My Biz: Cedar Rapids entrepreneur combines catering with take-and-bake business

Jackie Fetter makes a good point.

“We are now generations removed from the farm and all the meals being cooked in the kitchen,” she said.

That thinking is part of what has motivated her in her combined business venture.

After she left the health insurance industry she knew she didn't want to become a personal chef. So Fetter hatched the idea of a take-and-bake meal company.

“I thought I was going to just dip my toe in,” Fetter recalled.

But after sitting down with Alex Hadjis, founder and longtime owner of Katering Kitchen - a Cedar Rapids based catering company - her future in the world of healthy eating became much larger.

“We had one meeting, and by the end of it had decided I was going to buy Katering Kitchen and could expand upon it from there,” she said.

Fetter purchased Katering Kitchen from Hadjis this past spring.

“Katering Kitchen is going to be maintained as much as possible. We have loyal, repeat customers. We are just making simple changes to create even healthier options,'” she said.

Since taking over, Fetter also has added a new venture to the business. Honest Living fulfills her take-and-bake idea with preordered meal packages made with local ingredients as much as possible.

“I was hearing a lot of ‘I feel unhealthy and I'm busy,' and ‘I don't have time to cook,'” she said.

“Our meals are really bright and fresh. Flavor is something our customers consistently comment about.”

Customers place their order online and pick up their items at the Egg Basket, one of the NewBo Market vendors in Cedar Rapids.

“If you place your order by Monday, it's ready by Thursday,” Fetter said. “If you place your order by Wednesday you can pick it up over the weekend.”

Right now, Honest Living has some 20 clients. She works closely with her three employees, currently striving to create a balance between the companies, said Fetter, who is chairwoman of a committee that looks at how restaurants can support the Blue Zones movement.

In addition, she works as a nutritional health coach through Kosama Complete Body Transformation.

“We are working to get the catering to a sustainable point so that I can focus on growing the Honest Living side,” she said.

• Name: Jackie Fetter
• Title: Owner
• Company: Katering Kitchen and Honest Living
• Address: 1000 10th St. SW, Cedar Rapids
• Phone: (319) 366-5050
• Website: http://kateringkitchen.com

Know a manager or company in business for more than a year that would be ideal for “My Biz”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.