Culinary Crafts is the first caterer ever to win both of these awards in the same year, and is the only Utah caterer who has ever won either award. For the ACE award Culinary Crafts was up against caterers throughout the western United States, including California, Hawaii, Arizona and Colorado. For the Caterer of the Year Award, Culinary Crafts won out over caterers from around the world. Upon hearing the announcement at the gala awards dinner (described as “The Oscars of Catering”) Mary Crafts-Homer, President and CEO of Culinary Crafts, said, “I was stunned! It took a couple of seconds for it to sink in that we had won both awards. These are two of the highest honors a caterer can receive. It’s been an amazing journey.”
The annual Catersource ACE Award recognizes companies who have shown noteworthy achievement in the catering industry through culinary, business, community and professional development. Five winners are chosen each year to represent the best of the best in each of five geographic regions: Midwest, South, East, West and International. Judging is done by a panel of previous ACE winners.
The Caterer of the Year CATIE is awarded by the International Catering Association (ICA), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing education, mentoring and resources to professional caterers worldwide, and to promoting the profession of catering to the event industry. The CATIE’S are judged annually by culinary and event industry professionals and industry media professionals.
Culinary Crafts, based in Orem Utah, started as a small family-run catering company. It is now the largest off-premise catering company in Utah, and is still run by the family. Mary’s two sons, Ryan, Director of Catering, and Kaleb, Director of Operations and Corporate Sales, and her daughter Meagan Crafts-Price, Event Manager, all work in the business. Culinary Crafts has additional offices and a venue, "The Tasting Room", in downtown Salt Lake City. Culinary Crafts has built a stellar reputation in the event industry with their innovative restaurant quality catering, and their deep commitment to excellence in food and service. Culinary Crafts is also a leader in promoting Utah and Utah businesses. They are instrumental in marketing Utah as a world-class destination for conferences and weddings, and they champion Utah's fine food artisans by highlighting locally sourced products in their menus. Culinary Crafts caters over 600 events a year, from weddings with a few hundred guests, to international conventions with thousands of attendees.
Culinary Crafts is a 12-time “Utah Best of State” winner in the Hospitality category. These new ACE and CATIE awards mark Culinary Crafts’ achievements in the catering industry on national and international levels.
More information about Culinary Crafts can be found at www.CulinaryCrafts.com.