Catering is a business that frequently grows out of a chef's unemployment, a person who like to entertain, a laid-off middle manager looking for a new line of work, a restaurant wanting a new profit center.

On the face off it, the "catering" as a business appears to be simple and, for small parties and low expectations, catering can be a simple, direct business.

But for complex events for large groups of people in a tent in the middle of a field, the issues are multi-layered, time sensitive, and all subject to many other unknown factors.

It is fair to say that many of us think of the preparation and execution of a complex catering job as if a it were like an army going off to do battle.

So, I've built in questions and suggestions that lead the user to an understanding (if it is needed!) of some of the catering mysteries, the catering secrets as it were as to how to get the job done - get the army in position and over the walls:

I encourage you to view this element of the software as a self teaching tool that is ready to assist the novice in coming to grips with those mysteries, those secrets of catering.

Did you order enough Champagne Glasses for the Bar, The Butler Station, and the Dinner?

? or do you plan to re-wash?.

If so, do you have the staff to do this or will it be cheaper to just order more glasses? Can the client pay? Or is it coming off our profit?

? "Yes" will take you to the current state of ROI for a check-upon the current profit margin.

? "No" will take you to the glassware order dialog for Champagne Glasses

? "OK" will give you a free pass and you can dodge the dilemma until the event- when, of course, it might just haunt you.)

So, here, the secrets revealed, the mysteries uncovered are related to the crunch of too few glasses or how a caterer can make "do" and save some cash.

Those small cash savings can add another 5% to 10% to your net profit while engendering a staff's knowledge of how to conserve: a secret, a mystery that may well seem self evident but is, regrettably, often easy to neglect.

My brief, throughout design and construction of this catering software suite, is to enable teaching, instruction, revelation of secrets and mysteries and to do so without didactic bombast. I have reached more frequently for humor, for collision of disparate ideas, for illusion to the universe beyond our mesmeric catering moon.

"Who packed the shims for the tables that are on the grass and rocking gently n the coming tentacles of the September hurricane, now named after our bride's mom, Evelyn.. Which Evelyn will wreak the havoc?

Two secrets, two mysteries, two opportunities to teach, to pass on earned wisdom and, still, suffer silent confusion.