When I launched Savoury City Catering back in 2003, as an entrepreneur I knew I was in for the ride of my life. But if someone told me I’d experience even half the incredible moments I have, a younger-me wouldn’t believe it.

For indulging minds considering a career in Catering & Events, or those starting their own business, allow me to share a small taste of the last twenty years in the hopes it will inspire you to new heights. Especially at a time when businesses and event planners alike need an extra infusion of creativity to stay on top of their hosting game!

THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS CATERING REQUEST

As a catering professional, people often ask: What’s the most outrageous client request you’ve received? One memory that comes to mind was from a wedding client in 2014. The happy couple was getting married at UBC Botanical Gardens, and after seeing a film about shark finning, requested an all-Vegan menu. Now this may sound like a common request, but this was 2014, and nobody was talking about veganism the way we do today. The groom was Israeli and the bride was from Northern Mexico, cultures both known as meat-eating. They wanted a 5-course plated dinner, family-style, entirely composed of Vegan elements.

To top it off, this was a destination wedding for the majority of the guests coming to Vancouver from Israel and Mexico. They were expecting meat. We had to design everything with explosive flavour, and the Internet wasn’t exactly crawling with all this information yet.

Where do you even start? We were in cookbooks, figuring out how to replace eggs and butter. We eventually won the BC Wedding Awards for our efforts, but the biggest reward for me was by the end of the evening when several guests approached me to confirm what they’d just scarfed down. They kept checking in with, “We didn't have any meat? Wow, so delicious - and we feel so good!”

OUR MOST CHALLENGING EVENT

Another wedding. This time imagine picturesque Gambier Island in 2011, at a location entirely off the grid, and solar-powered to boot. First of all, back then I had a morbid fear of open water, but we had to get all our supplies and equipment to Lion’s Bay in West Vancouver on private boats. It took eight boats because there was no other option, not even a barge.

The client wanted a roast suckling pig. So what do you do? You strap it to the roof of a boat, beg the marine operator not to speed, or else risk losing dinner altogether, and secure ATV’s island side to get that pig safely to its destination. It was the most challenging event I’ve ever catered to.

OUR MOST EXCITING MOMENT

His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to Vancouver in 2014 and we were invited to a very private event in a home atop the Shangri La Hotel. Security was on-point, and at the time, we weren't allowed to talk about it. None of my staff went, it was just one of my colleagues and me.

I was asked to take a glass of water up to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and I was shaking. He was absolutely delightful with his giggles, making others smile and laugh, so it seemed fitting that he also had a big sweet tooth. We simply served him water, tea and sweets. There were tons of industry people gathered around so the event could have gone for one hour or six, the Dalai Lama will just let you know when he's sort of “done”

Honestly, it was cooler than meeting the Rolling Stones.

THE LARGEST CROWD

For the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, working in conjunction with the Aboriginal Pavilion, we catered to 2,000 people and three levels of government for the opening night gala at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Once again, security was insane as this was another event we couldn't talk about until long after the fact.

We've got a reputation for being a creative company. To stay on-brand with this once-in-a-lifetime event experience, we created these two massive stations: ocean and forest. While one station was all about shimmering blue and custom-cut glass, “everything ocean” meant everything seafood, ethically sourced and Ocean Wise. The other station we set up with the help of our friends from The Flower Factory. We draped the entire thing with live trailing greenery and mosses - giant slate platters roasting Salt Spring Island lamb chops on top, and items filled with what appeared to be dirt (we used cookie crumbs and coffee beans). Inevitably, for this massive crowd of global dignitaries, a lot of food was used to multi-task as “part decor - part menu”!

TWO DECADES OF INDUSTRY CHANGE

We’ve had to adopt new technology through the years, but adapting to subtle things like cultural changes and how words are expressed or how dialogue is exchanged, are some of the biggest adaptations we've had to get used to.

Then there’s environmental change and how we can responsibly commit to that. At one point, everybody was going crazy about plastic wrap in catering. We tried to get in front of it and not use plastic anymore so we ordered giant industrial-sized wraps that almost looked like shower caps at $30 a piece, and labelled them “Do not discard. Recyclable”. We were wrapping our sandwiches as a unit thinking we’d solved the problem of individually wrapped pieces, but somehow those kept getting thrown away before their time. We have innovated to reduce plastic, but it’s a challenge to affect human behaviour.

THE NEW NORMAL IN EVENTS CATERING

This is changing daily across the board, seemingly at the speed of light. I've never seen anything like this in my career. I'm not talking about trends. I’m talking about real-time analysis of skyrocketing food prices and the labour crunch, from shortages to wage requests. I think we're all bleeding a little. We analyzed 2019 against last year, and although we got super busy like everybody else in 2022, all of a sudden 2023 has been a shocker to see where all the money is going. The pandemic has fundamentally changed all aspects of this industry, and lately more of my time seems to be spent on being a business analyst than a caterer.

However, this is also one of the most exciting times as we see events coming back into the foreground of social gatherings. It's challenged us to think outside the box and we’ve discovered more incredible individuals. People are getting more creative than ever!

DIVERSE MENU EVOLUTIONS

One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in the industry is how caterers have had to adapt to ever-changing needs and dietary restrictions. Serving people from one common menu is a luxury from a bygone era. Occasionally you’d get an, “I don't eat garlic”, or “Please include some vegetarian”.

Now we've got Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Keto, Paleo, “I can’t eat quinoa”, and Spectrum Sensitivity (I had to Google that one). All of this is now part of our dietary lexicon. Some people can't be near squash. Today a plated dinner event might include 23 different dietary requests, so our role is to satisfy all these needs.

We have to remain on top of our game since all these other food delivery services have changed things. People want readily-accessible food with lots of flavours from around the globe, but they also want dietary restrictions. These are some of the biggest challenges which Savoury City aims to resolve when we creatively build out our menus.

KEEPING IT FRESH, YEAR AFTER YEAR

Like every business, revitalization is core to improving our offerings. For me, this takes shape when I travel. I’ve been to India, Thailand, Laos, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, France, Italy, and most recently, Germany and Denmark. I’ve even spent three years in the Arctic (if that counts!).

Keeping it fresh for me, means getting to travel the globe, go to restaurants, sample food, read magazines and search online, all to be in a constant state of “search” for new inspiration. I look for the fun things and try to see the excitement in the search, thinking, “How can this be adapted for the catering world?”.

WARM FUZZIES

The best part of this job year-over-year, I have to say, is the warm fuzzies you get from doing work that surpasses client expectations. And if I’m honest, feeling part of the family when clients have invited Savoury City back into their offices and the circle of life of their families: from baby showers to weddings to memorials. This career has given me many opportunities to impress clients with my passion for bringing people together over great food and I couldn’t have asked for a more rewarding twenty years.