SECTORS OF THE

CATERING
INDUSTRY
Mrs. Premakumari
Assistant professor
Anna Adarsh College for Women
TYPES OF CATERING ESTABLISHMENTS

Catering is defined as the business of providing food and drink, typically at social events and in
a professional capacity either on-site or at a remote site.

The food service industry (catering industry in British English) encompasses those places,
institutions and companies that provide meals eaten away from home.

This industry includes hotels, restaurants, schools and hospital cafeterias, catering operations,
and many other formats, including ‘on-premises’ and ‘off-premises’ caterings.
PRIMARY OR COMMERCIAL CATERING

★ These are the establishments whose main aim is to earn profit by providing food and
beverage to the guests as per their demand.
★ Hence, they are referred as commercial catering, establishments. Such as hotels,
restaurants, fast food outlets, bars, pubs, etc.
★ They may also be a secondary and additional service provided to customers E.g :
catering at a departmental store.
1) Residential- this type of establishment provides food n beverage along with
accommodation. Such as hotels, motels, resorts, ship or cruise lines, etc.
2) Non-Residential- These types of establishment provides only food & beverage.
Such as restaurants, pubs, night clubs etc.
SECONDARY OR NON COMMERCIAL CATERING

● These are the establishments that provide food and beverage as a part of another
business. Their aim is not to earn money. Instead, the establishments are there to
provide welfare services at affordable prices.
● Since the operations are completely or partially subsidized by a parent body, such
establishments’ primary obligation is in the wellbeing or care of their guests/
customers/ patients.
● Non-commercial foodservice operators supply food to businesses, educational,
institutional or government organizations. Non-commercial foodservice is also called
contract foodservice. Examples would be employee feeding at business offices;
student dining at universities, colleges and schools; healthcare foodservice; military
foodservice; and a host of different situations.
● Non-commercial catering is subject to the same joys and bumps as commercial
catering and may be either on or off-premise.
Hotel: A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging paid on a short-term basis. The
facilities provided depend on the quality of the hotel. Larger hotels may provide
additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, fitness center, business center,
childcare, conference facilities and social function services.

Restaurant: A restaurant is an establishment that serves the customers with prepared

Restaurants are sometimes also a feature of a larger complex, typically a hotel, where
the dining amenities are provided for the convenience of the residents and for the hotel
to maximize their potential revenue. Such restaurants are often open to Non-residents
also.
Departmental Store Catering/ Retail Store Catering: Some retail stores, apart from
carrying on their primary activity of retailing their own wares, provide catering as an
additional facility.
This type of catering evolved when large departmental stores wished to provide food
and beverages to their customers as a part of their retailing concept. It is inconvenient
and time consuming for customers to take a break from shopping, to have some
refreshments at a different location.

Club Catering refers to the provision of food and beverages to a restricted member
clientele. Some examples of clubs for people with similar interests are turf clubs, golf
clubs, cricket clubs etc. The service and food in these clubs tend to be of a fairly good
standard and are economically priced.
Night clubs are usually situated in large cities that have an affluent urban population.
They offer entertainment with good food and expensive drinks.
Leisure-Linked Catering:

This type of catering refers to the provision of food and beverages to people engaged
in ‘rest and recreation’ activities. This includes sale of food and beverages through
different stalls and kiosks at exhibitions, theme parks, galleries and theatres.
The increase in the availability of leisure time and a large disposable income for
leisure activities has made it a very profitable form of catering.
 1) Institutional Catering

Institutional catering includes school, colleges, universities, hospitals, orphanages, old age
homes, prisons etc. In some of these establishments no charge is made to certain group of
customers to for the provision of food & beverage services as they are completely or
partially subsidized by various government funds.

2) Transport Catering

The provision of food and beverages to passengers, before, during and after a journey on
trains, aircraft and ships and in buses or private vehicles is termed as transport catering.
These services may also be utilized by the general public, who are in the vicinity of a transport
catering unit. The major forms of modern day transport catering are airline-catering, railways
catering, ship catering and surface catering in coaches or buses which operate on long distance
routes.
 Airline Catering

Catering to airline passengers on board the air craft, as well as at restaurants situated at airport
terminals is termed as airline catering. Modern airports have a variety of food and beverage outlets to
cater to the increasing number of air passengers. Catering to passengers end route is normally
contracted out to a flight catering unit of a reputed hotel or to a catering contractor or to the catering
unit operated by the airline itself as an independent entity.

