Author: Mackenzie Coogan, BSU student
With your business name being so unique and somewhat self-explanatory, what was your inspiration to start your business?
I learned how to cook from my grandma. When I was younger, I would get dropped off at grandma’s house and every time she taught me more about cooking. She taught me the art of cooking and helped me see the joy and passion of it. It turned into me always being around cooking. Simply, I love cooking meals for my family.
I wanted to bring gourmet food to other families. While there are many places you can turn to for deli platters and to-go foods, my business will customize a gourmet menu to a customer’s liking and we deliver to his/her home.
You said you customize your menus, how exactly to do customize to your customer’s needs?
I provide customized menus based on other meals that a specific customer has expressed interest in. I upload pictures and menus to my website. I also provide as much or as little as a customer wants. I will hire employees to help me stay and serve, or I can drop off a customer’s order to his/her home, which the customer prefers.
You said you wanted to spread your love of cooking to other families, but your business is self- run and not family oriented. What inspired you to self-run your business?
With Catered Too being an owner operated business, it brings a personal touch to the customer’s table. I use my own fresh grown vegetables, herbs, and flowers to enhance the flavor and provide beautiful garnishes. I create and use my own recipes, as all my cooking is from scratch. I find an art in my cooking, something I flourish in. I do all the menu planning, shopping, and cooking.
That seems to be a bit of work, but beautifully done and well put. To refer back to something you said earlier. Although your business is owner operated, you do hire employees for certain catering events. How do you hire employees to help you in those larger caterings?
If I need help, I hire service personnel for the day of the event. All employees, I know from my personal life. All of my servers need to be detail oriented, personable, reliable, and food oriented.
That a great list of requirements for an employee pertaining to your business. When you need to hire a server, you said it’s for a larger cater event. What events do you typically cater for? Who is your target audience?
I cater to all customer needs, and that is my target audience. I understand that is a large range for a business, but that is the exact reason I started my business, I wanted to cater to all. If a customer has a busy schedule and would like a homemade meal, I can provide homemade to go meals for a customer, or a customer’s family, to reheat and serve for dinner. Whether it’s catering for a few friends or a large group, Catered Too is the perfect choice. I cater to all occasions, such as Holiday Parties, Family Gatherings, Graduations, Bridal Showers, Baby Showers, Anniversary Parties, and Birthday Celebrations.
If you have such a large range for the audience, customers must have a large range of requests. What is the flexibility within your cooking? What do you cook? What is your favorite style? What is the most popular?
Again, I cater to all. I cook breakfast, brunch, hot/cold hors d’oeuvres, homemade to go meals, sandwiches, salads, entrees, side dishes, and desserts. Almost anything under the sun. My favorite one to cook and serve is passed hot/cold hors d’oeuvres.
All it takes is one bit and it needs to be perfectly balanced with sweet, salty, and creamy, and I get to be creative. One thing that I seem to be making quite frequently for customers is my Ohana chicken wings, simple, salty, and has a crunch!
Contact Catered Too via:
Telephone: 508-889-2339
Website: www.cateredtooyou.com