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Plan a Menu for a Catering Truck
Planning a menu for your catering truck is one of the hardest parts of the job. You can fill the truck up with all sorts of goodies, but you're stuck with them if people don't buy. Knowing what sells and picking what your customers want is the key to a successful business, so plan your menu carefully.
Instructions
1. Ask someone familiar with the route what sells and what doesn't. If you are buying a route, ask the seller or the person that previously serviced it. If the route is new, find out about the people you will be serving. For example, if your catering truck is going to service industrial parks, go to the businesses and find out if there is a predominate ethnicity represented. Stock ethnic foods to match your customers.
2. Locate the local commissary, which is a facility that provides food and beverages to catering trucks. Here, you can buy hot foods, sandwiches and all items necessary for your operation.
3. Alter your menu to match the time of day. If you are selling in the morning, breakfast fare such as scrambled eggs or biscuits and gravy is appropriate. The afternoon and evenings will bring out people looking for sandwiches and fried chicken. Meat dishes and mashed potatoes and gravy are also good to stock later in the day, and can make your customers feel like they've had a real meal. Include vegetables in your menu, changing the type on a daily basis. Pizza can be a good seller any time, and you can make a deal for a few pizzas from a local shop. They will be happy to have them ready for you at a certain time every day.
4. Stock a variety of soda and packaged snacks. They have a long shelf life and a good selection of these items is better than a large amount of one or two things. Make sure you have diet and non-diet drinks, as well as fruit drinks and ice tea. The same goes for snacks, such as cookies and chips.
5. Include high-quality hot beverages. Coffee is perhaps your biggest and most important seller. A catering truck selling bad coffee is a bad advertisement, so only serve fresh coffee. If you have a long route, pull over and make a fresh pot. Hot chocolate, especially in cold months, is also a good seller and is easily stored in individual serving packets. Stock a variety of tea bags as well, ranging from black and green to herbal varieties. To complete your hot beverage service, make sugar, sweetener, cream and creamers available to your customers. Keep three different sized cups so your customers can get exactly the size they prefer.
6. Have a different special each day if possible. It won't be long before the people on your route will know your daily special and will look forward to it. Try out such popular specials as spaghetti, Chinese food or Polish sausages to see what works best with your customer base.
7. Stock cigarettes. It's impossible to stock all brands, but make sure you have each type available including menthols, filters, 100's and light brands.
