How to Support Local - License to Sear Edition
Let's face it! In times like these we are all dreaming of leaving the house... and better yet taking an AMAZING a vacation in a country where the cuisine takes your breath away!
Well, a vacation may not be in grasp, however you can treat yourself to cuisine inspired by countries of the world from License to Sear!
Let's hear from Kyle Sala of License to Sear on how they're not only bringing new and exciting things to the table, but also helping to support other small businesses along the way!
Tell us about your business and why you decided to open. We are a mobile custom catering company specializing in large private functions like weddings, employee appreciations and backyard events. Having a mobile catering trailer provides us a unique opportunity to bring the food directly to you, wherever you are, even your very own backyard, literally. Our menus range from classic buffet service to sit down plated and coursed meals. Cory and I grew up together in Kingsville our whole lives, but as we grew older, we went on our separate paths. Cory followed his cooking passion from the age of 16 working at the Vintage Goose for his first job and stayed in the industry ever since while also earning his culinary certificate at St. Claire College. I went to university and it was there that I worked at a private golf course and gained my passion for food. When I moved back and joined Cory’s culinary team at the Kingsville Golf Course, we eventually decided the time was right in 2017 to start a new chapter of our culinary journey and License to Sear was created.
What business was like before COVID-19? We started our business with mostly local festivals and on-site locations - parking our food truck in town at local breweries or storefronts and selling our food to the customers passing by. We slowly transitioned recently into large private catering and more specifically weddings. We have a 28-foot mobile kitchen, fully equipped to handle events up to 300 guests and we can do it all in your backyard or a venue that may suite your needs better. 2020 was gearing up to be our best year to date with over 20 weddings booked and partnerships with local producers and suppliers that were strengthening our bond to the Windsor and Essex County community that we are proud to be a part of and help feed.
What has business been like since the outbreak of COVID-19? Since the outbreak we have had to shift our focus. We wanted to still be able to reach our loyal and supportive customers, so we decided to launch a weekly pick up and delivery service. We started at the beginning of March and its been very well received so far. Weekly menus take you on a journey around the world as we try to visit different flavours of cuisine around the world, using some of the best ingredients we can find, here in the Kingsville specifically! Each week has seen an increase in activity and we are loving seeing the new faces!
How will this impact your business long term? We hope to continue doing our takeout service even past the pandemic. It has been successful from the start and it’s given us opportunity to feed our friends, family and local community supporters again, something we haven’t been able to do as much since we transitioned to more private custom catering. The recent change in everyone’s lives and businesses has motivated us to try new things and reach new customers and we are doing our best to ensure everyone’s safety in such important times. How can people help? The first thing we ask is to please follow the social and physical guidelines when considering ordering our takeout service. We provide pick up or delivery for this very reason, to help reach everyone in the safest way possible. Secondly, you could help by placing an order yourself. Of course the meal you order from us will feed the whole family(and seconds, possibly thirds!) but furthermore, it would help support the local farmers, butchers, road side stands and lastly it would help our small business grow in a new and exciting direction. We’d love to take you on a tour of the world, from the comfort of your own home.
You can follow License to Sear on their socials (Instagram and Facebook) to keep tabs on their weekly specials!