Program Overview
- Module 1 — Site assessment: Evaluating outdoor venues for catering infrastructure — power, water, access routes, and kitchen placement.
- Module 2 — Equipment planning: Mobile kitchens, holding equipment, tents, serving stations, and how to source them in Ukraine.
- Module 3 — Food safety at scale: Temperature control protocols, holding times, and compliance with Ukrainian outdoor catering regulations.
- Module 4 — Staffing calculations: Service ratios for buffet, plated, and hybrid formats. Briefing large teams and managing section supervisors.
- Module 5 — Multi-zone layouts: Distributing catering across large outdoor sites, managing crowd flow, and reducing service bottlenecks.
- Module 6 — Supplier coordination: Managing multiple vendors simultaneously at large events, including scheduling, delivery windows, and on-site communication.
- Module 7 — Contingency frameworks: Building backup plans for weather, equipment failure, supplier no-shows, and guest count changes.
What is included
Site assessment checklist, staffing ratio calculator, outdoor food safety reference guide, and a multi-zone layout planning worksheet.
Large outdoor events are a different operational problem
Catering 50 guests in a restaurant-style setting and feeding 400 people across an outdoor festival site have almost nothing in common operationally. The equipment requirements, staffing ratios, food safety constraints, and timing challenges are all fundamentally different.
This course was built for coordinators who have experience with standard catering setups and are ready to handle larger, more complex outdoor events.
Equipment and infrastructure planning
Outdoor catering depends on equipment that is not built into the venue. You will learn how to assess a site for power access, water supply, tent requirements, and kitchen setup needs. The course includes a site assessment checklist used by outdoor event producers in Ukraine.
Food safety in outdoor settings deserves specific attention. Temperature control, holding equipment, and service windows all require tighter planning when you are working without a permanent kitchen. The course covers Ukrainian food safety regulations that apply specifically to outdoor catering operations.
Staffing for scale
At 300 or more guests, staffing ratios become critical. Too few service staff and courses slow down. Too many and your client overpays while staff stand around. You will learn how to calculate staffing needs accurately for different service formats — buffet, stationed, plated, and food truck setups.
Module 5 covers multi-zone catering layouts — how to distribute food service across a large outdoor site to manage crowd flow and reduce queue times.
Contingency planning is not optional at this scale
A backup plan for a 50-person dinner is a phone call. A backup plan for a 400-person outdoor event involves pre-arranged supplier agreements, staff reserves, and equipment substitution protocols. This course builds contingency thinking into every stage of planning, not just as an afterthought.
Developed by Danylo Marchuk and Iryna Voloshyn, both with direct experience running large-scale outdoor events across central and western Ukraine.
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