Top Chefs Flocking To Sydney’s Growing Catering Market

Before, with wedding catering in Sydney, the biggest choice to make about the food is what you’re having, with catering companies being an easy choice. Now, with big names in the food and restaurant industry jumping into catering, that decision’s become a lot more entertaining.

Top chefs from all over the country are wading into the corporate catering business, which has seen a notable growth, not only in the number of customers, but the amount of money customers were willing to pay for the best experience.

One of the latest to move into the catering industry is Christine Manfield, a celebrity chef, who recently signed up for the job of taking charge of Pearl Catering as its consulting director.

This news follows after Justin Hemmes, owner of the hospitality brand Merivale, expressed his intention of moving into the catering business. Hemmes has already taken steps for Merivale’s catering arm, having brought on board notable catering expert John Wilson as leader for the new department’s events team.

Other notable celebrity chefs, such as Neil Perry and Guillaume Brahimi, have had successful endeavours into the business of events and wedding catering in Sydney.

One such celebrity chef is Matt Moran, who now owns a large, 400m² commercial kitchen in Mascot, following his successful catering of the nuptials of Sylvia Jeffries and Peter Stefanovic.

Christine Manfield gave her piece regarding the influx of big-name chefs into the catering business, saying that Australia’s love, or some would say obsession, with celebrity chefs and cooking shows have fuelled a demand for high class dishes served at large events, which are backed up by people being willing to fork over the cash needed to fund that demand.

She then elaborates that, whilst the demand is a good thing, meeting it requires organisation and precision, as chefs and caterers have to meet that demand: being able to produce dishes en masse that posses the special qualities that make celebrity chef dishes so enticing.

Originally, Manfield says, she saw catering as bland and average, seeing the choices are plain, uninspired dishes. With the recent changes, however, events and wedding catering in Sydney have shifted into fine-dining level of quality.

She points out, however, that due to the costs associated with their operations, the profit margin is quite slim. However, the growth in the catering industry is large, and compensates for that detail, seeing as the field is one of the biggest growing, if not outright the biggest in Sydney.