What Is a Hotel Caterer?

Catering industry (catering) is a food production and management industry that provides consumers with a variety of drinks, food, consumer places and facilities through instant processing, commercial sales and service labor. According to the European and American Standard Industry Classification, the catering industry refers to catering service organizations for commercial profit. In China, according to the definition of "Classification of National Economic Industries", the catering industry refers to service activities in which food is cooked and prepared on-site at a certain place, and sold to customers mainly for on-site consumption.

Catering

The catering industry is mainly divided into tourist restaurants, restaurants (Chinese, Western), buffet and box lunch,

Catering industry is an industry that was opened earlier in China. The continuous influx of well-known international catering companies has profoundly affected the business philosophy, service quality standards, cultural atmosphere, catering structure, and quality requirements of the catering industry in China. It is foreseeable that fierce competition in China's catering industry will continue in the future.

Because the domestic catering industry has not gone abroad and there are not many multinational operating companies, the main customer group for Chinese food development overseas is overseas Chinese. Chinese food is also one of the pillar industries of the Chinese economy in the world today. However, because Chinese food requires many varieties, different cooking processes and different seasons have different requirements on the diet, Chinese food cannot be standardized and factory-made like McDonald's and KFC, so its "going out" path seems difficult.

In 2006, China s retail sales of food and beverage for the first time exceeded the trillion yuan mark for the first time, reaching 1034.55 billion yuan, an increase of 16.4% year-on-year, a net increase of 145.8 billion yuan over the previous year, achieving double-digit high-speed growth for 16 consecutive years, and reform and opening up. Compared with the early 1978, it increased by 188 times.

In 2007, the development of China's catering industry reached a new level. The annual retail sales reached 1,235.2 billion yuan, an increase of about 200.65 billion yuan over the previous year, an increase of 19.4% year-on-year, and 3 percentage points higher than the same period last year. 13.8% of the total, driving the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods by 2.6 percentage points, and contributing 15.6% to the growth of total retail sales of consumer goods. The rapid and sustained development of China's catering industry shows that under the general background of social needs and economic development, the overall scale of the industry is expanding, and its position and role in the national economy have been significantly enhanced and strengthened.

From January to November 2008, the retail sales of the hotel and catering industry nationwide reached 1.3901 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.9%, which was basically the same as the previous month, an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the same period last year, and accounted for 14.2% of the total retail sales of consumer goods in the same period Total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 3.5 percentage points. Among them, in November, the country's accommodation and catering industry continued to maintain rapid growth, with retail sales reaching 137.66 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.1%, an acceleration of 3.5 percentage points from the same period last year, but a decrease of 6.6% from the previous month.

Since the second half of 2008, in the context of expanding domestic demand, the Ministry of Commerce has proposed that it will vigorously develop the catering industry in terms of expanding domestic demand and stimulating consumption. Promote development with consumption and vigorously develop the catering industry in three areas. First, vigorously develop popular catering. Secondly, focus on and solve the problem of assured consumption in the catering industry, and strictly control the purchase of food ingredients. Third, actively promote energy conservation and environmental protection, and promote the deep development of industry energy conservation and emission reduction.

Catering industry: ten years of development

From 2002 to 2011, it was a decade when great changes took place in the catering industry. Many catering companies have established brand development strategies and regional development strategies, began to operate across regions, focused on building catering brands, and seized the commanding heights of the local catering industry. The move towards chain scale has become a prominent feature of this period.

In this decade, the catering industry has undergone tremendous changes in both the competitive landscape and catering consumption behavior. From the perspective of competition pattern, one, from pure price competition, product quality competition, to product and enterprise brand competition, cultural taste competition; two, from single store competition, single format competition, to multi-format, chain , Group, and large-scale competition. 3. Began to break through regional restrictions, from local development to foreign development, from small cities to large and medium cities, and from the eastern coast to the central and western regions.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the turnover of China's catering industry in 2002 was 509 billion yuan. In 2006, the turnover of China's catering industry exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the first time. The catering industry has grown by double digits for 10 consecutive years, which is double the growth rate of China's GDP. The rapid development of the catering industry plays an important role in developing the economy, improving people's living standards, realizing employment, and improving China's food culture status.

The demand for catering management talents and excellent technical talents of catering enterprises will be more prominent, and there will be a shortage of long-term culinary technical talents, making the catering enterprise's future talent shortage even more serious.

Limiting factor

I. Small-scale business thinking, SMEs develop slowly

Judging from the overall market situation of the catering industry, it is easier to get started in the catering industry. It is easy to open a Chinese restaurant, bakery or hot pot restaurant when starting a business. Through small-scale operations, although some profits can be earned, the internal management structure of catering companies is easy to lack. For example, there are problems in food quality control, cash control, employee management, and backbone employee incentives, which are not conducive to the growth of the company. This is an important reason why most of the Chinese catering industry is small and medium-sized. Faced with an increasingly competitive market, the operating model of small and medium-sized catering companies is difficult to support the rapid development of catering companies. Many small and medium-sized catering companies have been eliminated in the local competition and closed their stores.

