STAYING ALIVE "To succeed in this business, you have to follow the trends and take your part in setting trends. And never forget that you're there to serve the customer. You are contracted to provide a service, so don't become part of the party."

KEEP A LEVEL HEAD "My advice for somebody coming into catering is to keep things balanced. Keep your creativity on a high level, but also make sure that what you promise is feasible. It's easy to come up with great ideas, butyou have to have the ability to follow through."

BREAK IT DOWN "The largest event we've ever catered was for 10,000 people. We planned way ahead for it. We broke it down into 10 parties for 1,000, and we had a complete staff in charge of each party."

WORK IT OUT "When I plan my menus, I get my inspiration from reading cookbooks or from seeing an item in a restaurant and finding a way to rework it with unique flavors for a large group."

THE FUN FACTOR "Since I started in this business, I have seen an increasing level of sophistication in events. People want to do something a little more fun, even though it may not be elaborate. At a reception, they might keep their costs down by doing only one specialty item, but that might be a more trendy type of cooking, such as Thai."