AS far back as he can remember, Theo Smith always loved cooking.

He decided in high school to pursue a career as a chef.

“When I was younger I wasn’t too sure about the (future) job I wanted; it was between a graphic artist, a lawyer or a chef,” Smith, 24, told the Jamaica Observer.

“But basically culinary arts had the three subjects that I liked, which was business, arts and science,” he continued. “So, I went into it when I was at Priory (High School) and did a small cooking programme at Heather Little White and Associates… from there it continued to grow.”

Smith went on to study Food Service Management at the University of Technology (UTech). While at school, he became a junior sous chef at the restaurant inside The Acropolis. He also worked at Disney’s Main Street Bakery and Plaza Restaurant in Florida.

However, he soon became unexcited about the concept of working in a restaurant day in, day out.

“Slowly coming out of UTech… I realised that working in the restaurant would be the same thing everyday and, even if you change the menu, it probably would be in the same format,” Smith noted.

Smith’s lack of enthusiasm for the restaurant industry, his love for business and a 2011 trip to attend a catering conference in Las Vegas would put him firmly on his current entrepreneurial journey as principal of Great House Caterers.

“It was the largest catering conference in the world and I saw everything about the events industry, more than what you typically see about the events industry in Jamaica,” he said about the Las Vegas trip.

“From there I decided I would launch off. I left my job and started the catering service.”

Great House Caterers specialises in Italian, French and Mediterranean cuisine, as well as a Caribbean fusion. It is also known for its fruit arrangements and fruit and vegetable carvings.

The company does mainly social events, including weddings and birthday parties. Smith and his team also has a lot of corporate clients for product launches, staff meetings and staff parties at the end of the year.

To start the business, Smith received financial support from his family, which he combined with his personal savings. Initially gung-ho to acquire equipment quickly he needed to offer all the catering services he envisioned, he has since backed down from that approach.

“It was tight. It required a lot of money because I’m accustomed to the restaurant world, so I had to get industrial stove, frier, etc,” Smith noted.

“But over time I have learned from seeing how other (more established) caters operate; they are not like the restaurant world and slowly add on over the years,” he continued. “I took on that approach and adjusted the menu to ensure that we can facilitate the needs.”

Smith has a full-time sales representative — a former server — working with him, and employs a team on a part-time basis for each project.

Great House Caterers has two primary challenges which Smith hopes to address in the near- to medium-term — one related to personnel, and the other, a venue to facilitate clients.

“Finding someone who can be in another part-time job and also come to my part-time job and sometimes manage has always been a challenge,” Smith said, adding that “the vision is to be more stable, for the business to fully operate without me, and have more people in place full time”.

What’s more is that the company wants to have its own venue to facilitate clients that don’t have a place to accommodate a party or the money to rent an expensive facility.

“Some companies want my food but don’t have a place to have it,” Smith said. “So, we do plan to have a venue.”