France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Thailand - each trip is a working vacation for Ciaņ Thyme owners Jessica and Mataio Gillis, who bring back new ideas for their catering business.
Part of their success, Jessica said, is the lessons they learn from travel "so that we have a repertoire that is ever-changing and always growing."
Because catering is seasonal, the couple can take advantage of their down time after the holidays and in the late fall.
| CIAO THYME |
Owners: Jessica and Mataio Gillis.
What they do: Catering.
Beginnings: July 2001.
Location: Bellingham.
Phone: 733-1267.
Web site: www.ciaothyme.com. |
During the summer, Ciaņ Thyme chefs scour the Bellingham Farmers Market, buying for events that day.
"It's not stuff that's being picked and put in cold storage," Jessica, 28, said. Farmers "can pick it when it's ripe and it tastes much better."
Last year, Ciaņ Thyme catered "Feast in the Field," a fund raiser for the Depot Square Market.
Choosing Ciaņ Thyme "just seemed like an awfully logical decision," said Robin Crowder, market manager for Bellingham Farmers Market. "They just know how to feature local produce. ... They have a really great collaborative relationship with the farmers."
It's a strategy that reflects the couple's European philosophy about food - shopping for seasonal, fresh food everyday, keeping their money local and selecting the produce from individual farmers or vendors rather than off one commercial truck.
A typical event, Mataio said, may require 22 separate vendors.
Each menu is individual to the client and the season, Mataio, 32, said. He estimates that Ciaņ Thyme has written roughly 400 personalized menus.
The food is cooked on site so it doesn't need to be reheated or warmed while waiting for the event.
"It's not the easy way to do it, but we're also really proud of what we do," Jessica said.
The Gillises decided to open a catering business in 2001 after returning from their honeymoon in Europe and time spent volunteering on a guest farm program.
The couple started with a few pieces of equipment, a van and a kitchen rented by the hour. They began to invest in more equipment and, in April 2002, moved into a permanent space in downtown Bellingham.
The company has grown to four full-time employees and 25 on-call staff.
Advertising was solely word-of-mouth.
"Your company is only as good as the last event you did," Mataio said, since he is cooking for dozens of potential new clients at each event.
Last year, Ciaņ Thyme catered nearly 100 events, but the Gillises, who want to keep their family business small, prefer to do only 40 to 60 events a year.
Maintaining their philosophy on fresh food and providing a living wage to their employees does cost more, Jessica said, although pricing depends on the menu, drinks, rentals and labor.
"It's a very unique way of doing catering," said Christine Emerson, executive director of the International Caterers Association, based in Washington, D.C. "Not everyone has the luxury of driving around to all the local producers, obviously that's very expensive to do."
Patti Ennen hired the caterers for her son's wedding last summer and now attends Mataio's private cooking classes with 12 friends.
Each dinner lesson is based on a country and its cuisine - a result of the Gillises' travels.
"That's what makes them exciting," Ennen said. "They try things that are new to them, too."
