A Tiny Peek into the Lives of Dedicated Foodies
By: Joanne Adams
Susan and John are certified “foodies.” They fell in love over food, married in the midst of it and have built their lives and a successful catering business around it. Not many businesses can enjoy a history as interesting, or owners as colorful in their true enjoyment of the craft, but Pepper’s Fine Foods Catering does.
Susan and John are a special variety of people – kind, welcoming and hospitable beyond the expected. Working with them is effortless and graceful. They’re true epicures in every sense; dedicated and fulfilled by the simple and extravagant joys of food.
At home, the flavor of their lives is present, morning, noon and night. Many of us skip breakfast as an unexciting moment to get past. Not so with the Lawrences, it's not uncommon to find Susan and John preparing something new and exciting. Their lives are a testament to squeezing the juice out of life, one that is to be truly savored and celebrated.
Sitting down to dinner with the Lawrences recently, John enthusiastically brought me into the story of their vacation in Hawaii. Apparently, one morning while out on a drive, enjoying the beautiful scenery, Susan and John had stopped at a roadside stand to buy some fresh fruits and spied fresh organic coffee beans. He asked the vendor if he knew the farmer that grew the beans and learned that it happened to be the vendor’s daughter. The vendor directed them to her farm and off they went. Winding up the side of the volcanic hill and around vegetation true to Hawaiian beauty, they finally arrived to find a fabulous little farm that grew nothing but organic coffee beans, spices and fruits. They ended up spending the whole day with her, learning about her farm and soaking up the local culinary flavor. Its little things like this that keep me intrigued with the story and the passion of Pepper’s.
In working with them, I’ve learned that Susan and John have literally traveled the globe in search of recipes and new flavors to bring back home. They’ve been everywhere I’ve ever dreamed of going and beyond, bringing back culture and flavor (when I first met them, they were getting ready to spend two weeks in the Napa Valley of California enjoying the finest wines and visiting the vineyards!).
Enjoying the finer things in life is the only way of life for the Lawrences. Genuinely caring about what they do, having a defined and contagious passion for it, they are the type of people you want for friends, for clients, and most definitely for caterers.