HACCP School Development Project

Chapter 14 Party Catering

By

Andrea Boyes and Julia Wood

Srednja šola Zagorje

Party Catering

Catering for functions whether it is for hot food or cold food needs strict systems in place and good planning

A significant amount of food poisoning is caused by preparing food too far in advance and storing it at ambient temperature

When taking on any type of function catering; it is essential the producer has adequate facilities

Party catering

Businesses that cater for large weddings and the like, must ensure they have sufficient fridge space for storing plated ready to eat starters etc.

Stands similar to the one in the next slide are very useful. They come in different sizes, hold a large amount of plates and take up little room in a walk in fridge

Preparing food for cold buffets

Wash your hands!! Buffet food often requires a lot of handling, therefore it is essential that hands are washed regularly and handling should be kept to an absolute minimum

Cold Buffets

Cold buffets contain high risk ready to eat food which bacteria like

Cold buffet

Food must not be stored in ambient temperature for any longer than 4 hours; this must include preparation time as well.

If the 4 hour rule is not adhered to bacteria would be capable of growing to high enough numbers to cause customers to become ill with food poisoning

Cold Buffets

Making your customers ill with food poisoning can lead to you being prosecuted by the Environmental Health Department

Hot Buffets

Hot food buffets can also cause problems if the temperature of the food is allowed to drop below 63°C. Lids should be kept on dishes as long as possible to retain heat

Hot Buffets

Hot buffet food should be probed at regular intervals; if the temperature drops below 63°C for longer than 2 hours the food should be thrown away

Hot Buffets

There are many different types of hot holding equipment, some have water in them, other are dry. Like any type of catering equipment they must be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis.

They should be pre heated prior to use and should be topped up as required with hot water

Both types of Bain Marie must be well maintained

Hot Buffets

This type of hot buffet relies on small heaters underneath to keep the food warm; this food will fall into the danger zone quickly and should only be used for short term hot holding

Events catering

Occasionally food businesses may be asked to provide food for large events; away from their premises. They may see this as a way of making a lot of money, however they must ensure they rent sufficient chilled storage at the event and the food should be delivered under refigeration.