16 Nov 2011 All in the life of a catering director

by Don Bingham

When entertaining is a way of life, there are not too many people that average the production of 19 different events on any given day! Teresa Conquest, catering director for ARAMARK at the University of Central Arkansas campus, has her daily routine that involves planning and executing events and juggling the answering of two cell phones, one office phone and one iPad! “No detail is too small — minor details are major,” Teresa said.

Teresa, married to Mike Conquest, resides in Clarksville. The two are parents of three daughters and have two grandsons.

Teresa and Mike suffered only structural damage to their home and the loss of trees after the tornado that hit Clarksville earlier this year; however, their neighbor lost his life. “It was amazing . . . within an hour of the tornado’s hit, there were churches arriving in our front yard with food for 20 people, chainsaws were everywhere — and this lasted for two weeks.”

Teresa explained that the heart of Arkansas was clearly evident in the many ways everyone came for assistance.

Mike Conquest grew up in Arkansas and spent his career in the military; this presented Teresa with a multiplicity of opportunities for working in the hospitality industry and catering.

Her career began 16 years ago and ranges from restaurant management and private party catering to corporate and social catering.

A typical day in the life of catering at UCA includes orchestrating the food service for 1,000 guests for the local chamber of commerce, to lunch for seminars, training classes, conferences and the various boards and foundation meetings across campus.

During her years of catering leadership, Teresa was invited to be a presenter for the National Association of Catering Executives in San Francisco. Her topic was “Themed Events” — and her challenge was to discuss and present the different dimensions of successful event planning (food, entertainment, floral pieces, required permits, etc.). Teresa speaks of the suitcases of equipment and production pieces it took for the display and presentation. It was before so much detail was given to luggage carrying, and some of her suitcases were filled full of nothing but moss.

“What I like best about my job is having a vision of an event and seeing it executed successfully,” Teresa said. “I enjoy collaborating with all the people it takes to make an event happen. There is no practice test; you get one chance to pull it off, and it is very thrilling to see the event executed as it was envisioned. I like to see each guest leave the event with their desires exceeded above anything they had thought it could be!”

Teresa also delights in working with the international students — she says her work is never boring and each day is a new challenge. Much of her time is spent in the higher end of catering, assisting with the food presentation for the president’s office events, which can often necessitate a seven day work week. “The season is about to hit, with football season, homecoming, Thanksgiving and Christmas — it all requires a lot of planning,” Teresa said.

ARAMARK has a new directive with the beginning of the Culinary Creative Task Force — the first in the region. Teresa serves on this committee as a trend setter for the campus industry in catering. She also holds her certification, which means she is “Federal Dining Room Professional Certified.”

What started long ago as family get-togethers has resulted in a love for catering, entertaining, and event planning. This catering director is an asset to UCA, ARAMARK and the 501!