I had a conversation with a man a couple of nights ago, and heard the question I love to hate again! BTW, it was the second or third time this week I heard it.

"What kind of food do you specialize in?"

That's the wrong question, I responded.

"Okay, so what's the right question?"

So once again, I explained, that it wasn't about the kind of food I loved  to cook or eat, or even thought I did particularly well. It's about giving my clients what they want, I said. The caterer's job is to fulfill my clients' desires.

We went through  a couple of the usual questions- can you really do that wide a selection of foods? Well, most caterers are pretty good at keeping up with various cuisines and learning how to do them, and if they can't, bringing in someone who can.

What if someone wants a really unusual ethnic type of food? Well, yes, maybe in that case it's better to go to say- an Ethiopian restaurant and ask them to cater your wedding. But I cautioned, successful catering requires additional skills beyond being able to cook great food, and a different set of skills than that required to run a restaurant.