The State of the Union

The following is a letter from one of our owners, Robert Jacobi. He talks about Main Course California - past, present and future. Take a listen.

The idea for Main Course California started back in April of 2008. Back then Rachel Main and I often hired one another as staff for our respective companies. The economy was still holding steady and there was clearly enough business to go around, so we started Main Course. Back then our space had a walk in refrigerator, storage space and a prep-kitchen, and we knew that over time we could build the space out according to our own specifications.

Sure enough, as time went by and our customer base grew, our customers told us what they wanted and we complied. We added an outside seating area and I moved my office into the back warehouse. That is where Rachel now works alongside me as the Catering Director.

Due to the economic decline in the winter of 2009 and the slow climb that occurred afterward, we decided to expand on our services. Some things worked out well for us while others just didn’t quite make sense after a while. We tried to have a presence at the farmers market in Ojai. But that ended up costing us more money than we would take in. We provided dinner for a while. That too didn’t work out.

Already franchised operations and big companies are still our primary challenge as we are trying to break into a market that is still peppered with heavily subsidized industry foods. I’m talking about the great big established catering companies who source most of their food from other and sometimes developing countries just to sell a hormone, sulfate, sodium and sugar rich product. They can outbid us anytime because they have sourced their industry food cheaply. We as human beings are creatures of habit and we will eat cheap industry food if it is cheap enough. Just add some ketchup and you’ll be fine…at least that is what I used to do….

Sometimes our customers wonder why we don’t have a more elaborate menu. What most people do not know is that the reason menus can be as big as they often are in restaurants lies in the fact that most of the food is prepackaged, frozen industry food. There is a price associated with the production of the kind of food we make- and we think our food is worth it- for its great taste and the fact that it is healthier and farmed in ways that are better for the environment.

Recently, we decided to reactivate our private chef and chef for hire business. It seems that many people decided not to go on a vacation this year and instead decided to rent out vacation properties. And those properties need private chefs. Next was catering. That picked up and remained as steady as always. We also decided to give classes again and trim down our lunch bistro menu a bit. As we offer fresh seasonal food, many items will come and go according to weather and time of year.

In its 1 ¾ years of being open for business, Main Course has made some very progressive inroads into establishing itself as a new kind of catering company. The idea is to utilize the unique opportunity to source the freshest local ingredients and combine them with the talents of the best chefs. The reason we have access to these chefs is because we have a true eye for fresh talent. Without the expertise and commitment of Main Course’s fairly young crew, we wouldn’t be who we are. One of the advantages of being such a small company is that we can spot a talent and develop it right when we become aware of its existence. This ability to spot something good and run with it makes for the amazing combination of foods we are able to create.

Though we are one of the best sandwich places money can buy, Main Course California is primarily a catering company. Due to our ability to crank out menus at the drop of a hat and work with most budgets, our customers get something that they cannot get at most other places. In other words, we can make take what the client envisions and make it happen.

The kind of taste we create is unique and high class without the high class price. One of the ways many of our customers have been celebrating is with our private chef dinners. Instead of going out to a restaurant, they hire one of our amazing private chefs to cook in the comfort of their home. A private chef has the advantage of providing exactly the food that the client would like to eat, and there is a lot less compromise in terms of food quality. The reason why people love having a private chef is because they can get exactly what they want.

The same thing goes for large catering events; instead of a set menu and set prices we actually go the extra mile in creating something special at the budget provided. We do also offer a standard catering menu. But as in all business; everything is negotiable. And that is what makes us different and, I would say, better.

We treat our customers with respect. This starts in how we source our food and ends with how amazing it tastes and how it is presented. In terms of customer feedback Main Course in the 2 years it has been in existence has had almost no complaints. AND we’ve received so many THANK YOUs from private and corporate clients who say our food is so much better and our service is much more attentive than other catering companies they have worked with. I am, of course, so thankful to all the support all of our customers have given us. And we are going to keep on working as hard as we can to keep your business and be worth your patronage.

As the holiday catering season approaches, our staff at Main Course is very much looking forward to organizing and creating some memorable events for you. Just call us.

Sincerely,

Robert Jacobi

Co-Owner