Plate Catering Company

15/03/2024

2nd year training course at Bubye Vally conservancy, an extension of the first years 14 day, onto a lot more specialized topics, theories of cookery and many new skills.

Fantastic to see these guys grow from just 1 year and on to the 2nd,

Great Initiative from management to continuously and consistently invest in their staff and training, hospitality, food and service continues to evolve fast and these guys are definitely keeping up,

Gosh, they even built a training facility for this and future development in many many areas.

29/01/2024

We have just completed a pre season training out at Sango in the Save Vally wildlife conservancy, with a brand new 10 day menu plan, chefs learnt some great new dishes, updated preparation knowledge and presentation skills and some intensive waiter and service training.

this camp specifically requested Buffet format for meals, which turns a standard buffet into a beautiful spread of food. With some plated starters and plated desserts.

Accommodated and made very welcomed at this camp, looking forward to be working with them again down the line, as well as working with the talented, very aspiring Shelby Schoultz,,,sugar Shelby🤣 keep that fire burning Shelbs,, you are made for this.

29/01/2024

Plate Catering wedding special package, for 2024
All ingredients and drinks supplied, staff, crockery, cutlery cocktail bar Setup, with snacks, main course and desserts, spit braais, in and around Bulawayo. Contact for more information come down and see our showroom.

Dayne +263 771908352

21/01/2024

This is probably one of my favorites, private cheffing for Mvimi safaris, scorching heats, long hours, lots of banter and some great company along the way, not just maintaining a standard but pushing the boundaries to be one of the best, specially designed menu to suit each guest and the activity of the camp, love this camp, hope you enjoy this past seasons food.

22/12/2023

Part 4 of 4

Between all the long hours of training, teaching and cooking through all its camps came the reason why it’s all here, the incredible place and country of Zimbabwe that boasts and has so much to offer.

Being lucky enough to be brought up in a home of hospitality and tourism as a young lad, traveling to camps, hotels and lodges with my parents long before my training,

I have great memories of busy tourism in Zimbabwe and of high standards and service, it always intrigued me and I loved the dynamics of how an establishment ran and the way it made me feel from a whole experience,

from arrival to departure, the service, the food, the smiles of staff, the effort put into delivering an experience for people,

(clients, guests) they would probably never see again and it was something I always wanted to be apart of and deliver.

BVC and the operations team and staff there, really refreshed this feeling for me, the efforts and time put in to wanting to enhance every client experience and deliver the best possible experience, made it very easy to put the extra mile and effort,

their love and ambitions for their staff to grow with them, to me is the foundation of success.

My personal goal,,since bringing my trade and skills back home to Zimbabwe was to improve the standards of food and service in any way shape or form,,,to the industry and place that lit that fire for me and to be able to do it through the training of others and passing on the knowledge and experience Iv gained, is probably the most rewarding part of my career so far.

The BVC is definitely on a path to push up the standards and deliver the full experience.

always taught that, to talk of 5 star,,,,you only talk of it as, being delivered as a whole, delivered in all departments from start to end.

to get everything right in all departments, all the time, takes a strong bunch of team players with some serious input, time, effort, dedication and maintenance.

I am very excited to be on that path with BVC and hope to see it progress into further development all round.

With a whole bunch of friends made along the way,,😊😊😊

01/11/2023

Part 3 of 4

With an assessment of what level a chef or a cook is at,, through a step by step process they can start to gain the correct knowledge and understanding of food preparation,

I found a lot of cooks know how but don’t know why,, if they have been parrot taught,,or demonstration shown, with a method or recipes, with out the theory behind those recipes, that’s as far as it can go.

After a good amount of theory and explanations of why we do certain things to food,,,I started to notice these chefs putting things together, working it out and trying many different and new things above what was being taught,

creativity started to flow and they slowly started to gain more confidence, confidence not only to prepare and present their food but confidence in trying new things and being ok with it not working out and using it purely to understand more.

My personal training was very much based on mistakes, left to make the mistakes and see how you recovered from it,, it got you more of a score than a perfectly executed dish.

once you know why it can go wrong only then do you know how to make it right and comfortably do it with the confidence that, if It does go wrong, I can quickly and easily fix it with more understanding of it as a whole.

