Restaurant Catering Smarts
Restaurant Catering Smarts
Podcast Description
Restaurant Catering Smarts is your essential guide to mastering the art of restaurant catering. Hosted by Michael Attias, founder of CaterZen Catering Software, this podcast delivers expert advice, innovative strategies, and actionable tips for restauranteurs looking to grow their catering profit centers.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with industry leaders, sharing their knowledge, stories, and proven tactics to help your business thrive. Whether you’re a seasoned catering pro or just starting out, you’ll discover new ways to streamline operations, delight your clients, and maximize profits.
Tune in and transform your catering chaos into calm with Restaurant Catering Smarts – where the best in the industry share their secrets to success!
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers on topics relevant to restaurant catering, including operational strategies, marketing techniques, and technology integration. Specific episodes cover themes such as building a strong catering brand, leveraging word-of-mouth marketing, and integrating AI for customer personalization, with guests sharing their proven tactics and personal stories to illuminate best practices in catering.
Barbecue Catering Smarts is your go-to podcast for mastering the business of BBQ catering. Hosted by Michael Attias—founder of CaterZen Catering Software and longtime catering strategist—this show dives deep into the systems, stories, and smarts behind the most successful BBQ catering operations in the country.
Each episode features conversations with pitmasters, smokehouse owners, and catering pros who share their proven tactics for scaling revenue, streamlining operations, building loyal fans, and turning smoky deliciousness into serious profit.
Whether you run a food truck, a full-service BBQ restaurant, or a booming catering department, you’ll walk away with actionable ideas to elevate your BBQ catering game.
Tune in to Barbecue Catering Smarts—where smoke, strategy, and success come together.
In this episode of Barbecue Catering Smarts, Michael Attias sits down with Dale Lockwood, Owner and Pit Master of Hickory BBQ & Grill.
Dale shares his journey from starting a barbecue catering business during the 2008 downturn to scaling into high-volume operations—including serving up to 1,000 meals per day for a state contract. Along the way, he’s built a business rooted in consistency, relationships, and smart systems—all without chasing low-margin work.
Dale breaks down what it really takes to grow a sustainable BBQ catering operation, from leveraging local business networks and referrals, to building a strong sales pipeline through email and CRM systems, to maintaining pricing discipline in a competitive market.
They also dive into the operational side—how documenting recipes, standardizing processes, and training teams properly creates consistency at scale—and why speed of response and professionalism often win the sale before the food is even served.
This episode is packed with practical insights on building relationships, structuring your catering business for profit, and turning one-time customers into long-term revenue streams. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to scale, Dale’s experience offers a clear roadmap for growth.
Barbecue Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software.
Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
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