Culinary Concepts

Specialties

Culinary Concepts is committed to enriching and improving the lives of our employees, and we achieve this goal through mentoring and continued education. Almost 20 years later, most of the members of our original team are still with us, including our original kitchen team – one of whom started as a dishwasher and is now a talented chef, and of course Chris (Chef Manfred’s son) who started helping out in the kitchen at age 3, and has grown to be one of our top chefs! The experienced members of the team are passionate about handing down the knowledge and skills that they possess to new team members. Over time, we have also added a knowledgeable sales team, an invincible operations manager, and an excellent head chef.

History

Established in 1990.

Nearly 2 decades ago, Culinary Concepts was conceived in the heart of San Diego, the brainchild of a small group of event professionals, well-​versed in the catering and restaurant industry. There was the experienced chef, bringing his international training and talented command of the kitchen to the table (pun intended!). Then came our fearless leader, a business-​savvy sales director, full of creative and visionary innovations and not the type to shy away from any challenge (big or small). Next was the décor specialist THE authority in event styling, who single-​handedly necessitated that our little one story warehouse expand — rapidly! — to accommodate the props, linens, buffet accents, and equipment we used to bring our client’s dreams to life. Along with our skillful and professional event staff and tireless kitchen team, Culinary Concepts began to blossom.

Meet the Business Owner

Kathy K.

Business Owner

Kathy has spent nearly her entire life in the industry, starting as a hostess when she was 15. After years of experience serving and managing at several restaurants, Kathy found herself climbing the ladder in event sales. At The Harbor House Restaurant in Seaport Village, Kathy personally developed the events department, which has been thriving since its inception. During her tenure at The Abbey, Kathy experienced the pinnacle of her career at the time. The Superbowl came to San Diego for the first time ever, and Kathy brought in powerhouse clients such as NBC, USA Today, Toyota and more, bringing in half a million dollars in revenue over a 5-​day period. From there, she knew she had the chops to start her own company, and founded Culinary Concepts with partner Manfred Gerzabek.