104 | Queenstown Catering T T Kim Bowden Sustainable catering a hit with clients The business caters for more than 200 events a year. BUSINESS Queenstown Catering is discovering that focusing more on sustainability is not just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do. The catering company, formerly called In2Food, is led by a team of owner-operators, all passionate foodies based in the southern tourism hotspot. They are prioritising locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, and increasingly serving up food without a disposable plate or piece of cutlery in sight. Corporate sales and catering manager Andy Thompson says their clients are loving the change. “We’ve got rid of bamboo cutlery and things like that, and we’re using cake forks and small plates and things that can be washed and reused on multiple events. “It’s slightly easier to eat with, and if you’ve ever had that bamboo cutlery, it’s actually a really awful taste when you have it in your mouth.” He says the company works with suppliers to remove packaging where possible. “For example, we use a local coffee supplier, Ryder, where we get bulk containers of filter coffee dropped off from across the road, rather than buying in all those little individual sachets like we used to. “It just feels better, when you’re not throwing all those little packets in the bin.” Food waste is also being kept out of landfill. During event clean-up, it is separated out and delivered to Queenstown composting legend Michael Sly to be repurposed rather than dumped. Some of the changes have increased workloads, and additional costs associated with them are, for the most part, still being absorbed by the business. “But the team is all on board with it,” Andy says. A few years back, during the Covid-19 pandemic when things were looking particularly grim for Queenstown tourism and hospitality operators, eight now shareholders of Queenstown Catering took a leap of faith. “We did a full buyout of the original two shareholders,” Andy says. “It was literally, us, the people working in the business that saw the opportunity that it would still work, not knowing what was actually going to happen. It is one of those success stories from Covid.” There is now rising consumer demand for eco-conscious services like those provided by Queenstown Catering. Andy reckons going greener isn’t just good for the planet, it will attract more clients, too. He says a bulk of their business comes from offshore markets, Australia in particular, where there is increasing requirement to tick sustainability boxes. The business caters for more than 200 events a year, and the team scales from 20 full-time staff to 50 to 60 during its peak summer season, when three gigs a day is not uncommon. The team gets creative with how they serve up dishes, providing clients with options including canapes, three-course dinners, share platters, food truck-inspired stalls, and ‘walk ‘n fork’. “The ‘walk ‘n fork’ could be for a networking-style event,” Andy says. “So, it’s a great opportunity to be able to talk while we walk the food around to them.” Wedding & Event Table linen & Chair cover hire (National Wide) Accomodation Linen hire & Customer owned linen servicing (Southern Lakes District & Central Otago) Household linens, Curtains & Garment Cleaning (Cromwell & Wanaka) Repairs & Alternations, Yarns & Haberdashery (Cromwell & Wanaka) EVENT RENTAL SERVICES www.pacificlinen.co.nz Choose the Perfect Marquee Size for your event. Your Trusted Wedding, Party, and Event Specialists in Wanaka and Central Otago. 03 443 8966 | info@wanakapartyhire.co.nz wanakapartyhire.co.nz Emily Adamson Photography Williams Photography Torches Together hello@sophieroseannacakes.com www.sophieroseannacakes.com Artful, elegant cakes crafted uniquely for you. Made to stand out from the crowd & to taste even better.
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