Juliana and Victor decided on their big day and wanted to have a wedding reception that everyone would remember. They had decided on a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' theme for the reception and wanted their menu to reflect the theme. Money was no object and lobster and caviar would feature as well as oysters and champagne to get the party started. When they approached Franco the hotel banqueting manager he assured them that in their resort they would find everything they needed and his staff would make sure that the day was a success. The couple had identified a small island about 10 miles away from the resort and wanted to hold the main reception there.

Although Franco and his team had never catered outside the resort, Franco decided that he could not let this function slip through his hands. With 200 guests and an average expenditure of $140 per cover he decided he would cater for this function at all costs.

Getting the F&B to the island proved to be a difficult task but with the help of his staff Franco and his team were ready for the event, although Franco was slightly worried that he did not have the right equipment to keep all the food at the correct temperatures. Nevertheless the reception proved to be a success and the couple were overjoyed.

However, two days after the event 46 of the guests were ill with food poisoning. The results from the local hospital will be out tomorrow but everyone suspects it was the oysters and the hotel is getting a lot of bad publicity.

Discussion Questions:

Q1: If you were Franco what would you have done prior to the event to ensure no risks were taken?

Q2: Now that the resort is getting bad publicity, what would you advise Franco to do?