Esther Gross has probably been to more weddings than most ministers.
Gross isn’t at the front of the church, she is behind the catering table carving pork or beef, dishing salads or handing out desserts.
What started as a small request to cater a function 25 years ago has grown into a successful business catering weddings, banquets, birthdays and celebrations throughout the year near their southern Alberta colony.
“I just love it. I love to meet people and I love to talk to people everywhere,” said Gross, manager of Sunset Catering, part of the Pincher Creek Hutterite Colony.
Summer weekends are booked months ahead with two teams of workers heading in different directions up to four hours away with truckloads of food and supplies.
Gross said they started barbequing meat on a small Traeger barbeque, but now use a custom-made Traeger that can barbeque four pigs at once.
“We have requests every year. Some people have requested us for 15 or 20 years. We kind of know what we’re doing,” she said.
With a special pork sauce, salads, homemade buns and deserts, Gross said they have the catering perfected.
“We don’t plan on stopping.” •
— By Mary MacArthur