A Home Catering Service

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ILLUSTRATION: PAUL LOEB
The cartoon/logo Paul Loeb used to advertise his home catering service.

Unemployment can provide a marvelous inspiration for moneymaking ideas. I was, for example, out of work when I began bringing my friend Janet a weekly meal in exchange for the massage therapy she gave my sprained back. Her delighted anticipation of my culinary concoctions–as well as my own financial needs–soon convinced me that I could earn cash by offering a home catering service to the general public!

Goin’ Into Business

As anyone who’s lived in a commune or extended family (or served as camp chef on Boy Scout excursions) knows, it’s almost as easy to fix a meal for 10 people as it is to cook for one. Taking that knowledge one step further, I rightly guessed that preparing 50 or 100 portions would be mostly a matter of having a strong vegetable-chopping elbow, the right-sized pots and utensils, and a system of marketing and distribution.

In my case, the market was my South Brooklyn neighborhood … which was mostly made up of families in four-story row houses, and — with 50 such buildings per block — I figured I had a high concentration of potential customers. My “delivery system” consisted of nothing more than my trusty bicycle.

To get into business, I invested $50 for bike saddlebags (which gave me great camping options as well) and picked up plastic, reusable containers from a supplier recommended by the local Chinese restaurant. (At $65 for 500, they proved less expensive in the long run than buying the throwaway paper kind.) Another $65 spent at the Bowery’s used restaurant supply stores bought me a 32-quart pot, long serving spoons, and a blender that would meet most kitchen needs.

  • Published on May 1, 1980
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