Outsourced
Some days, you just don’t have the time or the energy to do it all yourself, whether it’s cooking a healthy meal when you get home after a long day of work, planning an event or doing office admin and accounting. The solution? Outsource it.
Husband-and-wife business duo Gary and Sarah Power met as students at the Silwood School of Cookery in 2007. Gary, who is originally from Zimbabwe, had no intention of sticking around once he’d completed his studies. ‘But then I met Sarah,’ he laughs. Sarah grew up in Claremont and spent a year in the UK after matric, before returning and enrolling at Silwood. They both completed their in-service training at fine dining restaurants, Gary at La Colombe and Sarah at The Greenhouse, where they experienced the irregular shifts of the hospitality industry. ‘We’d often start at 8am and finish at 11pm,’ says Sarah. ‘We knew that if we were going to stay together and have a normal life as a family with kids, we needed to branch out, away from restaurants, while incorporating that passion
for food in our day-to-day lives.’ Gary returned to Silwood where he assisted in their catering department while Sarah went into food styling, which she developed into a freelance business. In 2014 they got married, and went into business together three years later.
Salt Catering & Events provides clients with an allinclusive catering and events planning service. ‘We cater for corporate and private functions, and assist with anything you need for an event – whether it’s flowers, decor or a DJ – then contact our suppliers to set everything up,’ explains Gary. ‘Our clients don’t have to deal with multiple suppliers; we do that for them.’
And that’s just one aspect of the business. The pair recently took ownership of Daily Dietitian, which provides personalised meals cooked by the Salt kitchen. They serve up healthy, dietician-approved meals for busy consumers who don’t have the time or expertise to cook substantial, nutritious meals for themselves every day. The service includes door-to-door delivery and vegetarian and vegan meal options, as well as allergyspecific menus and medical meal plans. ‘Some of our clients have specific health requirements and struggle to meet their dietary needs,’ says Sarah. They offer the same outsourcing service in Johannesburg.
Although they are in business together, Sarah explains that she and Gary each have their own area of focus, which allows them individual space. ‘We work under one roof but we don’t always work together,’ she says. At the Salt Catering & Events premises in Claremont, staff is divided between the working kitchen, production kitchen and Sarah’s food styling studio.
Gary and Sarah pride themselves on exceptional service, as word of mouth is still their most effective marketing tool. ‘Your advertising can be good and your website can be good but ultimately, with food, people need to know that you can deliver,’ explains Sarah. ‘Luckily, with food, you don’t have to wait very long to know if you’ve done a good job,’ adds Gary.
‘When we started the company, the aim was to make money and provide for our family, but also to employ people and make a difference in their lives, not just to better ours,’ says Gary.
Sarah says their greatest reward is the constant growth within the business. ‘I think most people who become entrepreneurs worry about the sustainability of the business and that it may not be able to feed their family. So the steady growth has made this venture such a positive experience for us.’
Going forward, they are looking forward to expanding their business. But for now, it’s all about making sure that every meal is better than the last.
Sarah’s website: sarahdall.co.za Daily Dietitian: dailydietitian.co.za
‘When we started the company, the aim was to make money and provide for our family, but also to employ people and make a difference in their lives, not just to better ours.’