The Beginnings of Hausfrau Catering

In 2017 I started bringing recipes from my Oma and our European travels to a local German brewery. The venue budget was low, our equipment subpar, and fresh local ingredients didn’t exactly shine on a paper plate. There was no kitchen and we were required to cook at the very back on the loading dock with the door open. As the blustery PA winter winds blew, it was hard to keep the flames from going out, the food hot, and the breakers from blowing. We hustled plates to guests in the front while jumping over hoses and dodging leaky overhead pipes in the back, but the ethnic and cultural connections with community made it all worthwhile. A new vineyard opened in the area and we were right at home outside under a tent in the rain and snow, schlepping vehicles full of gear to set up a mobile fine dining restaurant on a deck.

Why I Love It

It wasn’t glorious, but smiles animating the entire countenance of people who tasted my food that brought them back to their childhood or duty stations in Germany reward me with such delight! Serving plated meals with real ingredients, properly prepared in time-honored methods, where flavors dance on tastebuds in unexpected ways just makes my heart sing.  I connect to my roots, feel alive, and that I have found my calling! Whether partying with guests after an event or seeking out our own gemütlichkeit in biergartens here and abroad, the memory of my grandparents singing arm-in-arm to their bier-drinking records with steins raised, while surrounded by family and friends, lives on each time I recreate that for others. Happiness, acceptance, love, and family are truly found around the table!

The Wurst Kitchens:  Less than Ideal

My team has been adapting and overcoming in quirky kitchens all over the tri-state region. Many sought after and expensive wedding venues have a dedicated “catering area.” Do you know what that is? A gravel or mulch spot under a pop-up tent, sometimes even with a hose and potable water (but not always!). Or we bring our own popups, tables, and set up in a grassy corner. Electrical hookup is a luxury at that point. Brides believe the illusion that “caterers bring it hot” and then wonder why a steak or schnitzel cooked six or more hours ago, transported, and held/reheated in a chafing dish is…terrible (Hence why I love serving braised dishes when a venue doesn't have a kitchen or insist on frying schnitzel to order).  Even venues that tell us they have a “full kitchen” often only have a break room with a microwave or a wonky residential range in a corner room. Others just offer a warming cabinet that reaches 160 degrees…in 3 days! 😆  And that's just at the venue.  More on the challenges of our prep location options later...

Our entrepreneurial spirit could not be broken despite various setbacks -- including Covid Times -- which cancelled, postponed, or drastically reduced headcounts of events! I built a solid infrastructure on my own (wow, that had a steep learning curve). I slowly collected a network of local produce and meat vendors, amazing staff with the flexibility to help, and work-arounds to venues not having kitchens. My time working in the Front of House and Back of House of restaurants over the years, while learning from some truly talented people, started to pay off. I was humbled and honored, overcoming mistakes, and growing overall. I am proud to put together a collaborative team where people are respected in an industry that notoriously treats people poorly.

Success!

Over the years our small family catering business grew from camp-style kitchens to full bartending services, passing apps on china platters, coordinating rentals, and directing crews of twenty or so people to pull off flawless high-end MD, DE, VA, PA and DC weddings and events. I have curated wine pairing dinners with dishes from all over the world. We have done Oktoberfests, German-themed baby showers, birthday parties, and weddings. Harry Potter Themed Vegan Wedding with bulgogi bowls? I feel like we have done that one twice, haha.

I could not do what I do without the support of my husband who believes in me eternally, my three tremendously talented children who were in the trenches and crazy scenarios working harder than most adults I know (those stories alone could fill a book!), mentors, and chef friends that helped me along the way. Family and friends have told me for years to get a food truck, a restaurant, just build a kitchen and it will come. So I am currently building my Commercial Kitchen Trailer for Catering with Complete Concessions in Mount Joy, PA, believing in full faith that all the support you have offered and promised in the past will continue to bless me in my newest endeavor! 

How did I decide to build a trailer?