Second, catering enterprises lack a large number of talents.

The quality of citizens determines the spiritual outlook of urban culture, and corporate talent is an important factor in the future of catering companies. Lack of management team and lack of talents are common problems encountered in the Chinese restaurant chain industry, including large-scale catering companies that have been listed. Currently, Chinese catering companies are developing rapidly. Each catering company urgently needs excellent chefs and management talents, leading to outstanding chefs and management Talents are frequently transferred at various positions, and enterprises cannot retain excellent talents, which has become a bottleneck for the development of the catering industry. Although some catering companies have entered a period of rapid development after years of accumulation, the lack of specialized talents has become a problem that cannot be ignored in the face of the standardized operation and management of chain stores and the development strategy of chain operations. If the company cannot attract or train enough technical, management and service personnel, or if a large number of people are lost, the company's development will be severely limited.

Third, the current status of food safety is not optimistic.

The catering industry is most closely connected with consumers' daily lives, and food safety is closely related to people's lives. Therefore, the industry as a whole has a higher demand for food safety supervision and quality control. Food safety has become a common concern in people's lives. Ditch oil, poisoned rice, poisoned milk powder, fake pig ears, and frequent food safety problems continue to emerge. On the one hand, for Chinese small and medium-sized catering companies, due to their weak foundation and generally low level of management, safety awareness, risk awareness, integrity awareness, and sense of responsibility are relatively indifferent, and their regulatory capabilities have not fully adapted to the development of the catering industry and the people's desire for food. Safety requirements have a long way to go to ensure food safety in food service. On the other hand, for large catering companies, with the increase of chain stores and vegetable varieties, the requirements for food safety and quality control have become more and more detailed. If there is an oversight in some aspect of quality control and food safety cannot be guaranteed, it will affect the development of the entire enterprise and even destroy one enterprise.

Fourth, market competition has intensified.

From Master Kong and unified instant noodle price wars to KFC and Dirks preferential wars, Chinese food and Chinese food, Chinese food and Western food, competition in the catering industry is increasing. From pure price and quality competition to product and enterprise brand and cultural competition, from single store competition and single format competition to multi-format, chain, group and large-scale competition; mainly from domestic enterprise competition It has developed into competition between domestic and foreign companies. The intensification of market competition, on the one hand, makes the industry better and better, and the development is increasingly ideal; on the other hand, competition may cause price wars and vicious cycles, etc. Price wars will thin the profit margins of catering companies, and shrinking profit margins may again lead to food The emergence of security issues.

With the continuous development of society and economy, the way of catering consumption is increasingly diversified and modernized, the orientation of catering operations will be more and more grouped and branded, the connotation of catering services will be more humane and ecological, and the spread of catering culture Will be more and more international and market-oriented. How to deal with the booming catering situation is not only a problem faced by catering enterprises, but also a question that culinary education should consider.

The catering industry has grown at a double-digit rate for 10 consecutive years. In the next five years, China's catering industry will continue to maintain a rapid growth mode. Brand, scale, chain and cross-region catering operations are the future trend. Popular catering operations will continue to expand, specialty catering will become more prominent, and the status of Chinese dining will be more prominent. At the same time, the problem of catering enterprises' demand for talents will be more prominent, and there will be a long-term shortage of supply, which will make the problem of talent shortages in catering enterprises even more serious in the future.

Catering management talent shortage

The development of an enterprise is inseparable from talents. The most valuable wealth of an enterprise is talents. Catering companies are no exception. Enterprise talents are the pillar of the development of the catering industry. The quality of employees, especially the quality of managers, restricts the development and management of catering companies. The shortage of talents is a problem faced by most catering companies.

As far as the management talents of the catering company are concerned, the management talents have a huge difference of "low starting point and high requirements". At present, the majority of managers in domestic catering companies are gradually promoted from the grassroots employees. Due to the very different job content of the two positions before and after promotion, plus they did not learn management knowledge in previous studies, and they are new after promotion. The professional post knowledge cannot be effectively supplemented, so it does not have advanced hotel management capabilities, naturally it is difficult to be competent for the management of employees in new positions.

Some companies recognize these problems and often conduct employee training to improve the quality of employees. However, during the training process, catering companies lack targeted training materials. In addition, the vast majority of corporate training is about general employee skills, etiquette, and system content, and it does not have much effect on further improving the quality of staff and training their management skills.

