New caterer focuses on in-home experiences

Jan. 30, 2019

A new catering business in Sioux Falls focuses on providing tailored services in clients’ homes.

“The concept of Skajewski Catering is to be intimate, to show that it’s more than food being dropped off from a truck and picked up two hours later,” owner Nicholas Skajewski said.

There’s a place for that type of service, Skajewski said, but he wanted to use his years of experience as a chef doing more.

While Skajewski Catering will serve everything from office lunches to large wedding buffets, the niche of the business is working with clients to create a dining or party experience in their homes.

“Everything is prepared on-site, so guests get to see it and have the full experience,” said Skajewski, who’s also the executive chef for Avera McKennan where he oversees operations in three – and soon to be five – kitchens. Previous experience includes serving as the executive chef at the Hilton in southwest Sioux Falls, the former Elements on 8th in the downtown Hilton and Carnaval Brazilian Grill.

For events that aren’t in a client’s home, Skajewski cooks out of a licensed kitchen and brings the food to the location.

He has prepared food for events for friends and family for years, but through word of mouth, his client list was starting to grow to people he didn’t know. It was time to create an official business, which happened earlier this month.

In the process, he has compiled a team of chefs, mixologists and sommeliers, all of whom work full time in other Sioux Falls restaurants and kitchens.

“I can contact them and say, ‘I’ve got a Super Bowl party; who’s interested?’ ”

The business also works with a photographer to provide an optional package of capturing the gathering in pictures.

Another service Skajewski provides are in-home cooking classes. Those also are customized to whatever the client and their guests want to learn.

“They can be really routine with basic skills, or they can follow specific recipes or themes,” Skajewksi said. “For a series of Italian classes, we can start with noodles, then traditional Italian sauces and then do foods and desserts.”

The key is customization. “I think that’s part of the general appeal. It feels so personal; it’s not just something out of a catalog.”

And here’s what might be the best part of an evening with the Skajewski Catering team: They do all the dirty dishes.

Prospective clients can reach the business through its website or Facebook page. 

 

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New caterer focuses on in-home experiences

Skajewski Catering is “more than food being dropped off from a truck and picked up two hours later.” Chef Nicholas Skajewski is creating in-home experiences for his clients and their guests.

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