Anyone who has ever worked in the catering world knows that executing any event, big or small, takes a cohesive effort and sound logistics. Every day, Doug D’Attilio, the Catering Director at Bountiful Bread arrives at 4:00am to make 10 daily deliveries, on average, to various locations around the Capital District. What does it take to make it all run smoothly? Doug will tell you.
The food service industry is no stranger to Doug. In fact, he has been working for White Management since 1997. “It’s funny, I work with people who were just children when I started my career. It’s definitely cool to see customers and co-workers grow up with community staples such as, Bountiful Bread, Mangia’s, and now, Creo, over the years,” said Doug. His career started nearly 19 years ago as a Shift Supervisor at Mangia’s (then, located in Stuyvesant Plaza). From there, he wore several hats and eventually became Bountiful Bread’s Catering Director five years ago. “When I started out, there were definitely growing pains. During my first week in the role, the two people I was training with, left, so we had to learn quick,” and he did. He and his co-worker, Matt, who has been his catering and logistics support ever since, have mastered the sometimes difficult and stressful task of delivering catering orders each morning. “In order to do this role efficiently, it takes impeccable time management, organization and you have to be passionate about providing quality food that is presented beautifully. Simply put, you have to like what you do and give it your 100%.” Of course there are times when the game plan will have to change to accommodate last minute orders, as Doug doesn’t know his full scope of deliveries until 9:00pm the night before, but that is the business. “You can plan the best you can, but sometimes life just happens— that’s why you need to establish logistics, staffing and be on top of your orders in real-time. It’s a challenge every day, but it’s rewarding.”
Throughout the many years of Doug’s employment with White Management, he has learned every facet of not only the catering operation, but what it takes to develop the critical inter-personal skills needed in this industry. “My favorite part of my job is walking into an office with a catering delivery— everyone is happy to see you and you get to have that interaction with your customers.” If there is one thing that Doug doesn’t like, it’s being late; “being late gives me a crippling anxiety, I do everything in my power to ensure that every delivery is on-time, each time.” It goes without saying, but Doug’s efforts have helped establish Bountiful Bread’s reputation in the area as being a reliable, delicious caterer for all events.
By: Rachele Genhofer
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