“There is no greater time to be a caterer,” said the late, great Michael Roman, a well-renown catering industry advocate and founder of the national catering convention, Catersource. While this quote was not specifically speaking about the year 2020, it sure rang true to us. It WAS a great year to be a caterer, despite what you may think: no live events, canceled weddings, dark kitchens, no more gatherings over 10 people, plummeting revenue. It was looking dark, to say the least. But there is light that also comes with darkness.
We were honored to be a part of Caterers United: a local group of San Diego Catering and Event business owners who put the competition aside and came together to show compassion and kindness to our own in the industry. The group of us met weekly via Zoom to discuss ways to give back to our event community. It was decided early on that food is at the heart of what we do, so why not feed those who need it most: our furloughed employees! We all contributed in various ways such as providing food, kitchen labor to cook, providing labor to deliver the food, and monetary donations to keep the program going, even when finances were tight.
Not only did we learn creative ways on how we can all survive the pandemic, we learned that our “competition” is actually not that at all. We learned that compassion runs deep in each of these companies, that kindness is more important than anything and above all, supporting one another is the true definition of success. It has been an honor to be a part of this amazing group and we would be remiss if we did not thank each one of them personally.
Steve Kashou, Brothers Signature Catering and Events
Barry Layne, Coast Catering
Denise Jermyn, Continental Catering
Vicki Hamilton, Crown Point Catering
Kathy Koenig, Culinary Concepts
Tracy Zemke, Personal Touch Dining
Lisa Richards, Picnic People, CowgirlQ Catering
Michael Esposito, Snake Oil Cocktail Company
Zapher Dajani, The Abbey Catering
Michel Malecot, The French Gourmet
Dawn Carvajal, The Wild Thyme Company
Matthew Baker, Feast on This
To each and every one of you: THANK YOU! It is because of YOU and your warmth, support and kindness that we made it through 2020. Thank you for being a special part of our Feast Family. Cheers to a brighter 2021, with you by our side!