Iv never met a chef or a cook who has tried to send out a bad meal but it does happen and it’s heartbreaking, sometimes it’s forgiving but most of the time at this level, it’s not.

My approach to these guys, was to make as many mistakes as you possibly can and we will learn how to fix it,,,I found my presence was a cushion for these guys to try things out their comfort zone and with that came some beautifully presented and prepared food.

Pictures of lunches and dinners.

07/04/2023

Another fantastic 7 day training course in culinary food preparation and presentation, this time for Charlton McCallum Safaris, 7 camps which span over 500,000 acres of the Zambezi Vally, running DAPU anti poaching unit and doing fantastic things for Zimbabwe.

it’s not what you can prepare,,,,but where you can prepare it from and these guys taught me a thing or two about a wood oven.

Here we didn’t change the menu at all, we just improved some old dishes, added a few tricks and techniques in preparation and presentation with some new cuts of meats and some desserts.

Lots of respect to these chefs out here making the most of what they have,,,,,they reckon this year,,,,,we flying guys,,above the rest💪💪

Great Experience and feeling to be able to pass on some skills to the next😊😊😊

02/04/2023

Safari Rally 2023, floating dinner, free flow canapés service, still not sure how we pulled this off, lots of chaos happening in the Plate Catering Company kitchen at the moment🤣 but our staff turn up every time and prove what dedication and hard work does time after time.
Venue@Nesbittcastle
Decor Cozim Functions
Client
📸Marcos Tshuma

09/03/2023

The past 14 days, another camp training program, this time in probably in most beautiful setting and scenery Iv seen, Mana Pools, this place is majestic and definitely Gods country.

We implemented and upgraded their menu and food with a 5 day rotational menu for Mana Pools Safari Lodge, photographic camp,

I arrived to dinner at camp and it was spaghetti bolognese and coleslaw and dessert was instant pudding.

I never judge the food or the chefs, I know there are levels to cooking and this is just the level that these chefs are at and I am here to level them up, spaghetti bolognese is one of my favorite meals and the first dish I ever learned to prepare. I love it.

It doesn’t take a lot to upgrade your food and menus, these chefs where more than willing and the results speak for themselves.

Very proud of them and know it will be a success.

01/02/2023

We have just completed a fantastic experience, a 14 day training course for 30 chefs and waiters at Bubye Valley Conservancy in Beitbridge,

implementing a new 14 day meal plan for 9 camps, training of new skills, new ingredients and concepts.

Training is not just a course and you done,,,it is continuously refreshing and reminding the mind of new and old standards and technics, so the course doesn’t end here, we will follow and consult with an action plan for the year for the chefs to maximize and continue to expand their knowledge and up the food and service standards all round.

Well done to all these guys, you all have great things to offer this industry and I am looking very forward to put our training forward to the years client ahead.

24/01/2023

Traditional wedding packages 2023 are out and about in full force🍽🥂

14/01/2023

Our wedding packages include all of our bar services, waiter services, cocktails and themed champagne walls.

16/10/2022

Another grand dinner, 7 course dinning experience for a group traveling through Zimbabwe🇿🇼, this event was planned many month ago so very happy to have finally taken it from paper to plate.
Photographer Marcos Tshuma
Client Taylor Safaris

26/09/2022

If there is 1 thing we love more than events, it’s our team, we are a family, we arrive as one, we accomplish as one and we leave as one, we don’t just work, we enjoy what we do, we enjoy together and have fun doing it, create that environment and see clockwork.

26/08/2022

Great to see our talent at work on this one.

Held at Nesbitt Castle with our favorite Amy Leigh in the front of house, for a 40th celebration, our in house photographer Marcos Tshuma on fire 🔥 as per usual and our chefs putting together a 4 course dinner menu

11/07/2022

When someone says buffet, in my mind that is a que of people waiting for food, I personally don’t get excited about a buffet, here at Plate Catering Company we do banquets, an elaborate and formal feast for many.

