05/01/2021
What’s a Caterer to Do Part 32
MAYDAY! MAYDAY! That’s an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal. Mayday! Mayday! That’s a lovely word signifying the first day of May, the day to surprise a friend or loved one with flowers, or something else, or a phone call or a note…anything will do!
Funny, that both words seem to apply to today. May 1st, 2021! We haven’t chatted since the end of March. April disappeared into a haze of hospital stays, and time in rehab for my Mama, as she fought through some fairly undiagnosed sickness, loss of strength, balance and mobility, and finally rehabbed her way back to “baseline”, whatever baseline is. Truly, the month was a blur. A time of caregiving, worry, attempting to decipher hospital and rehab’s rules for visitation during covid. Wear a gown, don’t wear a gown. Wear a shield over your mask, don’t wear a shield over your mask. Stay out of the hallways, take a wander if you like. Obey the limited visiting hours, you don’t need to observe the limited visiting hours. Sometimes, we just wanted to holler MAYDAY! We are in distress! Throw us a life preserver, show us what to do and how to do it. MAYDAY!
Mayday! Today, the first of May. New day, new month, new attitude! We awoke to a beautiful morning, brilliant sunshine, the sparkle of dew on the very green grass thanks to all the April showers. Sure it’s only 36 degrees in upstate NY but it’s OK, the sun is shining, and our favorite meteorologists promise mid-50’s by days end. So let’s get a grip. It’s been said that caregivers must take care of themselves in order to be able to take care of others. Seems simple enough, but like most things in life we need a plan. We need to ease into it, not make a 360 change overnight. A walk around the block, a quick visit to the gym, maybe forgo the dessert for a piece of fruit, maybe limit the favorite libation to one, not two or three, maybe have a little fun, find some people crawling out of the covid cave and join them for a chat, do something creative, read a book…do what you need to fuel your mind, body and soul and get into a better place. It’s spring, a time of new beginnings, a time of hope!
So, I know what you’re thinking, “what does all this have to do with the What’s a Caterer to Do series?” I’ll tell you. It’s all intertwined. Remember that catering is not a job, or even a career…it’s a lifestyle. Catering is actually an occupation where there’s quite a bit of flexibility especially if you work with great people. We don’t sit at a desk or computer for 8 hours a day. We don’t sit! We don’t all work at the same time. We juggle, we balance, we manage to cover the bases while keeping our other non-work commitments priority. We run around and make things happen, these days we accommodate even very last minute requests when possible, we brainstorm creative ways to generate a little revenue, we go to the public market and hand-pick produce, we promote, we market, we stay in touch. This is not necessarily all done during a normal work day. We do what we have to do, when it needs to be done. Truly it’s not for everyone, but it seems to work for us, for now.
So it seems like 2021 is becoming the year of the “micro-event”, the “boutique gathering”, the “mini party”! Face it…if truth be told, micro, boutique, mini, mean one thing. SMALL! Quite a challenge for a caterer like us that thrives on numbers…We’ve built our business to specialize in BIG events. A few hundred guests, a clever theme menu, most of our staff, our fleet of vans, large variety and volumes of food and beverage, now that’s our Happy Place! But we recognize that now, because of covid, we need to find a new Happy Place..a way to observe limitations, a way to keep staff employed, a way to remain at least a little profitable. Talk about a pivot, it’s more like starting over in some ways. But we carry on, we scale back, we survive.
May is a month loaded with celebrations. Kentucky Derby is happening now, Cinco de Mayo on Wednesday (check out our dinner for four), Mother’s Day on Sunday (watch for our special Mom’s day “flowers and food”), Graduations, and finally Memorial Day at the end of the month. There’s no better way to celebrate than family, friends, food and maybe a little frivolity. You provide the family and friends…we can handle the food and maybe a tiny bit of frivolity. Deal?
Enjoy the day! Thanks for your patronage and support during the craziest of times. Till next time, Sandra xo
