When Chef Jan Cooper-Webb discovered her passion for planning and executing personalized menus, an already popular personal chef service expanded into catering and blew away even more Guelph and area clients. Now, an award-winning catering company, Orchard House Gourmet focuses on intimate-sized wedding events that showcase both the food and the presentation. Jan says she helps each couple keep their personal touch and brings their theme to a reality with her passion for creativity, attention to detail and exceptional food and service.
Focusing on fresh, local ingredients and elegant designs, Orchard House works with couples to provide a perfect culinary component to their special day, be it a bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, day-of jitter platter, wedding dinner or day after brunch. We met with Chef Jan and Chef & Event Consultant, Diane Ross, to find out more about their style, expertise and why we think Guelph and area couples will love Orchard House Gourmet for their wedding food needs. Let us tell you more...
Personally speaking...
Chef Jan's passion for cooking is what lead her to culinary school where she received a Culinary Management Diploma in Ontario. While there, Chef Jan worked under a chef in a professional kitchen under Red Seal instructors where she got her initial, hands-on experience. Next came her Certificate for Personal Chef from the Culinary Business Academy in New Mexico where she also recently completed her professional certification from, a two-year process of study and in-the-field work. But as a lover of food and a desire to try new things, Chef Jan didn't stop there and still continues her education at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. She is even working on her IEWP Certification for wedding & event planning in order to focus the business more on weddings.
Orchard House Catering (named after a pear orchard that was once part of the farm property where Chef Jan lives) originally started out in May 2007 as a Personal Chef Service, providing customized menus and meal services to a number of clients. But, as more and more requests came in for in-home catering, Chef Jan realized that this was what she really wanted to do. After catering two large events in 2009, she says she was hooked. "I discovered that my passion was planning and executing personalized menus, showcasing both the food and the presentation."
On top of her education, Chef Jan says that her experience has covered a large spectrum in both size and type of requests. "I‘ve always loved working with colour and design, so I nurtured that passion in art school," she told The Ring. "Now, I draw on that training to create food and table presentations that are imaginative, whimsical, whatever my client desires." We could tell that Chef Jan is quite passionate about it, too, as she says it's not uncommon for her to lay awake at night creating menus and envisioning presentations.
To date, Orchard House has catered large brunches (for 200 women), an opening night event at the Centre in the Square (for over 800), wedding anniversary parties, bridal showers, formal dinners and interactive cooking parties. They love catering for smaller affairs with about 100 to 150 guests so they can "work closely with the clients from initial contact right to the last mouthful of their meal."
Orchard House in the community...
Chef Jan believes strongly in giving back to the community and is a member of the Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Region, volunteering to teach culinary classes to high school students. She has also taught at Liaison College in Kitchener and is a member of the United States Personal Chef Association(USPCA) and the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCF/CC), as well as a trainer for the National Food Safety Training Program (NFSTP).
Chef Jan has even been caught in the media spotlight before when she participated as one of the chefs from Liaison College in "Fresh Life", which aired on the Sun TV channel in 2009. Orchard House was also showcased in the Summer Issue of Guelph Life in 2009. And, in 2010, Chef Jan placed in the top five (out of over 100) at the Norcliffe Farms Fiddlehead Competition. Orchard House Gourmet was also invited to be on the front cover of their premier e-newsletter.
An award-winning catering company, Orchard House has won Bronze & Platinum for Favourite Caterer and is proud to support Sunrise Equestrian Centre and the Children’s Foundation of Wellington and Guelph.
Making visions become reality
At Orchard House, they understand that every client has an idea of how they want their event to look and what theme they want to create. Luckily for their clients, Chef Jan and her team have a passion for creativity and believe that each couple should have a wedding meal that reflects their personality, wedding theme and dream for the day.
"We cater to everyone because we love the energy of working with diverse clients," says Chef Jan. "We can move easily between formal and laid-back casual weddings. That’s the fun of it all, creating something special and unique to meet the couple’s individual style."
