Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Kladder.
Hi Jake, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started cooking during high school and something just kind of clicked. I loved working in a kitchen and transforming ingredients into something that people could enjoy. After moving to Nashville in 2012, I managed the kitchen for a sushi restaurant before becoming the kitchen manager for a caterer in Franklin.
This introduced me to the world of catering and I loved that it was a much more intimate experience being able to work and connect directly with guests. After almost 6 years of working for that catering company, I started to dream about creating my own company. Like so many others, 2020 created unexpected challenges and opportunities for me.
The company I was working for closed its doors at the end of 2020, and that gave me the push I needed to take the leap and create Kladder Catering. My wife Larissa was very supportive of this dream and we created this business together. She also happens to be a CPA, so she handles the business side of things, allowing me to focus on my passion: the food!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Kladder Catering started in January 2021 and it has been surprisingly smooth; our first year of business exceeded our expectations. We have an amazing network of friends who have been incredibly supportive by helping to spread the word and it has been so rad to watch our client base grow.
We love hearing from new customers that we were recommended to them by a friend, co-worker, family member, etc. We’ve amassed an awesome group of repeat clients that help to keep us busy. One struggle along the way has been our capacity to cater to larger parties. We are intentionally a small family operation of just myself and my wife, which allows us to provide a very personal experience for each customer.
However, it also means that we, unfortunately, have to turn away many inquiries for larger gatherings, weddings, etc. As we grow, we look forward to being able to increase our capacity and branch out to new opportunities, but what we currently do best is plated meals for around 12 and heavy hors d’oeuvres or buffets for groups of up to 30.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As I said, we are a small family business, so we are able to provide a personalized experience for each customer. Clients who reach out will interact directly with the 2 of us to create a menu and bring their vision for their event to life. We focus on private, in-home events and take care of the food & clean-up so our clients can enjoy time with their loved ones and guests.
One of the things we enjoy most about in-home events is being able to talk to our clients while we’re preparing the meal. I love answering their culinary questions and talking about all things food. I wouldn’t say I have a specialty; I was exposed to countless cuisines and service styles at my previous job before going out on my own, and I pride myself on being able to execute a wide variety of parties as casual or upscale as our customers want.
When the weather is nicer, we love taking care of the food for backyard hangouts, whether it be pancakes or smash burgers on our flattop or pizzas in our portable pizza oven. Some recent favorites for more upscale plated dinners have been red wine braised beef short ribs, herbed panko-crusted chicken breast with mushroom leek dijon cream, and white wine braised pork shank ragu.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Serious Eats is great for recipe inspiration – I love how they get into the science and the “why” behind different cooking techniques.
I think everyone on the planet should read Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat – it gives you such a great understanding of how those 4 elements can make or break every dish you make or eat. I use AnyList to organize my recipes and shopping lists.
Both Reddit and Instagram are great for inspiration, but nothing beats traveling and going out to eat in new cities and restaurants.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kladdercatering?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KladderCatering/