I’m just as surprised as you are! After months of dedicated soul and kitchen searching, it seems that owning my own Commercial Kitchen Trailer for Catering is the best option. Per usual, Covid changed the nature of things, shutting down some local, state-inspected spaces (many still have not reopened) that were open for rental such as fire halls, churches, VFWs, etc. Community Centers with commercial kitchens often host events that conflict with my scheduling needs, such as Bingo or a Soup Kitchen on weekends. The available ones are cost prohibitive at $750 for 3 days’ use, 1.5 days being just cold storage overnight. Some are $350/day. Adequate cold storage space is an issue for many places, no room for my 30 full-sized hotel pans, beverages, etc.

As I looked at kitchens to purchase or rent, and there was always something that just didn’t make sense. Shared Kitchens for food trucks and caterers are an hour away and already have tight schedules to get in, with many members while allowing only two businesses in to cook at a time. Converting my garage or building a pole barn as an inspected commercial kitchen on our property has its pros and cons, per the contractor we consulted. I don’t have 3k per month for rent or 250k to purchase a commercial real estate location subject to various zoning and township regulations and inspections. Not to mention renting a mobile commercial kitchen trailer with a national chain is NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS a month, 112k to buy….if they have one available.

In short, nothing was fast, clean, easy, inexpensive, nearby, and functional. I was lucky if we could pick two of those descriptors. We even looked at buying or leasing a shared space with two other parties to create our own co-op space and that fell through. Most needed 20k of work and hours of elbow grease just to see if the space “might” pass inspection. I’m not opposed to hard work, but I am not interested in throwing money in a well. I can’t take such a big risk with property owners who can’t give straight answers.

“It’s Not a Food Truck”🤣

I previously mentioned that many people have encouraged me to “just get a food truck” over the years. I immediately objected for several reasons. Many in the industry spend time and money just keeping the diesel engine of a food truck running so they have working equipment that can get to events, taking away valuable time from planning and executing those events. I no longer have a pickup truck for towing nor do I have trailer towing skills. I didn’t want to work in a tiny, loud (generators!), hot box full of fryers, slinging funnel cakes on paper out of a window. Most food trucks are equipped with several fryers and griddle space for quick service foods, when I need double decker French door convection ovens and prep space. I do love to interact with guests and curate an entire experience from guided pairings to bar and decor with china platters, wood charcuterie grazing displays, and elegant platings. I felt becoming a food truck operator would limit me and was just not my style.

So, thinking a bit outside of the (hot, cramped, loud) box…I’m getting a trailer custom built with the equipment I need for catering! The trailer is 8.5’ wide by 22’ long with an 8’ interior height. It is clean, spacious, washable, and bright. It comes plumbed with three bay and handwashing sinks, an 8’ wide hood with exhaust, propane, commercial electric, and cold storage. All the equipment is new and maintains proper hot and cold temperatures. It is built up to code and easy to inspect with PA Food & Ag. It can be towed by friends, but for now will likely be kept at a local event venue so I have a short commute. There is room to prep and store all of my catering chafing dishes, linens, china, hot boxes, and misc. clutter. I’m so excited that there is even a window for daylight (many kitchens just have garish fluorescent lighting, which is depressing for me as a solar-powered --- and bier-powered --- human)!

These aren't exact photos of the trailer because it hasn't been built yet, but they will give you an idea!  I will post more as the build progresses.

Your donations literally make my dreams come true!  You are blessing my family by supporting this local small business.  You are giving me the tools to do my job properly and well, the freedom to be who I truly am, with a flexible schedule and a work/life balance.  I can work for myself and still have time for important family events and travel!  No more sharing crowded spaces with scheduling conflicts.  No more dysfunctional equipment and long commutes!  

Danke schön for believing in me over the years!  For every purchase of a chicken salad waffle cone drizzled with balsamic and a side of caprese to parties full of bratwurst, jägerschnitzel, kartoffelsalat, and apfelstrudel:  thank you from the bottom of my heart.  

Please share with any generous souls who want to keep quality haus-made German food and culture alive! 🍻