Catering companies are increasingly demanding on the quality of their employees, and there is a growing demand for middle and senior talent. For a long time to come, seeking outside help to improve the quality of employees has become an important choice for many catering companies. Catering management talents are the main force of the hotel catering department. The level of management of the catering department depends on the level and quality of the catering management talents. Therefore, it is the characteristics of higher vocational colleges to cultivate practical skills talents with management capabilities in vocational colleges. It also meets the needs of the development of the catering industry.

Demand for professional culinary talent exceeds supply

There are countless different types of restaurant restaurants in cities across the country. However, customers' preferences for different catering companies are different. Some restaurants are well-established, and some restaurants are Moncoros. The main reason for the huge gap is the difference. The taste of the dishes in the restaurant is different, but in the final analysis, the professionalism of the chefs in the restaurant is different. Therefore, culinary talents play a very important role in the development of catering companies. During the development of catering enterprises, they also paid special attention to the introduction of professional culinary talents.

It is reported that in the next five years, with the rapid development of the catering industry, the professional cooking talent gap will reach 10 million, and the huge talent gap has become a bottleneck restricting the development of the catering industry. Getting rid of the talent gap and bringing in professional cooking talents has become the common aspiration of major catering companies.

Taking Chengdu as an example, there are currently more than 40,000 catering companies in Chengdu. The number of people employed in the catering industry is about 700,000, and the professional cooking talent gap is more than 200,000. Only the gathering of culinary talents, there is a gap of more than 200,000 professional culinary talents in Chengdu, known as the "gastronomic capital", let alone the thirst for professional culinary talents nationwide.

Every day, people in the catering industry enter the market with hope, while others leave with tears and sadness. Some people compare the catering market to playing cards: "In about two years, the catering market will be shuffled once. Many restaurants you see now have been replaced at the same place two years later." The industry has "open The hotel is only three years old and five years old, and a shop that has been open for more than ten years can be called an old name. "

For those who want to start a business, many people may not have experience in starting a business, especially in the catering industry, they do nt know much about it. Let s take a look at the opinions and suggestions of a cooking school entrepreneurial teacher on catering business.

First, the loss of staff and dishes. The development of every enterprise is inseparable from the employees, especially those old employees in the early days of entrepreneurship, who play a very important role in the development of the enterprise. The same is true for catering companies. With the development of a catering company, their own corporate culture will slowly settle down, and old employees are the core of corporate culture. The corporate culture of a restaurant is mostly created by the old employees of the company, including the characteristics of dishes, diet and service. Therefore, the development of catering companies needs to prevent the loss of employees and dishes. If employees are lost, the dishes will be lost, and the root of the catering company will be lost.

Second, the prices do not match. The price of a food item is determined by a number of factors, including geographic location, business size and service status. It is also a plate of garlic shredded pork, which can be sold for 15 yuan in the urban area, 12 yuan near the station, and only 7 or 8 yuan in the suburbs. This is the geographical location that determines the price of the dishes. The same is a piece of garlic shredded pork. It may cost as little as 6 yuan on the side of the street, 7 yuan at the home restaurant, and 10 yuan or more in the hotel. This is the scale and service of the company determines the added value of the dish. Therefore, as a catering company in the early days of entrepreneurship, without its own loyal customers, it is necessary to grasp the market positioning and avoid overcharging the prices of dishes.

Third, there is a clear development direction. The development of catering companies has great knowledge in site selection and store opening. The positioning of catering companies should be determined according to the audience. If a high-end catering hotel is located next to the school, it will definitely not work. Similarly, a popular home-style restaurant in the bustling city center will certainly be unable to make ends meet due to corporate costs. Catering companies, especially those that only start a business, must open the shop on time. Avoid three days of fishing and two days of drying the net. Open the shop in a good mood today. If you are not in a good mood tomorrow, do not open. If the restaurant is to survive, the most important thing is to keep it. Loyal customers, if your store is opened in different ways, the willingness of customers to come will be greatly reduced. Over time, the number of visitors will be less and less.

Chinese food companies have attached great importance to brand building and business expansion. Through various methods such as chain operation and franchising, China's catering industry is actively entering overseas markets. In China's food and beverage market, Chinese meals are the main form of meals, and Western meals are gradually emerging, but the scale is still small; fast foods are dominated by western fast foods, such as KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, etc., are the main forces in the market. So far it can't compete with "foreign fast food". With the development of China's economy and tourism, the prospects of the catering industry are promising. In the next few years, the business model of China's catering industry will diversify, the internationalization process will accelerate, and green catering will become fashionable.

In the "Notice on Strengthening Catering and Food Safety Work" issued by the Ministry of Commerce on September 2, 2011, local commerce authorities were required to guide catering companies to establish and improve catering operation procedures and quality control systems, strictly control processes, and strictly control catering foods. Processing quality is off. Further standardize the disposal of kitchen waste, strengthen the management of kitchen waste collection and transportation, and establish a kitchen waste discharge registration system.

