The ups and downs of a catering career
If you are looking for a career in catering, there’s a huge range of different types of job to choose from. They all have something in common though – it’s a service industry, so whether you are in the back room or front-of-house, as it were, you are there to keep the customer satisfied.
Here are some of the upsides and downsides of working in catering.
Ups:
*A huge range of environments in which to work. In the hotel sector alone, there’s everything from small, independent country inns to glamorous five-star hotels in the heart of the capital.
*Great opportunities for working abroad. Catering careers offer fantastic mobility.
*The buzz of a room full of happy, satisfied people, eating food you have helped prepare, or enjoying themselves in an environment you are helping to create. In a kitchen, there’s the adrenalin rush of working super-efficiently under time pressure.
*You don’t have to be in London to have a great career. There are many first-rate hotels, pubs and restaurants all over the UK, many in the prettiest locations.
Downs:
*Long, unsociable hours. You will be at your busiest when everyone else is out having fun.
*It’s physically tiring. There are few sedentary jobs in catering!