Houston caterer Swift + Co. launches soufflé business
You want to get a real rise out of your holiday dinner or party guests? Serve them a soufflé.
That fabulous froth of eggs — a dish that delights foodies and intimidates home cooks — is a culinary showstopper that signals luxury, skill and a certain home-entertaining élan.
Nobody knows that better than Elizabeth Swift Copeland, the founder of Swift + Co., the powerhouse Houston catering, event-planning and partyrental business. Her savory soufflés have been a mark of distinction on the Houston social scene for decades.
And now they can be delivered in ready-to-bake form. This week Copeland launched the Fab Fête, a sister company to Swift, that specializes in freezerto-oven gourmet soufflés, available for nationwide shipping.
Though Copeland has grown her company in many ways since she founded it in 1987, the Fab Fête represents her first major independent business expansion.
“I’ve always wanted to get into selling these soufflés because people love them,” she said. “I just never had the time.”
But with the pandemic dramatically slowing her catering and private events business, Copeland seized the opportunity to launch a business based on one of her most requested dishes.
The Fab Fête currently offers three different savory soufflés that are packed frozen in a 32ounce ceramic dish and ready to thaw and bake at home in a 325-degree oven. The soufflé varieties include a signature cheese soufflé; white corn and truffle soufflé; and a “Brio Trio” sampler inspired by a charcuterie board (divided into blue cheese, pear and thyme; pecorino, prosciutto and fennel; and goat cheese, pine nuts and herbs). Prices are $85 for the cheese, $92 for the corn and truffle and $113 for trio. The company also offers “refill” pouches of soufflé mixture that can be poured into the reusable ceramic dish or to fill your own individual soufflé ramekins.
Copeland said the soufflés can be served as a dip with crackers, chips or sliced bread, as a side dish or part of a dinner entree with a salad. The proprietary recipe bakes up puffy and golden, taking all the guesswork out of a homemade soufflé.
“This soufflé is for that person who finds soufflés daunting,” she said. “They’re going to have a successful dish. It’s pretty special.”
The bake-at-home soufflés not only fill a niche in the market, they arrive as holiday entertaining is gearing up. Though the pandemic is changing the way people are entertaining at home, Copeland said there’s a need for rich indulgences, especially one that has been known on the Houston dining scene for decades.
“We’ve been serving it for years,” she said. “Now it’s time to let more people know about it.”