harry (or anyone else) SHOULD go after the market that 'pays the bills'. Especially (like Harry) that has the expersise to do so.

Harry and I are personal friends and I fully intend to someday see his place...resturant.

If I ever get to his neck of the woods, I will be happy to eat at his resturant....just hope he has it by then..

[OddThomas]

[Harry Nutczak]

guys, That is a simple menu to do onsite,
And I could probably make a 25% foodcost at $18'ish per person on this menu, the beef & chicken is cheap, (steamship is less then $1.80 right now, and usual weight is 65 pounds) Potatoes are cheap, the cream, jarlsberg cheese and fresh green beans are a bit more expensive though
I'll make

I'll spell it out per item,

Salad;
Either a large tossed Ceaser salad, or a fresh greens salad with a choice of dressings available on the side.
We can all do salads, this is easy

Charcoal rotisserie roasted beef steamship-round carved to order on the buffet,
A steam ship round is the hind leg of a cow, with the hip-bone still in it, they are cone shaped, spear it with the spit and let it twirl for 8 hours over medium charcoal heat it will be rubbed with salt, pepper, & garlic. and they are cheap too but look impressive when they are carved on the line

Marinated grilled chicken breast kabobs with onion, pepper, mushroom, & tomato
order randon sized fresh skinless, boneless chicken breasts, clean, skewer, brush the marinade when they are grilling on my 2'x5' charcoal grill (Plenty of room) and I am buying another to ease the tight space we are seeing lately

Pasta bar with a chef preparing pasta dishes on the buffet to your guests specifications with different sauces like an Alfredo, a tomato sauce, seafood, lobster, or clam sauces, and the guests would be able to add different vegetables to that also.
I own 3 butane fueled portable burners and several saute pans, the pasta can be cooked ahead of time and held cold, One guy can handle 3 burners and do pasta to order. have all your veggies cut and on ice, alfredo sauce is as simple as heavy cream, seasonings, & parmesan cheese, it takes 3 minutes to make per order, or it can be partially nade ahead of time, held cold and ladled in as needed, also have a red sauce, & softened butter to do almost any pasta combo requested I have done this for parties in excess of 400 already a few years ago.

Fresh vegetables;
Green beans with shallots & butter, or bacon & onions.
Poach the beans as close to serve time as I can, Saute the shallots in butter on one of the gas burners we use, toss to gether with seasoning, pan it up, and get it on the line
Grilled zucchini & yellow squashes brushed with extra virgin olive oil and seasoning while they are grilling.
grilled veggies, Slice onsite, and put it in a large plastic pan with marinade, grill it, cut to size after cooking and into the chafer

Potato;
Jarlsberg Au-Gratin: Thin sliced potato's layered with Jarlsberg cheese and heavy cream, lightly seasoned and baked (Jarlsberg cheese is similar to Swiss cheese)
the potatos' can be sliced with either a mandoline or food processer with the correct blade, add needed ingredients, and layer it in the pan bake it in the stumps at 350 for 45 minutes covered, then pull the foil to broen the top.

Garlic mashed potato's (made from scratch, we do not use instant potato's

Boil the peeled potato's in the turkey fryer burner with a huge stock-pot on top, add the roasted garlic that has been baking in the stumps and liquefied in the food processor, add seasonings and mash with a huge tater masher

I also use an enclosed bakery transport cabinet to hold food hot while we are serving, everything is fully cooked before we start the line, and the runners grab the clearly marked pans out of the hot-box to replenish the line as needed.

if we can do a menu that the client wants, we will do it, I am not going to turn down events if they are not fully BBQ oriented.

I am still using the smoker, and the grill. although sometimes smoking wood is not added like for when we do our cornbread. I just need to get my Stumos Hog-cooker this winter, and add another grill and then we can really rock & roll. if it wanders away from BBQ, I don't care. We are still making coin, And actually more coin due to a low overhead cost as compared to maintaining a restaurant.

The only place that is actually a BBQ restaurant within 100 miles is the original "Famous Daves" in Hayward WI, so people are just unfamiliar with what BBQ is, You mention BBQ around here and people think grilling burgers, brat's & dogs.

Schit, nobody has ever seen or heard if a mustard based sauce arond here until they tried ours.
_________________
Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[BBQMAN]

All valid point Jeff- except the culinary expertise part. It is a mighty big assumption on your part that he has a "culinary background that is far more extensive than anyone on this forum". No offense, but how on earth could you possibly know that? (not trying to take anything away from you Harry, I'm sure you are a fine chef! )

I've met a large number of people that brag about "20 years of experience". The problem is that often that equates to one years experience x20!

I do take some events that are not BBQ, just not many. And if your name is "Bad Bones BBQ" I would assume that the business is generally BBQ related!

And yes I do believe that harry has the abilty to pull off his menus on-site. I also know fully well what equipment he has, and does not have. I don't see those potato dish's being practical to cook on-site with fresh potatoes for instance.
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[Jeff Hughes]

[OddThomas]

Thats still an assumption. You have no idea how much experience anyone here has unless they tell you. Maybe you should just stick to the facts (as much as has been offered) and say Harry has almost 20 years of experience in a kitchen; some of which was in a semi-fine dining setting.

[Harry Nutczak]

We just got an OK for the suggested menu, they just need to choose which veggies, and which spuds they want and we are golden.

It surprised me that a wedding party accepted the first suggested menu without any tweaks. But the event is still 9 months away and anything can happen yet.
the last wedding we were tweaking things up until 6 days before the event when I said we are at the point we cannot delete anything, but we can still add.

If we can do it, and do it properly. I don't care what they order. I am still cooking with charcoal & wood while being out in the breeze. and making a little coin too!
_________________
Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

[mutha chicken bbq]

Congrats Harry!

[stevenr]

i wouldnt care if it was a baked turd they wanted, as long as i got paid for it........ i think harry is in this business to make money, and i would do whatever paid the bills myself..................

[BBQMAN]