Meet Aunty Cathy’s Catering. A catering business that started out as a homemade Pot Pie business as pot pies are one of Aunty Cathy’s specialties. The brand now provides full service catering with a range of cuisines from local to international. “We also cater events, meeting, weddings and more! We provide full service catering including warming pans, plates, glasses, cutlery, servers, clean up and more.”

The brand was inspired by owner Zack’s mother, Aunty Cathy. “She used to bake and sell her pies to friends and friends of friends. She called her business “By Word of Mouth” because that is how she got her customers.” Zack and his partner, Lisa Marie now do this full time. “Yes this is a full-time job for my partner and I. I’m the chef and she does the sales and marketing.”

As for the inspiration for the business, Zack says it happened when his Mom retired. “When my mum decided to retire I took on the business as I was in-between jobs in restaurant and bar management. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, and I knew the recipes for the pies and I thought why not give it a shot?”

Zack then started selling his pies at the various markets and got a positive response. “I started off selling the pies at Upmarket and food fairs. Soon I was slowly building up a clientele. In between I was asked to do a few catering jobs, which I found quite enjoyable. By November 2017, we opened our retail fast food outlet in Freeport. A year later, November 2018, my Mum was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. We decided to close the shop around Christmas time – she passed away in early January 2019.”

“I went back to working as a restaurant manager – while also juggling the pie sales and catering jobs where I could fit them in. Six months later, I decided to go full-time into the pot pies and catering – this time we would not have the shop but be producing pies and offering catering services. Lisa-Marie also made the decision to leave her job in hospitality to focus on our catering business full-time.” Zack believes that customer service, attention to detail and a reasonable price point all make his brand stand out.

When it comes to lessons learned as an entrepreneur for Zack it’s all about the ups and downs. “If there’s one thing I’ve learnt is that progress, growth, expansion; whatever you want to call it is not smooth. It’s a gradual incline. It’s a jagged, pitfall ridden, anxiety inducing, thrilling, worry-some rollercoaster but it’s one that is always increasing in height.” Zack also has advice for his fellow entrepreneurs. “Expect that jagged journey but don’t get discouraged. There will be times when you’ll want to pack it in. Learn, adapt, adjust but stick with it.”

Check out Aunty Cathy’s Catering especially for one of those yummy pot pies. Order from them directly for delivery to your home. We’ve had one … or three and they’re yummylicious!