Catering

Catering is the business of providing food and beverages at a variety of venues, including private residences, banquet halls, special event spaces, hotels, business parks, festivals, film locations/studios, and other locations. Catering can be either on-site, in which food is prepared at the same location it is served (on-premise), or off-site, in which food is prepared at one location but served somewhere else (off-premise).

Catering service is either full-service (with staff setting up, serving, and cleaning up), or drop-off/pickup.

Generally, in the US, catering is served to a group and is based on a common menu. Restaurants, where guests choose individual dishes from a menu, are not considered caterers; a restaurant may offer catering services, however. In British usage the term catering also includes restaurant and pub food service.

In the UK, the FDA serves as a model for food safety practices in places like restaurants, cafes, takeaways and other food service and catering establishments. They provide recommended guidelines on preventing cross-contamination, ensuring proper cleaning, chilling, cooking , management of food and specific guidelines for diary foods to prevent the risk of foodborne illnesses.