What challenges do catering events face?

The fact that the pandemic has turned the world of gastronomy upside down, today no one needs to be convinced. This was felt by restaurateurs, public catering owners, as well as consumers. Although today the topic of COVID-19 appears on our lips much less often than immediately after the start of the pandemic, we still feel its strong consequences. Find out what strategy we used at Deli Catering to keep working at top speed, despite the crisis!

The pandemic and the crisis that followed led to the fact that many companies are completely out of circulation. Some restaurants and caterers have revised their strategies or business plans. In the end, those who performed well, responded appropriately, made the right decisions, or survived... just had a lot of luck. How are things with gastronomy? We fully focused on the values that have been important to us since the very beginning of the company's existence. Thanks to this, we passed one of the most difficult exams that our industry could face.

Flexibility

If I had to point out the most important feature that has helped us get through the last few years, it would be with all the firmness flexibility. This statement hides hundreds, not thousands, of situations in which we had to, but also wanted to, adapt our offer, working hours, team, products, or service to the recipient's expectations.

Why? Because as a result of the pandemic, it was necessary to break out of certain established patterns of behavior and pave new paths, thanks to which we simply maintained our business and our position as a leader among public catering enterprises in Poland. When opportunities for events were limited, we began to intensively search for other options, and-thanks to previously established relationships-they were in place. Without the flexible approach, open-mindedness and advice of many smart, experienced people and at the same time a long distance, we would not be where we are today.

Although the pandemic is almost over, this flexible approach has stayed with us for a long time and, I hope, will continue to accompany us in the coming years.

Personalization

There is no place in the grocery store for a menu that we can't handle. We experiment, modify tastes, and create new connections to give the customer what they've always dreamed of. Is this a challenge? Of course, yes! Perhaps the biggest thing we face every day!

However, it is rare that we can say that a given order exceeds technological, logistical or product capabilities, and we are very proud of this. Our loyal customers appreciate it very much, and new ones respond with delight to the openness and ingenuity of our chefs.

Production facilities and personnel

Another element that is a big problem for public catering production facilities and personnel. The pandemic has proven to us that, despite the challenges we have faced, maintaining full production and executive capacity, and then gradually increasing it, is essential for the continued development of our business.

The natural order of the process is expansion. After the most difficult time, we have started to expand into the Polish market in search of new markets, and I am proud to say that we are successfully acquiring new customers, thanks to which we are intensively developing and expanding our competencies. We adhere to the principle that the more implementations, the more interesting the ideas are.

One more thing directly related to production capacity personnel. The absence of human resources problems at every level in the catering company's structure-although I suspect that it looks similar in other sectors-is extremely important for maintaining this enterprise. With such strong teamwork, staff instability would be very burdensome and, unfortunately, very limiting.

The future of public catering

What can we expect in the coming years? Of course, there are many problems that I hope we will overcome. In fact, the pandemic that has suddenly arrived and significantly confused our standard course of action has prepared us to be prepared for almost anything. And we are like that today. This makes what's ahead seem a little less so... terrible.

However, I believe that in the coming years there will be a kind of fragmentation of the industry, which is more reduced to outsourcing of services. Without a doubt, we will bet even more on automationand technology will play a bigger role than it does today. I also see a lot of success in the so-called new " malok”who enters our culinary world with great energy and very attractive ideas.

As for the goals that we care about, we are definitely focused on serving major events and maintaining competitive advantages through some sort of legislation. We want to simultaneously strengthen our relationships with existing partners and maintain even greater trust in our offerings and services at every stage. At Deli, we rely on a strong team, because we believe that qualified staff is the foundation of our business, and at the same time, thanks to this, we have a sense of reliability and fulfillment of tasks even in the most difficult conditions.