04/07/2022

That sprig of something is so small but so necessary.

a garnish isn’t just there to make it look nice,

it’s a stamp of approval that this has been seen, now finished and ready to go.

28/06/2022

The food at your event should be the decor you can eat.

26/06/2022

What are Sundays, I personally use Sundays to fill my taste with all its cravings of flavors and textures that week brings, sunday is a feast, especially winter eating😋😋

17/06/2022

I am normally not bothered what is said about me nor my business, as my work and service speaks for itself and those who have experienced it know this, but this I feel I must bring to attention for others in the industry and those needing services from this industry.

I was contacted in December last year, by an event planner to do an event, to supply a menu and a quotation, I did so and did the event, it was a great event and went well.

Recently, I met a guest from that event and friend of the client, who I asked for a honest opinion about my service. they where very complimentary about it and loved the food and service but mentioned the price per person was very high that was charged to the client.

I remembered very clearly what my quotation was to that event planner, as I wasn’t dealing directly with the client on this, and asked what was charged per person, her response was 50$, my quotation to the event planner for a very extensive menu was 20$ per person.

LIttle breakdown here, Number of guests quoted for was 70. My quotation was $20 per person
= total revenue was $1400

Total charged to the client $3500 at $50 per person

That’s an additional $2100 added to the client, posing as my quotation.

To find out that my quotation was pushed up that much from an event planner, towards a clients made me very sad for that client and at the same time very upset that this sort of behavior exists and is done within the industry here. To see someone exploiting not only my service but this industry, that I have put 20 years of my life into providing the best I can and at the same time trying my best to keep my prices as consumer friendly as possible,

I found it leaving me with a reputation of my service that is false and misrepresented for the monetary gain and greed of another, so as someone who is for the industry, I feel it’s my due diligence to, not, name and shame as I am not one to stoop to this level of unprofessionalism but to guide and warn future potential clients and people who will require services from this industry, DEAL AND RECEIVE QUOTATIONS DIRECTLY FROM THE REQUIRED SERVICE PROVIDERS.

05/06/2022

Last night we did a cute little wedding at Sothern Cross Estate and the weather seamed to be the perfect winter warmth and not so evening chilly, when it’s your day it’s your day. Congratulations to the bride, who looked stunning and to the groom who I have always had much love for, frankie, wish you well good people💃🏼🕺🥰

09/05/2022

Lately Iv kept my kraft a bit of a secret, busy with events, quietly working on my products, training front of house staff, working with the chefs in the kitchen, giving what I know to my team, closing off to the public eye and focusing on my team and here I see the results.

The Safari Rally, black tie, flying dinner, evening of canapés at one of my favorite venues, Nesbitt Castle

Decor and setup Cozim Functions
Photographer Marcos Tshuma
Cut out design and many other items designed and made by Two-Can Creations
Biodegradable service ware by Ecozim Biodegradable Packaging
Client Taylor
Event coordinator Leigh

22/02/2022

A pretty cool Mediterranean mix tapas style luncheon in the gardens at Nesbitt Castle really enjoyed this style and flavors of this food.🇮🇱🇹🇷🇲🇦🇬🇷 beautiful spices and blends with some great techniques😋

14/10/2021

A little bit of a late post but thank you to all the foodies that came out to this past Sunday luncheon at Granite Park Lodges, If you haven’t been or seen Granite Park Lodges, it is a beautiful property nestled in the rockeries of Burnside with a fantastic setting for small events, stunning little boma for seating with lush lawns and a gorgeous swimming pool with some well equipped self contained guests lodges, I really enjoyed putting this together, the atmosphere and feel of this location is something special and we will definitely be back.

13/09/2021

I am So happy to be able to put these together again and very chuffed that we are allowed to be out and about again, such a beautiful venue and setting at Southern Cross Estate, Thank you to those who came, I hope it was tasty😁💫

29/08/2021

After many month of recovery, I’m very happy to say we are open for business🤩 please check out our WhatsApp catalogue.
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Follow this link to view our catalog on WhatsApp: https://wa.me/c/263771908352

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