May 8, 2017

Meet Kelly Griffin of Kate’s Table in Hingham

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Griffin.

Kelly, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began my professional career in Television Production + Advertising and segued into Corporate Event Planning. I joined the team at ACKtivities in Nantucket for several summer seasons producing the Nantucket Wine Festival, Nantucket Film Festival along with many other charitable galas + high-end weddings. After getting married and moving back to the South End I became the Director of Events at Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy where we took over the Grand Ballroom + Pavilion Tent which had previously been exclusive to an outside catering company. My sister Kate started her cooking career at the Club Car in Nantucket and continued at Icarus, Truc and B&G Oysters (all in the south end). When pregnant with her first child, the long shifts on “the line” at these busy restaurants were too much for her and made the move into catering. She worked for La Fete Catering based in Natick for several years and truly fell in love with ever-changing, event-specific catering world.

We had both dreamed of one day opening our own catering company – something different than the standard fare. We would call upon my background in aesthetics + design (advertising) as well as my event planning experience and Kate’s incredible talent + palette in the kitchen. Finally in late 2012, a unique space became available in center of Hingham Square and we jumped on it. It took roughly 8 months to build-out the raw space into what is now our commercial kitchen + office space.

Both Kate and I currently live in Hingham with our respective families and enjoy being a part of this coastal community and getting involved with many local charities + schools.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Just about every book or article published on starting a business warns against going into business with family – strongly 🙂 And I’d be lying if I said there weren’t a few bumps in the road, especially in the beginning. But it’s because we come from a very warm, loving, healthy family that we have been able to push through any trying and difficult times and come out on the other side stronger + better for it.

There isn’t a week that goes by that we don’t say to each other, I wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else but you.

We come from a long line of entrepreneurs + hyper-creative professionals. We often joke that it’s too bad there is no one in our entire extended family that could do your taxes or fix your car – instead they own their own advertising agency, run their own record label, plan high-profile academy awards parties, design clothes or shoot documentaries.

Needless to say we have had a lot of help + guidance from our incredibly talented, creative + self-starter family.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Kate’s Table – what should we know?
Kate’s Table is a boutique catering company intent on shattering the status quo. What sets us apart comes down to three key points: Creative Dishes featuring Fresh + Local Ingredients; Stunning + Stylish Presentation; Attentive, Warm, Friendly and Superior Professional Service.

We focus on creating menus that feature hyper-local produce + meats, thanks to our Sous Chef, Tina Conte who runs her own organic farm + garden. She carefully plans + designs her garden in order to harvest produce, herbs, flowers + honey according to specific events + weddings for the upcoming summer + fall seasons. We prepare all of our dishes fresh and never mass-produce appetizers and freeze them for some future date. As simple a concept as this sounds, most caterers do not prepare food this way due to cost. By virtue of our chefs coming from a fine-dining background, our dishes are artfully + thoughtfully designed and then plated a la minute ensuring a stunning, hot + perfectly cooked plate is presented to each guest. We don’t believe in menu packages as each event is unique and special and the menu should reflect this.

We also really enjoy turning some favorite dishes and miniaturizing them for creative + fun passed hors d’hoeuvres such as chicken + waffles. Because of this, I would say that we really enjoy Cocktail Party formatted events but we specialize in crafting menus for foodies and for those that consider the menu for the evening a priority and not just a necessity.

The old adage “You eat with your eyes first” carries ALOT of weight with us. We are constantly designing new + interesting “vessels” for service. When the guest’s heads are turning and their eyes are wide with intrigue at each passing tray of mini baja fish tacos next to spicy pineapple-habanero margarita sippers or a roaming raw bar in a hawker stray strapped to the server a la the old-time cigarette girls, we know we got it right. The experiential component is key to setting us apart from the standard fare offered at so many events. As a former bartender, I am always trying to pair miniature cocktails with our passed hors d’oeuvres 🙂

And the third aspect of Kate’s Table that sets us apart and the one that I am both proud of and humbled by is the incredibly warm, thoughtful, caring + thoroughly professional staff that works with us. Each and every server, bartender, chef + steward takes such pride in their work as if this were their own company. I can’t tell how many times I’ve seen hugs goodbye at the end of the evening with the hosts (and guests sometimes!). It’s a testament to how much each event and the people involved mean to our staff and how much they take to heart, the pride they take in their work.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Two of our family members were so instrumental and key to our success and continue to be mentors for us: our father Danny who started + ran the largest production company in New England for more than 20 years and our cousin Jonah, who started + runs one of the most influential + sought-after branding, advertising + marketing companies based in New York but has offices worldwide now. They have offered incredible advice + guidance from the start and continue to support us with their experience and expertise.

We are extremely grateful to so many of early clients who continue to support us and are our best advertisers! We have always relied on word of mouth and find that we are constantly hearing this from new clients… they were a guest at an event we catered, their husband/wife/colleague attended an event we catered and they couldn’t stop raving etc.

The team at Kate’s Table is an incredible source of inspiration, laughter + support. We truly love what we do and we all have a really, really fun time doing it too.

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