Hi Marisa, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started culinary school in 1995 and worked at several of Kansas City’s premier restaurants. I loved the idea of catering for the freedom to cook different menus, meet new people and really get creative writing menus to fit our client’s style. When I first started out, I would work part-time at various restaurants and a locally owned kitchen and décor shop, Pryde’s Kitchen and Necessities. This opportunity helped me buy all my pots, pans, platters, serving utensils, linens, etc. at a discount. I was definitely working on a tight budget and did not have the luxury to make big purchases.
My husband is an entrepreneur and taught me to budget, work hard and pay for necessities and equipment as I go. If I needed an oven or new sheet pans, I saved my money and paid for these items as I went. (I didn’t know how important this would be for me and my company when COVID hit).
I have always had the heart of a chef, so preparing our menus from scratch, with fresh ingredients has always been the most important aspect of my company. If we prepare our food with integrity, everything else seems to fall into place. If the food is bright, fresh, and beautiful, the kitchen is excited and proud to execute the menu. The clients are delighted to have a custom menu that reflects their personalities. The service staff is shining and attentive to our guests, knowing the food is at its best.
Over the years, our hard work has paid off. We are a very busy, boutique catering company. We cater weddings, corporate events, fundraisers, wine dinners, whatever celebrations our clients dream up, we are there!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth road? In catering?! Challenges pop up all the time in catering. When you are a mobile business, things can happen, even with the best planning. Delivery vans get flat tires on the way to events (never on the way home). We forgot to pack the martini glasses. The guests showed up 45 minutes early. An hour late! Drunk! The microgreens were to be delivered early Friday morning, and are delayed due to vendor issues. So many things! Problems will arise, they just do. It’s how we handle these issues that are so important. The client must never know. We see the problem, fix it, and move on. Our experience gets us through the chaos, and at the end of the event, we have something to laugh about. But we also reflect on what went wrong, how do we prevent it from ever happening again? That is how we grow as a company.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Olive Events + Catering is known for its creative menus, integrity, and style. I am passionate about food and more than that, I love what food represents to people. Good food is made from scratch, prepared in a meaningful way, and is something we are really proud of. To me it means friends and family gathering around a big table and sharing time with each other.
We cater a ton of weddings in Kansas City, and we love getting to know our clients. When we talk and listen, really listen to them, we find out about their food favorites, and memories that make them smile. If the groom’s grandmother made his favorite pie for him every summer when he would visit her, we try to recreate it, but maybe in a more modern way, or way the works for 250+ guests. They are usually blown away that we can do that. Or would do that for them.
My event coordinators, chefs, service staff, etc. all know to say yes and find a way to make our client’s events memorable. That passion sets us apart from others.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My mentors were all purists in the kitchen. Most snub their noses at caterers. I had to learn how to cater big events on my own, but these chefs are what kept me honest in the kitchen, working hard, and preparing food that I would be proud to serve my industry friends, which is what kept me in line. I would have loved to have had a mentor in the catering industry. It would have been so much easier back in the beginning to have someone to bounce ideas off of or figure out how to do a plated dinner for 300. Or learn how to say no.
I encourage new caterers to find someone they admire, either in catering, a smart business person, or a chef to help them along the way. Also, other vendors in our industry can be a great resource, so go to those networking events. Get to know the event planners, venue managers, rental companies, etc. They know everyone! And you should too.