A 24/7 Connection to Your Catering Community

As a member of the International Caterers Association, you receive incredible benefits year-round—from scholarship eligibility to ServSafe discounts for your team, the ICA Learning Lab for catering industry education resources and more. But this month, we want to share one of the benefits our members love most: The ICA Facebook Roundtable. Our goal at the ICA is to connect catering industry leaders with one another so we can grow stronger together—and this is just one way we do that.

What Is the ICA Facebook Roundtable?

The ICA Facebook Roundtable is an exclusive Facebook group reserved for ICA members only. It provides members with access to 1,900 other ICA delegates who are available to answer your burning catering, event and business questions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

On any given day, you can log on and seek advice to help grow your business, ask for creative recipe ideas to get out of a slump and more. Plus, it’s a great place to share accomplishments and gain motivation from others who know what it’s like to be in the catering business in this COVID-era world. Did we mention that many also share opportunities for work? One common post in the group is caterers looking for additional experienced catering staff to work together for major events. Rather than having to rely on temporary staffing agencies, this group provides access to the top caterers in the business with trusted and reliable team members who know how to provide the elevated service your team desires. It’s a win-win for both those in need of assistance and those looking for opportunities to grow and learn while participating in large and memorable events!

Wondering what kind of opportunities you may find? We have a couple to share….

ICA Facebook Roundtable business feature: Super Bowl LV

CBK Catering & Events was hired to provide boxed meals for 8,000+ Super Bowl staffers for Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay and 2,500+ at a healthcare heroes event produced at the game. Now, caterers are known for their ability to serve crowds with ease, but serving 10,000+ meals is a totally different league. Chase Mayer, director of marketing & business development, shared that a couple of years ago, they never would have dreamed they could execute an order of this size—never mind after a pandemic. But after winning a few smaller contracts surrounding the Super Bowl and building a relationship with the team, they earned it. But they recruited help from other ICA caterers to help with flawless execution, as they didn’t have a team large enough to execute an order of that size. All went well thanks to great organization, effective logistics and the support of fellow ICA members!

ICA Facebook Roundtable business feature: Disney’s Frozen on Broadway - Opening Night Celebration

Next up, Marcia Selden Catering landed the contract to cater the opening night celebration for Disney’s musical Frozen on Broadway! She reached out to the group of trusted catering professionals to see if anyone was interested in supporting and received a response from a team from Footer’s in Denver saying they’d join the Marcia Selden Catering team for the event. Marcia Selden Catering paid for their lodging and travel, as well as food stipends and compensation for the duration of the event. They successfully joined their culinary and operations teams with assignments prior to arrival and executed a flawless and delicious opening night for this major event together.

Robin Selden, managing partner & executive chef, shared, “We all benefit from learning from each other. While this was not set up as a “work & learn” it definitely was an opportunity for them to see how another caterer executes a massive event and for us to listen to ideas that they had to make us better. It was a win-win for all of us and one we were very grateful to have had!”

Always creating opportunities to grow together

At the ICA, stories like these warm our hearts. With a mission to help caterers learn, grow and thrive, seeing the collaboration that comes from our membership makes it all worth it! For more information on how to join the ICA and to be notified of future catering industry webinars and education opportunities while also gaining access to our exclusive and valuable ICA Facebook Roundtable Group, visit internationalcaterers.org.