We recently connected with Vaughn Owens and have shared our conversation below.

Vaughn, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I came up with Saguaro Queen Catering over the past few years while working in various restaurants. I found myself in a position where I knew what I was capable of so, I decided to branch away from the restaurant industry and go on my own. The name for my company actually came from a specific Saguaro cactus that I came across years back while off roading near Reymert Mine.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi, my name is Vaughn Owens and I’m the Owner and Chef of Saguaro Queen Catering. I’ve been working in the food and beverage industry for nearly 15 years.

I got my start in the industry through my first Chef and mentor, Nancy Hushek as well as the non profit organization C-CAP (Careers through the Culinary Arts Program). Through them, I worked at my first restaurant ,Cartwright’s Sonoran Ranch House, and competed in C-CAP’s cooking competition where I was awarded a full- tuition bachelor’s scholorship to the Culinary Institute of America.

While attending, I worked in various restaurants, and post graduation I made my way back to my home state of AZ. There I would work outside of restauants to learn more about the food and beverage industry. First as a coffee roaster, then teaching cooking classes until the COVID-19 pandemic. Post pandemic I returned to restaurant life, working for various properties all over the valley with scopes that ranged from fine dining, high volume, and even a sandwhich shop. I finally decided to go on my own in October of 2024 bringing with me all of the knowledge I had gained.

I built the Saguaro Queen Catering brand on the core value of making people feel like royalty. I want to give people something that isn’t just food, but a full experience, not just as a service but as a form of hospitality. My goal is to help clients, their guests, and their families, feel like the kings and queens that they are.

Currently, I offer in home private chef services, cooking classes, and traditional catering all from daily meals to special occations.

I also pride myself on working closely with clients who have dietary restrictions or allergies. My household is filled with people who have various food allergies and dietary restrictions, so I know first hand how daunting cooking around that can be. I want to make sure that everyone can enjoy food regardless of restrictions.

I want readers to know that no request is too big or small. I want to make you feel like royalty even if its just for one day.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I had to unlearn or better yet, reframe, was how to communicate. Most of my career has been spent in restaurants which has molded my communication to be quite direct and blunt. I found this would come off as cold and transactional. Sometimes that can be very benefitial with certain clients, but I’ve found that when I talk to clients like we’re old friends, or even family, it builds more of a lasting connection. Its helped me retain some of my earliest clients.

A former mentor of mine, Shawn Haynes once told me that I reminded him of a kitchen mom. At times being stern and blunt is necessary, but when I talk to people like a loved one it builds trust. He said that the reason I was able to build a successful team was because I showed them I genuinely care, which isn’t always easy in our industry.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Like I’ve said before I grew up in restaurants. Its been the life blood of my career and has taught me everything about the core values of working with food. But I found myself being asked to occationally cook for friends of friends, family member, and the like. Every time I was cooking outside of restaurants it felt reinvigorating, like I was reconnecting food with my soul. I was able to witness first hand how a plate of food can make someone feel. The more I did side gigs, the more I came to realize that it was what I not only wanted but what I needed to do. Make food that filled my soul, so it could fill other’s too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saguaroqueencatering.com
• Instagram: saguaroqueencatering