For young entrepreneurs thinking about starting their own business, caterer Heather Casto is proof positive that it can be done.
Casto became a certified chef through the BOCES Vo-Tech program in high school and went on to study at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, graduating in 2005. Â Before she even set foot inside the CIA, however, Casto already knew a thing or two about having her own business because she was catering small events while still in high school.
“I always wanted to be my own boss,” said Casto, who owns The Chocolate Mousse catering in Hyde Park. Now that the economy has slowed down, Casto says she”™s grateful she got into her profession before the recession hit. Her husband, Geoffrey, lost his job in 2008 when Poughkeepsie”™s Ruby Tuesday closed and he came into the business with her, bringing along the restaurant and catering skills he learned at the Academy of Culinary Arts in Pennsylvania.
Casto has 10 families she works for as a personal chef, going to their homes to prepare meals each week that can be reheated. “When you sit down and do the math, there is not much of a difference between having a wholesome meal prepared and waiting for you at home to re-heat and eat and going to a fast-food restaurant to buy dinner for yourself or your family. The goal is to eat healthy. One client may need a low-carbohydrate diet, another may have high cholesterol or food allergies. I work with them to make sure they are eating meals that will help achieve their health goals while keeping it tasty.”
In addition to being a personal chef, The Chocolate Mousse catering does weddings and corporate events. “When we have a big event to do and cooking cannot be done on the premises, we rent kitchen space in Poughkeepsie. Most of the catered events are held in people”™s homes, so the kitchen is available to us. Geoff runs the kitchen and the staff, and I do the cooking. We limit our weddings to two a month so the bride gets my full attention, whether it is a ”˜high-end”™ event or a simple outdoor wedding. We cater events up to 300 people.”
The couple”™s latest enterprise is Mobile Mousse, which has a regular route and offers breakfasts at 13 locations five mornings a week. Mobile Mousse also travels to the Cal Ripken Little League fields in Red Oaks Mills. “It offers parents a food choice for their children ”“ something healthy that looks appealing and will help keep the pounds off. Dutchess County has the second highest obesity rate in the state, and parents are being more proactive about their children”™s health,” Casto said.
“Heather”™s been a fabulous member of our chamber,” said Ann Meagher, president of the Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce in Wappingers Falls. “She focuses on healthy meal options, so she is a favorite here at GSDCC. We chose her to cater the event at the Beacon Institute when we had our annual ”˜Beacon and Eggs”™ event because she puts the spotlight on fresh, wholesome, organic and sustainable living.”
Casto joked that she learned to cook “as a survival skill, because my mom hates to cook ”“ grandma is the cook in our family. It”™s very gratifying to be 26 years old and be a full-fledged business owner. I never thought Chocolate Mousse Catering would grow as much as it did, but needless to say, we”™re very happy we”™re working and busy, especially in this economy.”
