Nothin' like home cookin'

Nothin’ like home cookin’

8 April 2011 No Comments

By Ryan B. Patrick

With a name like A Mother’s Touch Catering & Specialty Cakes, the sense that her business is a deeply personal venture isn’t lost on the customers of catering entrepreneur Nicole Clarke.

After her scrumptious custom cakes and cookies were a tasty hit during potlucks at the telecommunications firm where she worked, Clarke was emboldened to form a company based on her knack for creating culinary delights.

It hasn’t been easy, but today the single mother runs a successful catering company out of her Ajax, Ont. home that offers delicacies that range from elegant appetizers to exclusive full-course meals. You name it, Clarke can create it—all with exquisite flair and painstaking attention to detail.

In between juggling work, culinary school courses and motherhood, Clarke recently spoke with Sway about her passion for running a catering company and why 2011 will be her biggest year yet.

What’s the meaning behind the name A Mother’s Touch?
The company started in 2000, but I’ve been cooking and baking since I was nine. For me, if you don’t take time to do things right or with love, they’re not going to taste right. I was going through photos and found one of me and my mom touching lips. It reminded me of home-style cooking and I thought of the concept of mother’s touch. When you taste the food, you get that home taste. I’m not going to take any shortcuts.

What are your biggest challenges?
It’s a lot of work because it is only myself in this small business. One of the biggest challenges is that I take on all the stress and responsibility. In the midst of having a personal life, I always have to worry about keeping my clients happy. If I have a wedding for 300, I have to worry about it running into my overhead and costs. I work from home in a small space and I have to worry about inventory and storage space. I’m looking into having my own storefront or storage space so if I do get last minute orders, I don’t have to turn them away.

What are your specialties?
I would say my gourmet cookies and cheesecakes. Those are the ones that got the most attention for my business. Right now, I’m also launching four different flavours of cookies: Red Velvet, Carrot Cake, Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip. I grew up being taught the basis of West Indian cuisine—Trinidadian and Jamaican. When I go out to eat, I like things that are very elegant. I incorporate all of this into my food.

Why is 2011 going to be your best year yet?
Right now, it’s really been about marketing my business. For example, I’ve changed my personal Facebook page into a business page. The way I see it, everyone has to eat. And I know that what I make is homemade, and also elegant and gourmet styled. I’m a perfectionist and I would never sell anything that I didn’t think was perfect.