Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Ward.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Cooking has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I spent many hours in the kitchen with various family members, even on my own creating whimsical dishes as I got older. Cooking is my happy place and it became the dream career. I went to culinary school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. I cooked my way through hotels, entertainment venues, private clubs, catering companies and corporate kitchens. Each one taught me more and more about what and where I wanted to be as a chef, and then Harvest to Home was born.
It was really a huge shift in gears starting my private chef business after all my years in the industry. It was a life saver and changer though. It was breaking free from the toxic kitchen atmosphere and setting boundaries and expectations that I need to be successful as a person and a business owner and I wouldn’t change a single things I did to get here! I love what I do and the direction it’s taken me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road.
5 years before starting Harvest, I made the decision to move to a more traditional 9-5 kitchen job working for a corporate kitchen. I was looking for balance, and looking to grow more into a managerial position, which was not available at the club I was at, at the time. It was a great change, though, it apparently was not the direction I needed to take.
The decision to start Harvest to Home was based of a health reason. At 37, I felt like I was having a heart attack, when in reality it was a stress induced anxiety attack. I always thought I could handle anything that was thrown at me, no matter the circumstances.
This situation showed me pretty quick that I’m definitely more human than robot and I needed to be very certain on how I worked the business so as to not fall into that same situation again. It’s still come with struggles, and that’s to b expected. You’re in constant shift, navigating the ebbs and flows of business ownership. All that said, I wouldn’t change the struggles I’ve encountered and the long hours, to go back to a kitchen and not have any responsibility other than to just show up for my shift.
The whole experience, the good and the bad, has been 100% worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a personal or private chef, however you want to label it. I specialize in micro event catering for events such as weddings, retreats, corporate dinners and other private events. I lean towards North American cuisine with an emphasis on high quality, seasonally available ingredients. I love showcasing local farms when the market season is really hot and then leaning into alternative sources when the seasons are cooler and really bring forth the bounty that’s available that people might not think of.
I’m all about telling a story through a dinner. I love to really get to know my clients on a personal level so that their custom menu is truly fitting to them and their personalities. Food is a very personal experience and should be treated as such, not just something you pick off the same menu as 1000’s of others. it should be just as unique as you are. I’m proud of the fact the our clients get super intimate with us so we can tell an amazing story through their dinners, whatever the celebration is.
From the first email, to the last bite, the whole experience is meant to be warm, friendly and inviting. I want my clients to feel like they’ve added a new friend or family to the circle. Food is not only a very personal experience, it’s also an intimate one. You can’t have a exceptional meal if there it isn’t coming from a place of love and trust.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I don’t know honestly! haha! I know that I’m adding an e-comm side to Harvest to Home to reach more people. A way of continuing the experience long after we leave for the evening. Everything from digital products, to our own spice blends, various mixes, to textile kitchen related products. There is a big picture, though I’m keeping a lot of it hush hush!
I do feel a pull to eventually transition away from weddings and elopements and into more retreats (the shift is already happening actually), however, I’m trying to lean more into the flow of things naturally than have a definitive plan. I want this to be more of a natural and organic movement in the business than one that is set on concrete plans.
Everyone knows even the best laid plans can change without a seconds notice.
Pricing:
- Base investment for services is $1200 for 2024
Contact Info:
- Website: www.harvesttohomepcs.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/harvesttohomepcs
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/harvesttohomepcs
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/Harvesttohomepcsco/
Image Credits
Rose Groves @matlai_photography Steph Maka @hennessyphotoco
