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Inspiring Conversations with Dee Johnston of Tasteful Gatherings Catering

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dee Johnston

Hi Dee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Tasteful Gatherings began as a concept when I worked for a local country club. I was in charge of all aspects of events as well as managing the dining and bar areas. During rare downtime I would dream about starting a catering business and began thinking about what should be offered.

I eventually decided to go for it, and in 2013 our Tasteful Gatherings catering business was born. We started from very humble beginnings, a very small client base and limited finances, but our team had a big dream that would drive us toward success!

We began offering weekly meals and delivering them to local clients and families. Then, we expanded and began catering for business events and weddings. That’s when we knew we had hit our stride and had found what we were most passionate about – creating delicious meals and designing amazing events.

For our family of chefs and staff, building a relationship with our clients helps us to be innovative with the creative process and designing menus. Personalizing menus is a key component of our style of service. Having our client’s needs and wishes in mind is really like seeing them as a special ingredient – that detail which makes the meal like no other!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The first few years were some of the most challenging years of my life! I had a vision and passion but making ends meet in the food industry was incredibly difficult. At first, we had to sub rent all of our dishes and linens, which was very draining on our funds, and then my husband bought us our first set of dishes for a 200 person event. That’s when things started to turn around! I rented a warehouse and started buying linens, tables, chairs and more dishes so eventually we wouldn’t need to rent from other companies. Not long after this COVID hit and we were shut down for about 9 months. We took this time to evaluate our business and streamline all of our debt. We purchased a 4000 square foot building and did some renovations to the small kitchen that was already there so now we have a wonderful commercial kitchen and warehouse all in one space. This change has opened up many new and exciting opportunities for the future of Tasteful Gatherings!

As you know, we’re big fans of Tasteful Gatherings Catering. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a full service catering and event rental business. We specialize in weddings and lifetime events. What sets us apart from the competition is our attention to detail and that we actually have really delicious and beautiful catered food. We often hear that most wedding food isn’t good food but ours is and we are so proud of that. We also offer several options for linens and dinnerware so we can custom design a table for our clients. Along with rentals, we offer bartending as part of our catering packages. Our goal is to take as much stress off our clients as possible so they can truly enjoy their day.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I feel that I am a moderate risk taker. I believe if an opportunity comes our way that we go toward it and if the doors keep opening then keep walking through them. You will never know until you try. If it doesn’t work out then you stop and try something different. It sounds simple but it can be scary when you have a lot at stake.

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