Cole retains rural roots for his catering business

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This article was published 10/12/2014 (4262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Old King Cole, of Mother Goose fame, may have been a merry old soul, but could he cook a juicy roast beef and serve a roomful of guests?

Vernon Cole, 61, owner of King Cole Catering, can do this and more. He grew up on his family’s farm just outside Domain, and, while he now lives in Winnipeg’s River Heights neighbourhood, he maintains his rural roots. He uses the commercial kitchen in the Domain Community Hall as his home base.

“It’s nice to have it in the community,” he said.

Cole was going to pursue a diploma in agriculture when he had to postpone his studies due to illness at age 19. While he was recuperating, his interest turned to food preparation. He enrolled at Red River College’s culinary arts program in 1972, and followed this up by taking the chef’s training program.

Cole continued operating a grain farm while working in food services at the University of Manitoba for 33 years. Wanting to move out of farming, he decided to open a catering business in 1996.

“I got interested in starting my own business,” he said.

Cole supplies catering for local events such as the annual dinner theatre production, and past fundraising events like Lobsterfest and cowboy poetry performances.

“I tried to promote the community hall as a banquet centre,” he said.

He estimates that half of his business now originates in rural communities and half in Winnipeg. As with other caterers, the holiday season is peak time. Cole said he has six casual employees.

“We try to excel in our service,” he said. “The staff are very good.”

Cole provides dinner linens, plates, glasses and cutlery, and can transport everything to the dinner site. He tries to keep costs down despite fluctuating fuel and food costs.

“You tend to want to absorb as much of the cost as you can,” he said.

He was recently challenged by a wedding banquet which featured Mexican cuisine. Although he said he’s not too familiar with traditional Mexican fare, some of the Spanish-speaking guests complimented him on the food he served.

Two years ago he bought a smoker, and started offering catering for barbecues. While most bookings come during the summer months, Cole said he’s catering a December wedding and serving barbecue fare.

Cole is pleased that his son Aidan will be joining him and taking up the tongs to help out with barbecues in 2015.

With continuing growth in La Salle, Oak Bluff and within Winnipeg, Cole foresees more opportunities for his business.

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