Tag Archives: London

Catering – a Growth Industry in Busy Times

The world of ‘catering’ is now a very far cry from simple sandwiches for office staff, or an occasional Directors lunch.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of catering companies throughout the UK. Some are small businesses providing mobile catering solutions, perhaps for small public events like fetes or open days. Others are multi million pound companies who specialise in catering for the country’s most high profile parties and occasions.

And catering isn’t just about food any more either. In fact plenty of today’s catering companies also provide drink, decoration and even entertainment as part of their product. More party planners than simple caterers, companies like Create or “rhubarb”, also have fingers in the retail pie too – running restaurants and bars as well as event catering arms.

Catering consultants are a fairly new phenomenon. Catering consultants (such as Merrit-Harrison and Turpin Smale) are people or organisations whose sole job is to assist other businesses in their own food and beverage arena. In the upcoming London 2012 Olympics for example there will be a huge demand for good catering consultants. They will be tasked with helping businesses to perfect the art of entertaining their corporate clients for the Olympic period. Many catering consultants are already busy helping hotels and restaurants create, improve or simply enhance their product in the run up to the Games. Let’s face it – it will be one of the busiest event and hospitality times the UK has even seen, so there is a great deal of money to be made getting it right!

As the catering industry has grown and diversified, so too has the scope of catering creativity these companies offer. Event catering, for example, is no longer just about dinner for 200 guests. Now a good catering company may offer you the choice of stalls service (where guests can help themselves to freshly cooked and served food); wok stations – a superbly theatrical way to serve hot fresh food en masse; sushi and sashimi bars; or even roving oyster shuckers. All are new ways of serving fresh, fabulous and of course visually impressive food quickly and efficiently.

The top catering companies employ Creative Managers and Designers whose sole job it is to ensure these ideas are always cutting edge and that the catering product continues to be unusual and effective. After all, as with any industry, it is those companies who evolve and develop their product effectively who do best in their market.

But of course catering doesn’t have to have the ‘wow factor’ either. Just good delicious food is a winning formula in some catering markets. Some companies for example specialise in creating (and delivering to your door) superb yet simple food, sourced and cooked brilliantly and aimed at reducing the time we spend in our kitchens. Classic fish pies and cottage pies perhaps, handmade chicken goujons for the kids, or a simple (cheat’s’ dinner party) cheesecake – all food that perhaps you might pre-order for a weekend away with friends perhaps, just to make a little less work yourself!

After all, that is what catering in all its forms is about – making a little less work for us, be it one less sandwich to make before our working day or one less dinner party to cater for, one less party for 1000 to organize, or one less headache on the corporate hospitality front.

Author Bio: Sara Allom writes about the growth of the catering industry and the rise of catering consultants in the build up to the 2012 Olympics. Its an exciting time to be a UK catering company.

Scope In Railway Industry

Railway industry can be the perfect place for securing good job opportunities. The candidates determined enough to make their career in railway may not only secure a position that promises stability but can also have other benefits that are quite attractive. To find the suitable position can take little time for the new aspirants, and probably more enough when they are unaware for the resources that can help in finding the best opportunities for them. They should start finding the resources that offer them great opportunity in the railway industry.

While searching for the rail jobs it is quite essential to be aware of the number of railway companies that are available within the state. One of the best resources to get this information is to search through the internet to get the list of railway companies that operate their locomotives within the state. The websites also have their resource pages which allow the visitors to find out the number of rail agencies that recruit employees for them.

While one is searching for the right career opportunity, one should be able to determine the type of job that is favorable to apply. The rail jobs industry may be classified into three main categories which include mechanical, engineering and transportation jobs. The candidates applying for mechanical jobs will be responsible for ensuring that the rail tracks and other rail equipments are in good condition. Those applying for engineering jobs will require providing supporting facilities and designing new projects. The transportation jobs are related with movement of freight and other point to point operations.

There are some positions that are prevailing in the railway industry which are railroad engineers, brakemen, train driver jobs, freight conductor, road master, rail signal maintainer, Gang laborer, Yard master, Train dispatcher, and train master. There are several other positions that the applicants can apply for as these jobs. One may search through websites of different rail companies on the internet which help them to search for the best positions that are available. This may be the suitable resource to find about the various positions that have vacancies. Moreover, with these job listings one may be able to view brief history about each of the companies. Some of the websites may also have the list of benefits that the employees will receive after they are recruited. The first step however, should be to find out the agencies that hire employees for rail jobs.

There are very few railway companies that own majority of the railway network. One can find information about the positions that are available with each of the companies from their websites. Individuals may search through their websites to find out about the positions and information regarding the minimum qualifications that are required for each position.

There is huge scope for working in railway industry as the employees can have more stable positions. The rail jobsite may offer different vacancies that are available in London underground jobs as well.