That being said, Orchard House does have their own style and focuses more on simple, elegant affairs with just a bit of a wow factor. "After all, it is their party and I want them to see their vision become a reality," adds Chef Jan.
"Playing" with the food and working towards the final presentation to capture the couple's vision that's married with her own is what inspires Chef Jan on a daily basis. "When clients come up to us at an event or email us later to say that the food was fabulous and the event a great success, well, then I know we’ve achieved our goal," she adds.
Christine Head had Orchard House do an interactive dinner party for her sister's 25th anniversary celebration and says that her first impression of Chef Jan was "a friendly person who really cares about her clients... very professional, warm and also educational." She adds that Chef Jan was accommodating throughout all of the interactions, which was helpful as she was corresponding from out of town. "Sometimes if you are arranging services by email or telephone, you can have a sense of trepidation," says Christine. "But, I felt completely confident that she and her team would perform and they did not disappoint."
Services & prices
Quality of food and service and presentation of food are just some of the things that Orchard House is known for. For them, this means using local, fresh and seasonal ingredients in their menus. "We have embraced that philosophy and work hard to incorporate heirloom foods, and foods that are locally available at the time of an event," explains Chef Jan.
Menu items and prices vary completely on the Orchard House list depending on what you choose and what's in season. And while creating a meal that is personal while being respectful of a couple's budget can sometimes be a challenge for Chef Jan, it's a challenge that she's happy to take on.
Christine says that given what you would pay for fine dining in a restaurant, Orchard House's prices were very reasonable, "especially given the fact that Jan and her team also clean up and you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home to have a fine dining experience." She also liked the variety that Orchard House offered, and the fact that Chef Jan was flexible with substituting different dishes if the need arose.
Customized menus designed to reflect the theme and personality of the wedding couple can be made for any number of events leading up to and after the wedding day, including (but definitely not limited to) bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, jitter platters (for the bridal party the day of the wedding), wedding dinners (garden weddings, cocktail & hors d’oeuvre weddings, formal, buffet, and wedding brunch (day after wedding).
Outside of the wedding realm, Orchard House also offers personal chef services, catered cocktail parties, tea parties, cooking classes, dinner parties, interactive parties, gift certificates and more. We happen to think that the interactive party would be fun for a bachelorette party - you get to learn, have fun and not clean up the mess! A gift certificate would also be a great wedding gift for that couple who already has everything, or a personal chef service for a romantic, post-honeymoon dinner.
Christine says that her sister and husband enjoyed not only eating Orchard House's food, but also learning as they watched her cook. Don Goldthorpe had Orchard House create a meal for him, his wife and two guests for their anniversary and he says that Chef Jan had great ideas for the meal. "They had a diversified menu with some healthy choices," he told us. "Also, their prices seemed quite reasonable and I liked that they did everything - clean-up and dishes, too... The food was exceptional, we all could just sit back and enjoy."
Just a taste...
Like we said, Orchard House's menu is pretty much limitless so we'd be here all day if we tried to list every possibility. But, some new options that they're working on that sound particularly delicious are some items containing pear in some form or essence (an ode to the logo and company name). Two of Chef Jan's current favourites are the Orchard House Gourmet Pear & Tomato Chutney and Chocolate Merlot, Pear & Brie Love Bites. Yum! "I am also working on a soup we did... a Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger & Star Anise," she adds. "We got rave reviews about it and many requests to purchase it."
Sample Wedding Reception Menus
Elegant Harvest Wedding Dinner $29.95/pp
• Wild Mushroom and Sherry Soup ~ Finished with Asiago Cheese
• Warm Autumn Salad ~ Baby Spinach, Apple, Chestnuts & Smoked Cheddar with Maple Vidal Vinaigrette
• Goat Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin ~ Red Wine Balsamic Cherry Sauce, Duchesse Potatoes & Petit Ratatouille
• Caramelized Pear Tart ~ Served with Mascarpone Cheese
Hors D'oeuvres/Finger Food Reception
We feature an extensive assortment of traditional and custom, hot and cold Hors D’oeuvres to suit all tastes & budgets:
100 guests (5 pieces per person), $7.50-$17.50/pp
$750.00- $1750.00 for 100 guests
Elegant Dessert Extravaganza
From $12 pp / $1000.00 for 100 guests
Elegantly presented, fine cakes &, decadent squares and specialty shortbread and cookies.
