From luxurious cabins to grassy meadows framed with snow-capped peaks, Picnic Basket Catering Collective traverses the Front Range to cater 2,000 events every year, many of them weddings. Kathy Dreiling and her partner, Michelle Talarico, founded the company nearly 40 years ago and have since transformed it from a small Colorado Springs deli into a catering group with three divisions: Buffalo Gals, which focuses on weddings; Cravings, for inventive five-star dining experiences; and Picnic Basket, for box lunches and corporate orders.
“We created them for different audiences, with different clients in mind,” Dreiling says. “They have the same kitchen, though. They’re all us.”
Chef Mike Learned, a Paso Robles, California native, helms the kitchen with his own take on Santa Maria-style barbecue—beef tri-tip traditionally cooked openly over red oak wood. This method produces a milder smoky flavor and relies on simple seasonings rather than heavy sauces.
This month, Picnic Basket Catering Collective adds a fourth division to its roster with the acquisition of The Sugarplum Cake Shoppe bakery, giving the group an in-house pastry partner to craft scrumptious desserts and wedding cakes.
“Michelle and I love what we do,” Dreiling shares. “Everything about off-premise catering is about being resourceful. There are always some challenges, but that’s what makes it fun.” While juggling menus for fall events, Dreiling takes a quick break to chat more about Picnic Basket Catering Collective and their vision for the future.
Sugar, sugar.
This is the first time in 37 years we bought another business. Sugarplum had been subcontractors of ours for 15 years. They specialize in wedding cakes and do some amazing signature celebration cakes, too—everything from kids’ parties to baby shower cakes to corporate celebrations. Sugarplum also does a lot of gluten-free and vegan desserts.
Beautiful barbecue.
We go through about 30,000 pounds of tri-tip a year. We travel all over Colorado, into some pretty remote places, and carve the steaks on site. There are these roasts grilling over red oak, and people are standing around the grill with a drink, and it's like, wow, this is very visual.
Elevated and creative.
With Cravings, we offer curated culinary experiences. Sometimes it's a micro wedding, where instead of inviting 150 people, there are only 15, but the same amount of money is spent. Someone will have multi-course dinners or lots of stations, pairings with nice wines, or tequila whiskey tastings with food items. It’s a little more experiential. We want to capture those more adventurous venues, connecting the food with some sort of adventure, like having dinner in Cave of the Winds or dinner for 10 inside a bank vault. It’s taking a theme to the extreme.
A growing busy season.
These days, high season is May through most of October. October used to be our month to slow down, but people are pushing wedding dates further into possible blizzard season. We've had a few fun times out there with snow boots and gloves. I've grilled in the snow, hail and rain probably more than I've grilled in the sunshine.
On being resourceful.
We’ve had encounters with animals, like a bear that ate all the desserts and dogs carrying away the entrees. We always say that for an off-premise caterer, your best allies are the nearest 7-Eleven and a Swiss Army knife. Oh, and duct tape.
Custom requests.
Some people want traditional cultural recipes. We've had product flown in from exotic places for certain clients, like fish that came from Iceland.
Savoring fall.
These are my favorite days. It’s beautiful when the leaves start to turn. I love it. We had an event recently at Spruce Mountain, an incredibly gorgeous venue just north of Colorado Springs and Palmer Lake. I’m hoping we can do some chef's tables with Cravings into November. It's fun to be outside this time of year.
A supportive culture.
I love our staff. We have 120 right now in high season. Culture is important to Michelle and me. We love everyone, and they're our family. I'm past retirement age, but I can't see myself ever retiring because [work] is my social life.
Picnic Basket Catering Collective
1701 S. 8th St.
719.635.0200
pbcatering.com
“Michelle and I love what we do,” Dreiling shares. “Everything about off-premise catering is about being resourceful. There are always some challenges, but that’s what makes it fun.”