Small Business Startup: 44 North Boutique Catering

“During COVID, I had a lot of extra time and I began creating these masterpieces of a sweet potato with some brisket and then began playing with garnishes. Now I am seeing food as art, the presentation of it, and how you present it on the plate,” she explained.

This experience and exploration in the kitchen paired with her passion and understanding of what a healthy balanced meal is led Dietterich to follow her dream of being self-employed.

44 North Boutique Catering and Private Chef Service started in January 2023. Dietterich has customized her newly created endeavor to assist families who would like balanced meals prepared for them at their home by her or meal-prepped dinners or lunches that can be warmed up at home or on the go. She also caters to private parties and will even travel to islands in the St. Lawrence Thousand Islands region by boat to prepare a gourmet meal for families, friend gatherings or events.

“If you’re a busy person and you don’t have enough time to prep your own meals I will create individual servings, it’s all portioned out. They’re not big portions, they’re what a normal person should eat. So that way, I can be a little lenient with the healthy aspect of it. Just making sure that they have at least four ounces of protein, a cup of carbs, half a cup of vegetables,” Dietterich explains.

She says that her customers that enjoy this aspect of her business are school teachers, business owners and parents who have busy schedules and want to ensure their children are getting balanced meals.

The other side of the business, the private chef component, is something that Dietterich says brings her great joy as she is able to use ingredients in creative ways, most recently traveling to homes to do educational “How-to” dinners instructing guests on how to make sushi.

“I wake up every day and I love to go to work. I’m happy I get to go cook for people. I remember having the feeling of wishing I had someone to come and cook for me and my family at home and now I get to provide that to other people,” said Dietterich. “A lot of people ask, ‘Do you have a menu?’ I don’t like having a menu to be honest with you, it gives me freedom to create something in my mind.”

Diettrich explains that a customer will call her and they will walk through their likes and dislikes, dietary restrictions, etc. and then she will develop the menu and a price per person. She will then come over and prep, cook and clean.

“If I have a group of over 15 people my daughter who is an aspiring chef, and does a lot of internship work for me as she is preparing to go off to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, will assist in the preparation and day or night of the execution," she said.

With her knowledge and passion for food, Diettrich has found her new business booming and even though she is very busy, the freedom that owning her own business has brought her what  she says is "priceless."

“Being able to be your own boss, doing what you love, has reminded me that I have a lot to be thankful for. I just one day woke up and said ‘I want to cook for a living, this is what I want to do. This would make me happy every single day.’ And it does.