Railway Catering

Catering to railway passengers both during the journey as well as during halts at different railway
stations is called railway catering. Travelling by train for long distances can be very tiring; hence a
constant supply of a variety of refreshment choices helps to make the journey less tedious. On-board
meal services are also provided on long distance trains.
 Ship Catering

Ship catering is catering to cargo crew and passenger ship passengers. Ships have kitchens
and restaurants on board. The quality of service and facilities offered depends on the class
of the ship and the price the passengers are willing to pay. There are cruises to suit every
pocket. They range from room service and cocktail bars to speciality dining restaurants.

Surface Catering

Catering to passengers traveling by surface transport such as buses and private vehicles is
called surface catering. These eating establishments are normally located around a bus
terminus or on highways. They may be either government run restaurants, or privately
owned establishments. Of late there has been a growing popularity of Punjabi style eateries
called dhabas on the highways.
 3) Industrial Catering

The provision of food and beverages to ‘people at work,’ in industries and factories at
highly subsidized rates is called industrial catering. It is based on the assumption that
better fed employees at concessional rates are happy and more productive. Catering for a
large workforce may be undertaken by the management itself, or may be contracted out to
professional caterers. Depending on the choice of the menu suggested by the
management, catering contractors undertake to feed the workforce for a fixed period of
time at a predetermined price.
 STRUCTURE OF CATERING INDUSTRY
The structure of catering industry includes both commercial and non commercial catering
establishments. Some of the more popular and common ones are as under.
1) Five Star Hotels: These usually have several restaurants, grill rooms, ethnic (Indian,
Chinese, Italian etc. among the most popular), European and coffee shops are included.
Service in these hotels is usually attentive and entertainment is nearly always available.
Prices in these establishments tend to be high.
2) Medium Class Hotels: Similar to the 5 star, though surroundings are less luxurious and
prices are reflected in this.
3) Free Standing Restaurants: Often quite high class, offering good Ala Carte menus- service
is usually of high standard.
4) Snacks Bar: popular with the working public offering everyday fare, at very reasonable
prices.
5) Fast Food Centres: The “eating out” of 80’s growing in popularity in India especially with
6) Night Clubs: usually situated only in the larger cities and offering high class
entertainment with food.
7) Industrial Canteens: Operated as a facility to staff in large factories or similar. Food
of a high standard but managements working to tight budgets. Food cost is usually
subsidized consequently staff pay minimal prices.
8) Institutional Catering: usually hospitals are serving high nutritional standard of
food.
9) Airline Catering: A big business operation, serving good quality food in difficult
and limited service areas. Competition is tough in this sector to maintain high
standard.
10) Railway Catering: similar to airlines, and although this was a prestigious area of
catering. The fifties to seventies saw a gradual decline which fortunately is being
rectified as the 80’s progress.
11) Outdoor catering: Is a growing industry within the industry. Many Service staff
involved in these sometimes complicated operations.
OTHER TYPES
On-Premise Catering
On-premise catering refers to any catering function that is held on the
physical premises of the establishment or facility that is organizing /
sponsoring the function.

On-premise catering differs from off-premise catering, whereby the

art gallery, or even a parking lot, and the staff, food, and decor must be
transported to that location.
Off-Premise Catering

Off-premise catering often involves producing food at a central kitchen, with

One example of a food production facility is a freestanding commissary, which is a

1. Party Food Caterers:

Party food caterers supply only the food for an event. They drop off cold foods
and leave any last-minute preparation, plus service and cleanup, to others.

2. Hot Buffet Caterers:

Hot buffet caterers provide hot foods that are delivered from their
commissaries in insulated containers. They sometimes provide serving
personnel at an additional charge.
3. Full-Service Caterers:

Full-service caterers not only provide food, but frequently cook it to order
on-site. They also provide service personnel at the event, plus all the
necessary food-related equipment— china, glassware, flatware, cutleries,
tables and chairs, tents, and so forth. They can arrange for other
services, like décor and music, as well. In short, a full-service caterer can
plan and execute an entire event, not just the food for it.