Speakers 2027
The education opportunities at Cater+Event feature presentations from more than 100 industry luminaries who have been there, done that, and are armed with content that’s trendy, thought-provoking, and always influential.
Jonathan Roode, Director of Business Operations, Deborah Miller Catering
Jonathan Roode is a catering and events operations leader with more than 20 years of experience in New York City hospitality. His background spans culinary production, purchasing, event operations, business systems, budgeting, inventory control, and cross-department planning. He began his career in restaurant and event kitchens before moving into procurement and then broader operations leadership, giving him a practical understanding of how catering work actually moves from menu idea to proposal, production, staffing, execution, and closeout. He currently works in business operations for a New York City catering company, where much of his work involves connecting sales, culinary, operations, logistics, technology, and financial planning. Jonathan is self-taught in Excel and has used spreadsheets throughout his career to solve real catering problems, from purchasing and inventory tools to budgeting, menu planning, event costing, staffing models, and reusable templates. His approach to Excel is practical rather than technical: build tools that are clear, useful, and easy for busy catering teams to understand. This session reflects that same approach, offering caterers a straightforward primer on using Excel with more confidence in everyday event operations.