No I didn't imagine you would be. I set out to start my own catering company and that is precisely what I did. Now, we haven't had the sort of wild success that I was fantasizing we would, but I have kept busy none the less.
Right out the gate I catered a bridal shower and a corporate event, both for my former boss Rachel. I would call each event a success. The feedback I received was very positive and the menus I used for one of those dinners has become a customer favorite. I know you probably want to see some pictures, believe me I wish I had taken some. What as I thinking, right? I wasn't I was planning, and doing mise en place and sweating over open grills and making peti fours OK?
Ok, then.
Now after those two events things slowed down quite a bit and I had a few baking gigs here and there and also over in that area. I baked a dozen cute little cupcakes for my friends at City Hall and at the Safety center and in December my usual Christmas cookie extravaganza. This year it was bigger than ever with over 25 dozen cookies.
I will give you a little background. A few years ago I started making gingerbread men and sugar cookie trees and other seasonal treats around Christmas time. I posted them on facebook ( I am such a shameless bragger) and a few friends asked if they could purchase some from me. I said sure, I loved making them so much what would a few extra dozen hurt? Well each year since then the number of orders goes up and up with this year being the craziest! I still enjoyed myself but, "Note to Self," I must start earlier this year if I will every be able to keep up.
What else, oh I have completely skipped October of last year. How very exciting that was, catering my very first wedding! Yep! The menu was chicken mole with cumin scented rice. I was up to my elbows in mole sauce the night before the wedding. And yes, I made the sauce %100 from scratch. It was a very proud moment for me.
Now along that last year there were certainly some missteps and some disasters. In May my dear friends mother asked me to cater her daughters birthday party. I was more than happy to show off my "skills" to our mutual friends. What I didn't take into consideration was time management.... Not my strong point at all. I was late to the event and I do remember some particularly dry pieces of roast beef. My friend and her mother (the sweet, loving, graceful women that they are) said not a word about my shortcomings but to me they were all I could see that night.
This year has been fairly good. I have gotten steady work both on the catering side and as a private chef. I have enjoyed the private chef side of things more and more as time goes on, and I think this is something I will be exploring in the future. Our website launched last year in May, but I wasn't thrilled with it so when it came time to renew, I started from scratch and put the a new website up myself. Take a look see HERE and tell me what you think.
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