By Carol Brock
From calming frantic brides and chasing tents that blew away to administering first aid to partygoers and keeping ice sculptures from melting, Mark Holmes has gracefully endured every challenge as owner of Redstone Catering in Boulder.
Holmes’ cheerful attitude and laid-back style may imply that the catering business is stress-free, but his success has been anything but easy.
A native of Bradford, Vt., Holmes worked as a dishwasher and cook in a pizza joint during high school. “I created my own work study program and spent nights at the restaurant,” he recalls. “It allowed me to come to school late when everyone else had to be there at 8 a.m. So it was like, ‘Wow, this is great!’” Holmes eventually ended up running the kitchen and realized he enjoyed food and the frantic pace of restaurants.
His journey into catering began with his acceptance to the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. “It was extremely disciplined and very difficult at times,” says Holmes, who attended CIA at age 18. “We had to wear a uniform, and if you were late for class they’d lock the door. It was serious!”
Part of his CIA education involved an internship. “I did mine at a country club near my home in west Bradford,” he notes. “We’d do these huge banquets for four- to five-hundred people in two or three rooms at the same time. I learned a lot about that kind of service.” Near the end of his internship, Holmes worked at the club’s newly opened Escoffier Room and American Bounty restaurants “It was sort of a big fancy deal,” he says. “It took months to get reservations there, so we were always very, very busy.” Holmes was young, however, and “it was time to chill.” That’s when Colorado came into the picture.
His sister invited him to stay with her in Boulder and Holmes accepted. Part of his chilling-out process involved skiing at A-Basin, waiting tables and “partying a lot!”
But Holmes eventually got a job as innkeeper at Pearl Street Inn. He later became banquet manager and general manager. When relationships between the Inn’s partners deteriorated, Holmes decided “to plan something else because I wasn’t going to stick around and deal with that.” He’d always enjoyed catering the Inn’s affairs and decided to start his own company, Casually Elegant, with a friend. But that was easier said than done, since the pair had $600 between them, no kitchen or equipment, and only 12 clients.
As luck would have it, a colleague leased Holmes his kitchen space for a mere $100 a month and Casually Elegant was in business. “Anything we needed we rented, and the client had to pay. We just grew it that way,” Holmes says. “We never borrowed huge chunks of money, which is really hard to do. Any savvy businessperson will tell you that’s the wrong way to do it.”
Although his company now has 10 full-time and 30 part-time employees, and caters private and corporate events for anywhere from 15 to 1,000 people, it remains relatively debt-free, “which is the beauty of it!” says Holmes, who bought out his partner in 1995.
As for the rumor that David Query, who owns Jax Fish House, Zolo Grill and Rhumba, invested in Holmes’ business, it’s simply not true. The two met when Holmes waited tables at Zolo. Both CIA graduates, they quickly formed a bond. “He respected what I was trying to do,” Holmes says. So when Query’s busy restaurants would get a catering request, Query would say, “Call Mark. He’ll take care of you.”
“Other than that—and we’ve heard lots of stories about our relationship—that’s really it,” Holmes says. Query did help him decide on a new name for his company, however. “I thought a one-word name would be good, so we brainstormed and pulled Redstone out of a hat.”
Contrary to choosing names, Holmes creates catering cuisine with care. Clients can customize a menu or choose from an expansive one featuring eclectic cuisines of Asia, the Mediterranean, Italy, America and Europe. Meat, fish, vegetarian and pasta dishes are all represented, and ingredients are fresh, flavorful and combined in surprising and artistic ways.
“Our niche is people who are looking for high quality at a fairly reasonable price,” Holmes says. “People who maybe have somewhat more of a refined palate.” Holmes also prides himself on details. “I think it’s important for people to realize that when they do hire a caterer that’s full-service, they don’t have to do much except show up, pressed, dressed and with their checkbook! We handle all the logistics, and that’s just a big relief.”
And though he constantly reassures brides, deals with in-laws and answers to corporate bigwigs—on top of preparing food and pulling off the perfect catered event, Holmes takes it all in stride. “It gives you a good feeling to know you were a part of something that was pretty special to someone,” he says, adding, “What better way than to get paid to party?”
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Also, visit Redstone Catering on-line at www.redstonecatering.com