State of Catering Today: What the Data Says and the Art of the Possible


Catering is growing faster than any other dining segment, but the gap between brands that are winning and those that are stalling is widening fast. In this session, we will share high-level insights from the MONKEY's State of Catering report: what the data reveals about where trends are heading, and what it means for your program right now.

A panel of enterprise catering leaders will share how they're navigating the shift: where they're finding order volume, how they've built first-party programs that drive repeat business, and what they wish they had done sooner. Real data. Real operators. Real playbooks you can take back to your team.

Presenters
Crystal Leuty
Marketing Manager CSM & Off Premise
Jim N Nick's Community Bar-B-Q
Crystal Leuty is a Marketing Manager focused on off-premise sales at Jim ’N Nick’s Bar-B-Q. With over 25 years in the hospitality industry, Crystal brings a strong background in catering sales program execution, community relations implementation, and strategic brand development. Notably, she helped launch Jim ‘N Nick’s online catering platform, streamlining the off-premise ordering experience. She champions the brand’s growth with a dedicated passion for expanding community relations and elevating brand awareness while strategically driving off-premise sales development. Throughout her career, Crystal has focused on executing regional marketing strategies and building impactful community partnerships within the food and beverage industry.
Ben Pidduck
CEO
MONKEY Catering Platform
Ben Pidduck is the Chief Executive Officer at MONKEY. Ben joined MONKEY in April of 2025 as part of MONKEY’s divestiture from ezCater and to herald in organization’s new era of partner growth, product revitalization, and client service. Ben’s experience spans food & beverage, restaurants, software, and consumer industries, helping leading organizations around the world craft strategies, drive hands-on operational change, and upgrade product, sales, and marketing processes. Ben has worked across several Fortune 500 restaurant franchisors and franchisees -touching everything from new market expansion to culinary innovation, stood-up end-to-end operations for a meal kit startup, and most recently worked for McKinsey & Company’s Private Equity practice.
Ashley Reed-Schellberg
Director of Digital & Off-Premise Sales
Taco Cabana
Courtney Smith
Head of Brand Partnerships
MONKEY Catering Platform
Courtney Smith is Head of Brand Partnerships at MONKEY. Courtney joined Monkey Media in March of 2024 with a passion to help brands utilize the Monkey Media software to the best of their capabilities while also partnering to influence first party sales building. Courtney brings over 25 years of food and beverage operations, off premise implementation, catering sales program creation, training and strategy development experience. Courtney has held positions as Vice President of Sales for Newk’s Eatery, Director of Catering & Banquet Sales for Firebird Restaurant Group, which included 6 brands. Director of Off-Premise Sales for la Madeleine, a total of 11 years with Corner Bakery Café, including several roles and Operations Management with Hillstone Restaurant Group.
Kori Sparks
Director of Catering & Sales
Urbane Cafe
Kori Sparks is the Director of Catering & Sales at Urbane Cafe, where she was brought in to take the brand's catering program to the next level, building the team, strategy, and systems to scale it into a core part of the business. With 10 years of experience spanning catering operations, sales leadership, and program development, Kori brings both a strategic and executional lens to everything she oversees. She has a track record of driving double digit catering sales growth by building high performing field sales teams, developing first party loyalty and partnership programs, and creating the operational infrastructure that supports consistent, scalable guest experiences. Kori believes the brands winning in catering today are the ones investing in the right people, the right processes, and the right relationships!
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