Tawas, Michigan, located on the western edge of Lake Huron (Great Lakes) is the summer destination for hosts of visitors arriving via land and water. Tawas is also the year-round home to Owens Custom Catering, a well-established business with a clientele that consists of local families and businesses as well as a myriad of seasonal visitors from across the globe.
“It is one, interconnected system and I intend to continue seeking out a stronger and healthier supply chain for foods that heal.” - Amanda Owens
Amanda Owens, owner of Owens Custom Catering, has followed her passion of cooking by growing this multi-faceted business and its following. Smart, driven and collaborative, Amanda’s company seemingly runs on all cylinders offering group and private catering, cooking classes, as well as prepared meals at the seasonal farmers market. As she describes it, she loves cooking and nutrition and while working in fine dining for a decade, she gained insight into the commercial side of the traditional food supply chain. She wanted something different.
On summer week-ends, you can find Amanda at the Northeast Michigan Regional Farm Market offering prepared meals sourced with ingredients from local harvester/growers. Amanda perpetually measures her business success alongside the success of her partner businesses and community, as well as her customers. She clearly subscribes to the popular saying - a rising tide lifts all boats.
When you meet Amanda, you will learn quickly that she is on a forever mission
seeking out independent and unique food suppliers that support the highest possible nutrient value, backed by science. In 2020, business grew substantially as customers recognized the flaws in the food supply chain and their individual roles in supporting optimal health. “My product can only be as good as the ingredients and I want to be consistently proud of what I serve my customers,” says Amanda. “That means steadily raising the bar on quality, appeal, nutrient value and convenience.” Amanda walks the talk. She finds herself speaking with customers, in some depth about the source of her ingredients, the soil conditions, nutrient values and ways certain foods can contribute to better health. “They love it and have contributions of their own,” she stated. To that end, Amanda recently began a certified nutrition program to increase her knowledge and continue those conversations with her 2021 customers and beyond. With conviction, Amanda repeats, “I want to make it as convenient as possible for my customers to select meals that fit their health profiles. It’s my job to continue learning and collaborating with professionals who have the science and expertise that support optimum health.”
There is always a moment. A turning point. A trigger. For Amanda Owens, it was
motherhood. She didn’t feel all was right with her newborn. She consulted a pediatrician, but the answers did not satisfy Amanda. She independently researched and networked to discover how to naturally comfort and heal her child. It was a long, harrowing exploration that she does not want others to have to experience. This began her on-going journey into the connections between food, health and environment. There was no going back. “It is one, interconnected system and I intend to continue seeking out a stronger and healthier supply chain for foods that heal.”, she says.
Amanda is what makes the world bright and hopeful by being one of the best versions of entrepreneurial leadership moving forward concrete solutions on food, health and collaboration. She is an influencer with a kind, intelligent, magnetic style. She is intensely curious, which very likely the trait that healed her child. She now magnifies that same trait, on behalf of her customers and future customers, identifying and preparing foods that support their best possible health and well-being.
Amanda Owens opening words to our membership, “The sky is the ceiling when you do not limit your exposure to new ideas.”
