Tasteful Occasions Custom Catering & Event Planning
Imagine eating the same food that the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals opponents ate on game day. Believe it or not, you can! What's even more surprising may be that you can find the kitchen in New Freedom.
Tasteful Occasions is run by husband & wife duo Kim and Rafael Hernandez. They had always worked in the food industry (it's what got Kim through college) but when Raf had the opportunity to cater for the O's, they both quit their jobs and took a major league leap of faith. It was a gamble because, at the time, they only had one client and two young kids. While catering for a major league baseball team sounds lucrative, it was only for home games, and only for 20-40 people at a time. So, they had to hustle to grow their clientele.
Their delicious food did their advertising for them to the point where today, their business comes mostly from word of mouth. Your mouth is exactly where you want to put their food! Their business grew to the point where they actually had to scale back in their catering for the O's and The Nats.
Part of their success is the diverse offerings they provide. They cater celebrations of all sizes including birthdays, retirements, bridal and baby showers, funerals, and even several Keller-Brown lunch-n-learn team meetings. Their reputation for catering weddings has carved out quite a niche. They play a part in making the perfect wedding for 80 - 100 newlyweds a year.
While their job may sound like a lot of fun, put yourselves in their shoes for a minute: They're in the wedding business...and food service industry...during a pandemic.
Adapting During COVID-19
When the lock down happened, they worked with all of their brides, grooms, and venues to reschedule postponed weddings. It's been a lot of hard work, but knowing they will still be a part of the happiest day of peoples' lives has been fulfilling.
Despite delayed weddings, Tasteful Occasions has been creative and resourceful, finding new ways to stay busy. Kim applied for Paycheck Protection Program funds which enabled them to keep their core kitchen staff employed. They also started offering take out tacos & barbeque twice a week from their location in New Freedom.
If anything good has come out of COVID-19, it's their new offering of "Family Packs & Party Packs" which they created to help families with weekly food planning. They make enough that your clan will certainly enjoy leftovers. Several Keller-Brown teammates can attest to these creations. After a hard week of insurance work, Tasteful Occasion's Friday family feasts were just what they needed to relax and kick off the weekend.
You can check out their menu items, as well as their delivery options online and on their facebook page.
Tasteful Occasions is also partnering with Rose Fire Company No. 1 in their Food Truck Friday (the 3rd Friday of every month) and will continue as long as the Fire Company hosts the event.
Even with all of their new offerings, they're looking forward to weddings and are happy to be busy with July bookings. They've invested a lot of time and money in making sure they can offer food safely; adding gloves, masks, covered buffets, thermometers, etc. into their operations.
We think you'll agree that Tasteful Occasions is a busy operation with their attention fully devoted to their business. When do they have time to focus on their insurance? Kim says, "The annual reviews with and recommendations from Keller-Brown give me complete faith that my insurance is in the right hands and with professionals I trust completely. Any time we have a question, claim, or other need, the response I receive from Erin Gladfelter, Angela Zingone, and the rest of the team is incredibly fast. I typically receive certificates within the hour. We've needed auto ID cards in time-sensitive or stressful situations, and received them almost immediately. The trust I have in Keller-Brown lets me focus on running my business."
When asked for any final thoughts, Kim shared, "Let's get rid of COVID! We're looking forward to getting back to catering large events & weddings, and seeing people laugh and smile together."
We couldn't agree, more, Kim!
Learn More
Here's how you can learn more about Tasteful Occasions:
Web: https://www.eventsbytoc.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TastefulOccasions/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastefuloccasionscatering/
Phone: 443-677-6969
Pick up and Food Truck Friday Location:
150 East Main Street, New Freedom PA 17349