Candid Q&A with Robin Selden of Marcia Selden Catering & Event Planning

The catering industry has witnessed many changes over the past couple of months, and with this, we’ve seen many businesses make the transition to meet the ongoing needs and wants of their clients.

Marcia Selden Catering & Event Planning has done just that with their efforts to give back to their community and offering flexible options to continue serving their customers. We sat down with Robin Selden, Managing Partner and Executive Chef for a Q&A to discuss planning for the future, how they’re pivoting their business, and more.

What advice do you have for caterers that are now dealing with rescheduling and postponed events? 

To be patient, fair and compassionate. Building solid relationships with your clients, particularly now, will be the key to your success! Most of our business comes from referrals from current or past clients, so maintaining trust and integrity while going through these times (which are difficult for the clients AND for you) is the best advice we can give! A mentor of ours who we adore, Cindy Novotny, said, "Relationships are the currency of our industry,” and I could not agree more.

For Marcia Selden Catering and Event Planning in particular, we've seen the wonderful work the company is doing with delivering meals to hospitals and organizing fundraisers. What was the process like for pivoting the business to focus on these initiatives? 

We got off the plane from Vegas [from Catersource] on that dreaded Friday the 13th of March and walked into the office to change our entire business model to a full service, pre-packaged delivery catering company. We did this so that we could stay afloat and keep our dedicated team working and our doors open. 

Giving back to our community wasn’t really something that we needed to think about, as we truly know that there are people out there risking their lives to keep our communities safe and that they need to eat. My friend Nicole Straight, formerly of Food Rescue US, reached out to say that she was personally raising funds to give to local foodies as a stipend so that we could deliver food to the front lines of our hospitals without hesitation. We said that we were in for whatever they needed and that we would go above and beyond to embellish and make the meals extra special to show our appreciation.

I have personally been on every delivery with my brother Jeffrey, as it’s important for us to be there for them. The response to this outreach was so huge that she started a GoFundMe page appropriately called “Food for the Front Lines.” This is SO amazing and they have raised over 60k, and it has expanded to other counties in CT! What’s also incredible here is that, not only is this uplifting our nurses and doctors, but it is also helping to support the local restaurants and caterers that are trying desperately to keep their doors open.

We have been sharing our journey through social media (Jeffrey was even on national TV for this!). What’s incredible is that our clients are now sending us checks so that they can earmark the deliveries to specific hospital systems that they’d like us to deliver to. We work with Nicole when we receive these generous donations so that they get to the appropriate place. We’ve had clients, friends, and family send in money anywhere from $100 to $5000. It’s just amazing and fills our hearts with so much hope! 

What advice would you have for other caterers or event professionals in the industry that are struggling to find ways to pivot their own businesses to provide similar services? 

Do it only if it feels right for you and your team! The weekly menus that we have been designing are getting rave reviews from our clients. We have fresh options that can be enjoyed on the day-of, or ones that go directly to their freezer for future meals.

We have fresh options, including amazing salads and healthy meals that could be enjoyed right away. Everything we do is packaged and then wrapped with saran and sealed with a sticker. All of our team involved are wearing masks and gloves, only working a three-day week to ensure social distancing and to create more space in our commissary. The meals are then packaged in tamper-proof bags that are sealed and either dropped at the doorsteps of our clients or picked up from the doorstep of our commissary.

Either way there is no contact involved, ensuring the safety of our team and clients. This has worked very well to help us work down inventory in our commissary, and of course, to keep our doors open to those on our team that are comfortable being there. Truthfully, this is not a money maker for us, but we feel good knowing that we are providing a service to our clients that makes them feel special, appreciated and comforted. Plus, it takes the stress of meal planning and shopping off of their plates. Based on the heartfelt letters of gratitude and appreciation that we receive on a daily basis, we will continue to do this!

How can caterers prepare to resume events in the coming months? 

They will need to put on their creative thinking caps as the events industry will be back with a gusto to celebrate life’s special occasions. However, it will not be like we once knew it (at least for a while). We’ll continue to creatively pivot our business based on the needs of our clients. Last weekend, we catered a virtual birthday party where the same food was delivered to all of the guests’ different homes, and we coordinated a virtual karaoke night for them with one of our favorite DJs. 

We are also working with one of our large nonprofit clients to cater their virtual gala on April 25th. We came up with the idea to have each guest receive a box either delivered (contact-free) to their homes or mailed (based on location) that will include really nice treats, snacks, and desserts that will be packaged creatively. Each one will come with fun messages on them and branding of the nonprofit. For the delivered guests, a bottle of wine and batched signature cocktail will be included.

The guests/donors will appreciate the extra love that went into making this experience memorable for them, and in return, the nonprofit hopes that they will continue to be generous and help to support the fundraising needs of the organization.  

We love what we do too much to cave under the pressures of what is happening and will continue to dream up new and innovative ways to make magic and create memories for our clients! 

What are some things that caterers/industry pros as a whole should be communicating to clients? 

None of us have the answers, so be transparent. Share what you are doing with them. As I said before, build on your relationships so that when the world rebuilds again, they will be there to continue supporting you as you were there for them even during these times. 

What other advice do you have for those in the industry that are still navigating COVID and looking ahead to the remainder of 2020? 

Be willing to change and to adapt to what the new norms are going to be and challenge yourself to be creative if you want to be successful! We are working harder now than we ever have, for less work and for a lot less money because we believe in our brand. We believe that we will be stronger and more efficient when we get to the other side of this mess. Stay positive and party on!