ventures
by judy z. ellett

Feasts of Fancy

Kathleen and Andy Jacot, owners of Feasts of Fancy, write a new page in their romance/success story.

When Andy and Kathleen Jacot describe the organization of Feasts of Fancy Catering, they
characterize it as a co-ownership, but Andy makes it clear, “She’s the boss.”

The husband-and-wife catering team took over the company on Oct. 1, 2001, and Andy calls the path that led them to their new venture a success story, while Kathleen is more inclined to call it a romance.

Either way, the story began when Andy started working for the American Restaurant as a cook in 1984. Raised on a farm outside Wichita, his sister once told him, “If you can cook, you can get a job anywhere.” When he came on board with the American, Kathleen had already been there three years and was working as sales director. “She was management,” says Andy, “and I was hourly.” The difference didn’t deter their attraction for one another.

In spite of the fact most of his training was on-the-job, Andy showed promise and found a mentor in Chef Rex Hale. Andy followed Hale when Hale left in 1986 for Brennan’s of Houston, where Emeril Lagasse was corporate chef. By that time, Kathleen was determined she wasn’t going to let Andy go to Houston alone. “I was in love,” she says.”

She moved with him to Texas even though she didn’t have a job. They got married, and she soon went to work for the Hyatt. With three floors of banquet rooms and sit-down dinners for 1,200 guests, she calls the operation “huge.” That’s where she learned presentation and decoration, and where she learned to handle large numbers of people.

In 1988, the Jacots returned to the American where Andy was offered the opportunity to work as sous chef under Hale. They left for PB&J in 1990 to open the Grand Street Cafe, but in ‘92, the American asked them to come back as a team to run its catering business.

While Kathleen and Andy had never had an interest in owning a restaurant, they had thought about catering on their own, and they saw the American’s offer as an opportunity to see if they could work together. Andy says of learning to cater at first, “It wasn’t that fun.” They came to enjoy the work, though, and stayed with the American in that capacity for almost 10 years.

The best part of catering for the American, according to Kathleen, was that they learned to run their department like a business. She recalls their “biggest and best” challenge—serving 2,000 guests at the opening of Nordstrom in Johnson County. With 15 buffet tables scattered among three floors, Kathleen’s training at the Hyatt in Houston came in handy.

“Big numbers don’t scare me,” she says.

Then came the chance to buy Feasts of Fancy Catering, and the Jacots knew they couldn’t pass up what they had trained for for nearly a decade. They took over Feasts on Oct. 1, and on Oct. 4 they catered a party for 400 people.

Andy has come to love catering because, he says, “every party’s different.” They continue to attract the same kind of clientele they had at the American—in fact, many of their customers followed them. They handle a lot of social and corporate clientele, and also a lot of weddings. With two full-time employees, two part-time employees and 25 on-call staff, the Jacots offer full service, which includes leaving a job site as clean as they found it.

In spite of the damper the rest of the hospitality industry is feeling, Andy says they’ve been busy every day since they opened, and the last quarter of 2001 was the best quarter they’ve had in their catering careers.

Still, their tastes and ambitions are modest. Andy still likes to spend time on the family farm in Wichita. Kathleen loves the short 2.5-mile commute from their establishment on Lamar Avenue to their home.

Of their new-found success, their long-time romance and the balance in their lives, Kathleen says, “We are truly blessed.”