There is an interesting aspect of our business that many people probably do not realize exists. At Mosaic Catering, we work with all different caterers, hotels, restaurants, and venues to provide kosher meals for guests attending larger events.
These meals can range from a single boxed lunch for one person, to meals for 30+ guests, to providing multiple meals a day for groups traveling through Milwaukee for several days. Most of the time, I am working directly with the people handling the larger event for all of the non-kosher guests, and I often have no idea who the recipient actually is.
One of the biggest parts of sending kosher meals out is making sure they are sealed and packaged in a way that creates the best dining experience possible while also ensuring the guest feels confident that the food was handled properly and not tampered with. Over the years, we have worked hard to improve this process more and more — from detailed kosher handling and reheating instructions for kitchens, to personalized menus and signage for guests so they know exactly what was prepared for them.
Through doing this work, we have built relationships with so many companies locally and with people from literally all over the world. These meals bring some very interesting stories into our kitchen. We have done meals for Ivanka Trump, Miriam Adelson, Amar’e Stoudemire, and even relatives of Matisyahu — and those are just the ones I know about!
For years, we regularly sent meals to Oshkosh Defense. I had absolutely no idea who I was feeding and honestly made up stories in my head about who these people might be. Then one day, some of the people eating our food actually came into the café. They were connected to the IDF and were so excited to meet me. It was such a fun moment to finally put faces to names.
We have also worked with rehabilitation centers, helping provide kosher meals seven days a week — three meals and two snacks a day — for months at a time. Other times, we get random calls from travelers who just landed in Milwaukee late at night and are desperate for kosher food, and somehow we figure out how to make food and get it to their hotel desk in time.
As with most things in business, I look at all of this as a constant learning opportunity. We grow, improve, and refine our systems every single time we do it.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from a woman traveling here for a Jockey International event. She was nervous about kosher food because she had issues the last time she traveled in the Midwest. She did not receive food from us previously and wanted to personally source her own kosher meals this trip and ask questions about standards and kosher handling. We connected, and she seemed very relieved.
Then her local contact reached out asking if I was taking care of her group. I explained that I often never know who I am cooking for and that while I did have food going out, I was not sure if it was for them. I emailed the hotel to check and found out it was not our food. I let them know, assuming they would make other arrangements.
Late last night while working, I suddenly got a message from her with a picture asking why the food was not sealed. I looked at the picture and immediately said, “Well… that’s not my food.” She started venting to me about how frustrating it was that this had happened again and that the meals were not handled well.
She asked if I was doing food for her the next day, and I told her no — I had not received any additional orders — but to let me know if she needed anything. I checked in midday, and she told me she had sourced food from vendors in Chicago. She said it was okay, but she still was not overly happy and practically begged me to confirm that the food at the Harley-Davidson Museum event would be from us. I said, “Yes! I can confirm that.”
Then tonight, while sitting here working, I got a text from her saying:
“Hannah, you are a boss!”
Along with a picture of our food and a message about how well everything was done. Honestly, that made my night. Even better, she is coming into the café tomorrow for lunch, so now we actually get to meet in person.
Another memorable one was coordinating meals for a group of men traveling for a golf trip through Wisconsin — first to Sand Valley and then to Kohler. We coordinated meals to meet them at the Madison airport and later at Kohler. The man organizing the trip was absolutely wonderful to work with, and you could tell how hard it was for him to wrangle a group of golfers while also making sure everyone’s kosher food needs were handled correctly.
It really is such a unique part of what we do. I love watching how much care my staff puts into taking care of people while they are traveling — whether they are from Milwaukee or halfway across the world. But just as importantly, I love that we continue building the systems, structure, regulations, and details needed to make people feel comfortable, cared for, and able to trust the food they are receiving.
