We were lucky to catch up with Josh Raymond recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Dating back to the mid/late 90’s, there have been a few things that have always been important in my life. Animal Rights, cooking and sharing that food with people, working hard and having a good work/life balance. From the time I was 16 and throughout my 20’s I worked hard helping others grow their businesses. While at time the work was fruitful and enjoyable it was never rewarding to my soul. In 2011 after a run in with a car while riding my bicycle and a couple broken ribs later, I really started to think about a change in my career path. A friend of mine had done some catering and knew about my passion for both veganism and cooking and offered to help me combine the two. I previously thought about opening either a restaurant or yet another food cart in Portland but really cared more about a healthy work/life balance. While at times catering weddings is filled with long and hard days it also allows for an offseason and even some downtown during the peak season to enjoy the rest of the things you care about.

Growing up my dad was the cook in the house and I distinctly remember going on very early weekend food shopping runs and helping prepare meals. The next part that always stuck with me was that holiday and other family gatherings were often held at our home. When I later had my own house, I too would always host and cook for a group of people. In 1998 when I went vegan my dad and I would take old family recipes and convert them. To this day that style of cooking and even some of those recipes live on in my catering business.

At the time when I started this business my main goal was to provide a compassionate alternative to the traditional wedding fare. I wanted the food to be both inviting and thought provoking to everyone in attendance. I’ve found if you create good food for people and put care into creating it, there’s not only an opportunity to celebrate the occasion but do so in a way that’s not harming others.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Some of this was answered in my first response so let’s talk more about the company and the services we offer. We are, at least what we could consider a full service catering company specializing in all vegan homestyle comfort food. Over the last 14 years we have catered events of all shapes and sizes and even provided a weekly meal service and private chef services for a number of years. Nowadays our main focus is weddings & other large events. The two most important components of this business are customer service and good food. We often hear from clients and other vendors that while you think these two things would be easy to come by, they actually are a rarity in this business.

From the very beginning of the process with our customers we strive to help them navigate the process of hosting a wedding, party or other event with all of the experience we have gathered over the years. We utilize emails, phone consultations and menu tastings as part of the booking process to help our clients understand not only the services we will provide but also what they should expect with other vendors as well.

We never have and never will compromise on providing a fully vegan meal. This separates us from the majority of catering businesses out there of course. Coupling that with our customer service, menu customization and overall care we put into each and every event sets us apart. We are also a great fit for anyone looking for a catered event for a variety of allergies.

Any advice for managing a team?

One of the most rewarding things about the business and I remember the very first time I did it, was paying someone else for working based on an idea that I started with. What I have found works best for managing a team and maintaining high morale is proving yourself to your people. Anyone can tell other people what to do, however the person in charge should not only be able to do all the tasks the business requires but also not put themselves above that work. The word team is often lost in the work place. With catering, the work is certainly not traditional, outside of me, my crew does not sit in an office at all. We spend our time in the kitchen, on the road and at the events (and of course the post event milkshake stops never hurt). While a task needs to be to completed and done well, I also strive to make the work as enjoyable as possible. It’s also important to balance out your team’s strengths and weaknesses with your own.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

It’s no secret that owning vegan catering business fits a niche cliental. Due to the name, a simple google search (this actually was not on purpose) sends people directly to us. A simple concise name is important in this day and age. I have actually never advertised in 14 years owning this business, maybe that would be important if you wanted to have exponential growth but for my goals word of mouth, reviews, the website and social media have been the best source of new clients. We often hear, “my friend told me about you” or “that they attending a wedding we catered once and they’ve been waiting for the day they also could hire us”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.TheVeganCaterer.com
• Instagram: @thevegancaterer
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-vegan-caterer-portland?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)