- What is your department’s main focus or mission? Our primary mission is to deliver exceptional catering services to the Georgia Tech community and its affiliates. We essentially “Move the Restaurant” over 350 times each month, ensuring seamless service for events across campus, including the Global Learning Center.
- Can you share a recent project your team has worked on? One of our standout projects this fall was the Create X Demo Day, which drew over 3,000 attendees. Tech Catering played a pivotal role, managing receptions for approximately 1,000 VIP guests in the Exhibition Hall.
- What are some of the biggest challenges your department faces? Our most significant challenges include managing last-minute orders in our controlled spaces, where we are committed to providing service despite an already packed schedule. To address this, we collaborate closely with our campus partners, particularly the SCEC team, to mitigate these issues.
- What achievements is your department most proud of? We take immense pride in our 80% staff retention rate, with most of our team members staying with us since our inception. We are also proud of the career advancement opportunities we’ve created, including the establishment of an Assistant Director role, additional administrative support, the GLC team, and a Sales Manager position. Furthermore, our unit manages bakery deliveries and other transport needs for the entire Tech Dining department.
- How does your department contribute to the overall goals of the organization? Our department frequently interacts with campus elites, including the Office of the President and Provost, where attention to detail, professionalism, and high service standards are paramount. This responsibility underscores the importance of precision and excellence in our operations, as there is little room for error. We believe Catering contributes to elevating the Tech Dining brand placing our entire department among one of the most trusted campus service departments for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Additionally,, our leadership team is deeply committed in team building, customer service, and creating efficiencies ovation in event logistics. We are profoundly proud of the commitment of these individuals at always going the extra mile.
- How does your department celebrate successes or milestones? We celebrate our successes by recognizing staff contributions during team huddles, sharing success stories from recent client events. Occasionally, the Director treats the team to “Just Because” donuts and sponsors training or year-end meals to show appreciation.
- What initiatives does your department take to promote a positive work environment? We are deeply committed to fostering a positive work environment through our L.O.V.E. GT initiative, which emphasizes respect, support, and collaboration among team members.
- What are your department’s goals for the next quarter/year? Our goals for the upcoming period include regaining lost business, providing extensive formal service training for frontline staff, hiring an additional driver, and expanding our culinary team with more cooks.
- Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you are excited about? We are thrilled about several upcoming events, including hosting the USG’s AI Summit, the Office of Commercialization’s Avant Events, and the World Chamber of Commerce Documentary Preview featuring Andrew Young and other notable figures.
- How does your department plan to innovate or improve in the future? Our future plans focus on investing in our people through training, promotions, and hiring. We are also enhancing our service-ware to better serve our clients, streamlining the ordering process with updates to Catertrax, Catering Exemptions, and menu variety, and adding new equipment, including vehicles and table covers, to elevate our presentation in the Exhibition Hall.
