Outdoor catering covers an enormous range of circumstances, from street-sellers, to organised events such as village fetes or concerts, one-off occasions such as weddings, or regular planned events and the number of people expected to attend can also vary considerably. However, no matter what the occasion, the caterer needs to be aware of health and safety issues to protect the public and also to protect their catering livelihood.

For instance, the site should be carefully appraised to take in account the relevant factors which may impact on the catering experience. How many people are the caterers likely to serve? What are the facilities, including utilities, to power the catering equipment? What about toilets, water and drainage issues? Similarly, check out overhead or underground power lines so that they are taken into account when you set up your temporary outdoor catering venue/stall/establishment.

It is also important to think ahead about waste issues too. How is refuse to be disposed of safely and in accordance with appropriate regulations? What about the policy on the disposal of glass? What about fats and greasy waste? How about recycling? It is important to make sure that you are clear about these things.

Another relevant consideration is the impact you will have on the neighbourhood and local vicinity. How will you manage issues such as litter, noise, traffic and crowds at your event? These are all matters which need careful thought and planning and consultation with the appropriate authorities or compliance with appropriate regulations. What about access to the site and also egress? What about emergency access too? Does your event need a licence or agreement with the local authorities? What about insurance, including public liability insurance and employer liability insurance? These are all very valid considerations for you to think about.

Think, too, about the geography of your site. What is the weather forecast like for the period of your catering event? Do you need a contingency plan? What about the prevailing winds which may impact on the event? These are all considerations, amongst others, that need to be addressed before you even start to think about food preparation, storage and food health and safety issues.

In that regard, outdoor catering can be a high risk activity and it is very important to address issues of hygiene. The very nature of outdoor catering, especially in the summer, often involves the employment of temporary staff. They will need to be trained in issues of food health and safety appropriate to their job tasks.

There are many other issues to take into account and it is important to consider this carefully before undertaking outdoor catering. Of course, 2012 is a celebratory year as we are hosting the Olympics and there is also the Queen`s Diamond Jubilee. You do not want the breaking London news to relate to some health and safety issue, but rather to the successful catering during the holiday season, which pleases both tourists and those celebrating outdoors.

So whether it is a corporate function, a Party Poker or fancy dress themed party or a wedding, choose wisely. To help you do so, here are a few tips to help you along the way.

DO

- Know what food you want to serve up. There is nothing worse when you are trying to find a caterer, than not knowing what type of food you want served. Every caterer will supply different services and food. Some might specialise in continental recipes, while others will focus more on British cuisine. Know from the off what you are looking for and your search will be narrowed down significantly.

- When choosing a company make sure it is one that will provide both food and service. Do some research into the company and when you phone up, ask as many questions as you can to clear up any queries you have on the subject. ‘Do you provide napkins?’, ‘What about plates?’, pricing etc. Service is key to successful catering at a function.

DON’T

- Go with the first or cheapest company you find. There is a lot of choice out there, so really do your research. The first caterer you see won’t necessarily cater to what you need, and you might only find this once you are in the process of planning with them. Similarly, the cheapest caterer you find might be cheap for a reason. We know times are hard, but a smaller price won’t guarantee quality.

- Don’t leave it until the last minute to place a catering order. They need time to prepare, and the likelihood is their usual standard of service will be lower because they haven’t had the preparation time.

To enter the competition, which is open to all Tuco member universities and colleges, contestants must devise a menu including a soup course, a main course (using a 1kg free-range chicken as the main ingredient) and a dessert.

Fifteen finalists will be chosen from the paper judging stage, to compete in the final at Blackpool College on 22 March, 2010

They will be competing for the first prize of a meal for two at the Elephant, current Knorr National Chef of the Year Simon Hulstone’s restaurant, plus a knife set and trophy.

Russ Allen, Tuco national competitions chair, said: “We are looking for a chef who can demonstrate exceptional culinary skills and create food with flavour, texture, balance and style, but most importantly that is appealing to students.”

This year’s winner, Allan Jones, added: “Being a chef in a higher education establishment is an important job as we have a responsibility to provide food for students, that tastes good as well as being good for them.

“Being able to enter competitions such as the Tuco-Knorr Chef of the Year is a great way for us to demonstrate our creative and culinary skills to industry professionals, whilst at the same time showing our ability to design menus that appeal to students.

To enter, download and complete the official entry form from www.tucoblackpool.co.uk and submit to russ.allen@nottingham.ac.uk, with details of the entrant’s menu.

The catering division of the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee (OC) is in the midst of finalising the games cuisine.

“The 71 Commonwealth countries have been divided into six zones,” said an official of the OC’s catering division, who did not want to be quoted.

“Each zone will have its own distinctive cuisine like European, Caribbean, Asian, South Asian, African and American. Every day during the games breakfast, lunch and dinner would have cuisine from these six zones,” said the official.

Of the 25 caterers that had applied, the OC has short listed four caterers-which include three multinational companies and one Indian.

These include two UK- based caterers- Delaware and Global Infusion, French caterers Sodexho and India Tourism Development Corporation.

The games village caterer would be responsible for serving 44,000 meals to athletes and officials daily.

“Catering at the village would be our prime focus as the requirement is huge there,” said Lalit Bhanot, Secretary General, Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee.

Successful suppliers will be added to the Kensington landmarks’ accredited list, which runs from 2010. Some 200 events are catered for every year at the museum.

Applicants must have over two years experience catering at London venues and convince the museum that they can enhance its events business.

“The tender for catering contracts is historically the most popular and always attracts intense competition from within the industry. With the museum only accepting the best of the best, this is an exciting time for us and for our clients, and we are looking forward to receiving a high number of applications,” said Natural History Museum head of events and catering Zoë Watts.