Beautifully presented Fresh Fruit Trays featuring both seasonal and imported fruits
Gourmet Cheese trays with our Signature Chutney
Walking you through it...
It's ideal to book Orchard House six to eight months before your event, but in reality, Chef Jan says just contact them by email or phone even if it's later than that. If they can accommodate your date, you meet with Chef Jan and Diane to discuss the details of your day and what the plan is for food. Usually they meet with clients at the bride's home, but it's also important for them to visit the reception venue. "We need to get a sense of what the couple wants, the location facilities and how we’ll facilitate their needs to create their dream meal," says Chef Jan.
A non-refundable deposit of a third of the total is required to book your event with Orchard House.
Don was initially attracted to Orchard House's website and the rave reviews on it. And once he found them he knew they were good from their attention to detail so he stopped searching. He also told us that Chef Jan and her team acted very "professional and personable and made sure me and my guests had a good time... They were very efficient in the kitchen."
On the wedding day, the Orchard House team is at your venue as early as possible to set-up and begin preparations. Chef Jan will also be in contact with the Wedding/Event Coordinator regarding timing, which will continue throughout the meal to coordinate service of the various courses until the meal service is completed.
After the wedding, Orchard House can cater your brunch. Otherwise, they like to keep in contact and follow-up with a letter of congratulations and thank you, and ask for feedback, which as you can see (below), has all been great.
Details, details, details
• Call Orchard House at least 6 to 8 months before your wedding to book an appointment with them.
• A deposit of a 1/3 of the total quoted price is required to book; taxes and gratuities are extra.
• The cost of Orchard House's catering services depends on guest count and menu choices - call for a custom quote.
• Orchard House resides in Guelph but serves the Guelph, K-W and Wellington County areas.
In other words...
"Jan, Thank you so much. Lu and Paul had an excellent time... They said it was the nicest dinner they've ever had, and the nicest gift. Thanks for making it so special for them. I know we will see you again. What luck I had finding you!" -E.M.
"Jan Cooper-Webb helped me host a bridal shower interactive dinner cooking party in September 2007. It was a great evening! The food was tasty, we learned some interesting things and most importantly, everyone laughed the entire evening. One of the best parts was when we looked up from our dessert to see that everything was completely cleaned up and packed away – no mess to clean up after the party, how often does that happen?! I would recommend Jan for such events in the future, it was a special treat and everyone raved about what a great time and great idea it was."
"What a delight! Thank you Chef Jan, I had an amazing time and so did my friends." -Sherri
"Jan, Just wanted to follow up with a personal thanks to you and your daughter for everything! Everyone was raving about how great the food was and they all thought you were fabulous! Thanks again!" -Stacey
"Hi Jan! Just wanted to let you know that we had such a blast last Saturday evening. Thank you for being part of the evening. Everyone loved the food and the atmosphere created by having a personal chef. Thanks so much. We were very happy with the result. We will be in touch if we are able to pull anything else together that requires a chef! I hope it will be soon." -Joann
"Chef Jan & Shannon, Today's lunch was well beyond our expectations, the menu you planned was delicious and palette pleasing. Calling Orchard House Gourmet was one of the best decisions we have made for our Mother's Birthday... The meal service was beyond reproach and you left the kitchen as though nothing had happened... Should the occasion ever arise again, and it will, you are number one on the list of chefs to call. We are recommending you to all our friends and family and wish you all the best. Thanks so much we truly enjoyed your company and the food was second to none." -A.H. & W.R.