The "Notice" emphasizes that catering enterprises should strengthen procurement management, establish a qualified supplier management system, and strictly control the safety of catering service entrances. Strengthen the management of the use of raw materials, strictly prevent unqualified ingredients from being served on the table, and propose 3 prohibitions: strictly prohibit the use of raw materials that may be harmful to human health; strictly prohibit the use of waste oils such as kitchen oil; For edible oils and additives, strictly control the scope and amount of food additives in accordance with regulations.

Key points for managing employees in the catering industry

The shortage of restaurant waiters has become a common phenomenon in the industry. As the CPI continues to rise, the catering industry across the country has experienced difficulties in recruiting and finding employment. According to statistics, in the third quarter, Beijing s human resources market collected a total of 709,000 job demands, registered 592,000 job seekers, and reached a gap of 100,000. The waiter gap in the catering industry has increased again. In order to apply the labor shortage, many restaurants have to increase their pay as the best way to solve the waiter shortage. However, even if many restaurants increase their monthly salary to more than 2,000 yuan, it is difficult to recruit hands-on service experience. Even if a waiter is actually recruited, the restaurant still faces the risk that the waiter will change jobs for a period of time. On the one hand, hotel catering talents are often stretched, and companies are eager for thirst, but on the other hand, the churn rate of the catering service industry is rising year after year. The reason behind this is worth thinking about.

The catering industry is a person-intensive enterprise and the industry with the highest mobility. The high turnover rate of employees in the catering industry has always been a difficult problem for managers. In other industries, the normal staff turnover should generally be maintained at about 5% to 10%, and the catering industry as a labor-intensive enterprise, its turnover rate should not exceed 15% at the highest. However, according to a China Tourism Association Development and Training Center's enquiries and visits to the human resources of 33 5-star hotels in 2 and 3 cities in China, the average turnover rate of hotel staff has reached 23.95% in the past 5 years, and the turnover rate of the catering sector has been as high as More than 28.64%, and with the increasing competition in the hotel industry, the turnover rate of employees has remained high, and it continues to rise.

Analyze the staffing situation of the catering industry, which is mainly composed of three types of typical personnel: related professional students and staff, waiter backbones, managers and chefs and other technical personnel to analyze:

(1) Student staff: According to enquiries, among the various large and medium-level students recruited to visit various hotels in Nanjing, more than half of them have been lost by the end of 2005, and the turnover rate is 66.1%. Accounted for 72% of the people lost. There are three reasons for such a serious loss: From the perspective of university students, after entering a hotel, they usually start with the most basic waiters. The role gap is large, and it is difficult for most people to accept such an arrangement. College students' parents and friends and relatives hold a relatively large blocking opinion, thinking that children read so many books, but go to be an ordinary waiter, dull and useless. The thinking of these people has affected the indecent career of college students. Some technical secondary school students are more willing to engage in related industries such as tour guides and salespersons, and think that they can better show their own capabilities. The ease of things is slightly lower than engaging in catering services, and sometimes the treatment is closer to their own expectations. From the perspective of the catering industry, there is a lack of necessary communication with university students, and some management staff members think that university student employees pose a threat to their positions, so they make things difficult for them, coupled with indecent ideas about seniority in the catering industry, As a result, college students have a serious sense of loss.

(2) The backbone of the waiter: The waiter in the catering industry is a professional who eats youthful meals. When he reaches a certain age, he cannot work in the front line, so some people bring small abacus things when they first enter the catering industry. Once they find that the signs are wrong, they immediately Leave. In addition, some people in the same job for years can easily breed boredom. Some people with good appearance, sufficient experience, and strong abilities will seek other careers as soon as they lack development prospects.

(3) Managers and professional chefs: Fierce competition in the industry has made middle and senior managers with certain management experience and production and technical personnel familiar with the catering industry in short supply. After China's entry into the WTO, foreign-funded restaurants grab the Chinese market and export foreign labor services. It must eat away at China's talent market and make the hotel industry face more talent crisis.

In order to promote the communication between the sales and purchase of the catering industry, the catering business network has started to focus on the online community since its inception, creating the largest catering exchange area in China. There are more than 10,000 registered members in catering supply and procurement, and the amount of information exceeds 200,000.

With the mature development of the Internet, we will pay more attention to the personal experience of members, and will open various personalized services for members one after another-the catering mall, and re-integrate the website and the mall with members as the center.

With the rapid development of China's international status and the rapid development of the catering industry, more and more attention has been paid to the catering industry. To promote the healthy development of the catering industry and improve the healthy and orderly development of supporting service providers in the catering industry in China.