Catering pastries

One of the things I regret about school, and in a sense my stage as well, is that we never really learn the business end behind pastries. Sure, we learn the art and craft of the business, but never how to price or market our goods, or purchasing and managing supply stock. Of course I did learn a little about stocking when studying for the CAP, but I guess profit margins and such just aren't my thing.

I learned this in the summer when I was asked to do a catering job for 100. Of course first thing that came to mind wasn't that it wasn't feasible catering for 100 on a $150 budget (unless you shop for pre-made atrocities at Costco), but rather what to make, what would hold, and how to best organize my time as a one person pastry factory.

In the end, I ended up making a couple hundred cookies, 60 chocolate mousses, 50 chocolate madeleines, 50 vanilla madeleines, and 50 marbled madeleines, and about 100 cream puffs. I figured it was a good number of goodies to serve a 100, but the materials cost me $100 alone! I ended up not getting paid very much for my labor. After talking to some people, it turns out that catering pastries usually go about $3.50 to $4.00 a head!

Well, the lesson learned, is that next time I'll have to either ask for a larger budget, or make less! In any case, I think the pastries were enjoyed by all... they went quickly!