The motives driving Organic Chef Catering’s comprehensive green emphasis include both practicality and idealism. “If you don’t offer [green catering], your competitors will,” says Events Director Eden Benavides, who co-founded the San Francisco-based green catering business with her partner, Culinary Director Luis Herrera, in 2005.

“It’s a way of keeping customers interested and engaged while doing the right thing for the planet’s long-term resources,” Herrera says. “Someone has to set the bar in catering, and it may as well be you.”

The six-year-old green gourmet catering business handles three to five events per week, ranging in size from 50 to 250 guests. Organic Chef Catering’s full-time staff numbers five including Benavides and Herrera, plus 10 parttime staff.

Running the green business requires a new mindset where costs, sourcing, and operations are concerned.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
There’s no dodging the fact that costs for sustainable food and supplies are higher. “That’s the nature of being green,” Herrera says. “We’re highly connected to the product and how it’s grown. Instead of mass production with lower costs, we’re buying food from small farms that takes far more time and involvement to make.”

“Organically produced raw ingredients tend to cost anywhere from 10 to 15 percent more than mass-produced foods, depending on the product,” says Herrera. “Some items, such as artisan cheeses, may be quite a bit higher ... But costs will go down as more people begin to buy green. Our goal is to get people involved, to educate them.”

OPTIMAL EVENT SIZE
The company has handled events for up to 1,000 guests but finds that events of up to about 250 permit the optimum guest experience. “We can focus on onsite food production and offer a more varied menu to smaller groups,” Benavides points out. Typical action stations range from risottos and paellas to smoothies and juice bars.

Travel-ready cooking equipment includes paella grills, convection ovens, induction cooktops, and fryers. When they need a more extensive onsite kitchen, they rent additional equipment from San Francisco-based rental firm Hartmann Studios. This arrangement keeps equipment inventory, storage, and transportation costs manageable.

Transport to and from event sites takes place in Organic Chef Catering’s biodieselfueled Dodge Sprinter van. The 12-foot vehicle runs on fuel made from used cooking oil, some of which may have come from the caterer’s own prep kitchen, and averages about 25 miles per gallon.

“We pay about $4.30 per gallon in San Francisco for biodiesel, and we’re not adding harmful pollutants to the air,” Herrera noted. “The costper- gallon is slightly higher than [petro]diesel fuel, but it runs cleaner in the engine, so we save on maintenance and get a little better mileage.”

FARM-TO-FORK SOURCING
Herrera keeps food costs reasonable by building menu offerings around seasonally available fruits and vegetables. Some of the vendors they rely on in the San Francisco area include Earl’s Organic, Greenleaf Produce, County Lion Harvest, and Petaluma Poultry.

Educating customers on organic and sustainable foods adds time to the sales effort, such as explaining why albacore tuna or Chilean sea bass may not be the most environmentally friendly choice. “We provide sustainable seafood and avoid offering any fish under environmental risk,” says Herrera, who refers to the seafood industry watch list supplied by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “By focusing on annual availability and current farm updates, we’re able to provide menu offerings that are consistent with our mission and reflect the season’s best picks.”

SETUP AND CLEANUP
At events, any disposable items—napkins, cups, plates, utensils—are all compostable. For upscale events, Benavides sources linens from San Francisco-area companies such as La Tabola or Blue Water Party Rentals that rely on washing machines rather than dry cleaning chemicals to clean the fabrics.

Onsite back-of-house setup also includes creating a threetier station for refuse, recycling, and compostables. For events of 100 people or more, “we provide sorters to make sure items go into the correct containers,” Benavides says. Afterward, the trash, recycling and compost bags get packed up along with the temporary kitchen.”

“If I do my job right, there won’t be much food waste,” Herrera adds.

In addition, a “no [disposable] water-bottle” policy holds sway both for guests and staff. “For guests, we bring insulated dispensers holding plain and soda water,” Benavides says. “We also encourage our catering team to bring along their own water containers.”

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