Bios
- Jill Santa Lucia
Jill Santa Lucia, President/CEO,
Born: Frankfurt, Germany
Favorite Recipe: Arugula and Mango Salad with White Chocolate Balsamic Vinaigrette
Time in: Inception
Jill is the CEO and owner of Catering Works, Inc. She graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 1987 with her Culinary Arts degree, and pursued further studies at The Culinary Institute of America in Food Styling and Healthy Cooking. Jill's creations have won national awards. In January 2002, Jill was awarded $10,000 for the grand prize in the Bacardi Recipe Challenge, for her Tropico Napoleon. She also she took first place in the Kikkoman-USA contest in December 2002, for her delicious Pork Chop with Cranberry Apple Compote recipe. Jill was also a finalist in Rich's Food Winning is Sweet competition for a decadent White Chocolate Banana Creme Tart. Jill has also appeared on the Food Networks' "Food Fight" as a locally recognized chef and judge.
Jill's passion for cooking started in her grandmother's kitchen. Grandma made everything from scratch, and Jill was fascinated with her Leg of Lamb and her homemade chocolate iced cookies. She and her sister, Lorin Laxton, grew up in Fairport, New York, in a close family that remains so today. Jill's committment to quality has rendered Catering Works as one of the top special event businesses in North Carolina. She has hosted a series of cooking classes at Catering Works, and also volunteered her time to teach at Interfaith Food Shuttle.
Through Catering Works, she has supported many non-profit organizations, such as Inter Faith Food Shuttle, Duke Children’s Hospital, Hospice, The Tammy Lynn Center, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Susan B. Komen, just to name a few.
Jill was recognized in the YWCA Academy of Women, for the Business Entrepreneur category in 2003. Jill and Lorin formed an LLC in 2005 and FIGS Market became the highly sought after retail outlet of Catering Works and purveyor of gourmet gadgetry and supplies.
Jill is a hard worker and her enthusiasm is felt company wide, as she never begins a day without personally greeting everyone with a smile. She is proud of the Catering Works team. The light of her life is her daughter Ella, aged 9. They spend many hours in the kitchen together at home, creating fabulous recipes that are artfully displayed! - Lorin Laxton
Lorin Laxton, Vice President
Born: Rochester, New York
Favorite Recipe: Passionfruit Charlotte
Time In: 1992
Lorin Laxton was born and raised in upstate New York. She attended Kent State University in Ohio and pursued studies in Journalism and Communications, and completed studies abroad in conjunction with her military service in the United States Navy. Lorin served in the USN for 7 years, and received the Navy Achievement Medal for various technical accomplishments. Lorin joined her sister, Jill Kucera, in Raleigh, NC in 1992 and later became co-owner of Catering Works. During her career at Catering Works Lorin developed CaterWorks© , a catering software program that plays a vital role in all aspects of Catering Works’ success, and has been distributed to other off-premise caterers throughout the U.S. While Jill was creating award winning culinary masterpieces, Lorin brought systematic organization and software solutions to Catering Works. During the early years of development and growth, she spent many years immersed in accounting and general business management for the firm. As a co-principal in the FIGS market venture, Lorin became the on-site manager at this retail outlet of Catering Works. Upon her full return to Catering Works, she decided to pursue wedding sales, design and coordination. Lorin’s commitment to environmentally responsible policies at Catering Works stems from a family connection, her brother Brett is a wildlife biologist. Lorin is the proud mother of Meredith Laxton who is attending the College of Design at NC State University. In her free time, which there is very little of these days, she enjoys nature and photography.
- James Flynn
James Flynn, Treasurer/General Manager
Born: Connellsville, PA.
Favorite Recipe: Scallop Ceviche Tostada with Sweet Onion Mole
Time In: 2000
James, in one way or another has always been connected to the Entertainment/Hospitality/Retail Industry. James attended the University of Edinboro majoring in Communications, as well as Disney University in Anaheim CA in their management intern program. James grew up in the mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania and moved to Los Angeles in 1986. James moved to Raleigh from Los Angeles in 1993 after spending four years as the Attraction Operations Manager of the Queen Mary and Spruce Goose Complex in Long Beach, CA. James got his Human Resource Experience from work with The Disney Corporation, NIKE, and The Nature Company. Wanting to leave the world of corporate giants and life of travel, James joined the Catering Works team in 2000 as the Human Resource Director. “It was exactly what I wanted” says James, a small, local and hugely successful family run business with nothing but growth before them. Since joining the company James has seen Catering Works grow to a leader in the catering business in the Carolinas. In 2006 James became General Manager of the company and in 2007 James was made a partner in the business by Jill Kucera the founder of Catering Works. Jill, her sister Lorin and James have been able to keep the family feel of the business as it grows as well as maintaining the professionalism needed for a successful operation. “We all enjoy what we do at Catering Works. I now have 2 sisters and an extended family, what more could you ask for.” James owes his success and personality to his upbringing and his family. My parents let me find out who I was, I had several rock bands, was in theater, traveled and enjoyed life. Their only rules were to have a job and go to church. “I have the best Mom and Dad anyone could ever have.”
- EW Fulcher
EW Fulcher, Event Sales & Design Consultant
Born: Hatteras Island
Favorite Recipe: Corn Cakes with Spicy Duck Confit and Mocha Fudge Torte
Time In: 1997
Elbert Wilton Fulcher (E.W.) grew up in Currituck and graduated from high school in 1981. E.W. received his AS degree from Chowan Baptist College and pursued further studies at UNC Chapel Hill. Shortly after college, E.W. was employed by Spinnakers Restaurants. As General Manager he opened 18 Spinnakers restaurants from the ground up, and achieved the highest sales corporation-wide. He was able to travel extensively throughout the mid-Atlantic, troubleshooting other restaurants with low performance and affecting increases in sales and efficiency. E.W.'s passion for design began at home, as he derived much of his creativity from the inspired minds of his mother and grandfather. His unique skill set includes an exceptional flair for creative design along with necessary leadership to drive a project to successful completion.
E.W. received 5 EVIE Awards (Carolinas International Special Events Society) for various design concepts at the state level. He has also been a NACE “top of the table” design winner for the past three years running.
At Catering Works, E.W. has worked in many capacities, from Sales Manager to Head of Operations & Production and in his current role as Event Sales and Design Consultant, with emphasis on weddings. E.W. has produced many noteable events for Catering Works including two Governor Inauguration Parties, the opening galas for South Point and Triangle Town Center Malls; a cast party for Cirque du Soleil, corporate events for Nordstrom Department Store, The Museum of Natural Science and the IMAX Theater, as well as many beautiful weddings.
E.W. has an uncanny ability to take the vision of the client and turn it into a stunning reality! His dedication and contributions to Catering Works have resulted in the firm's growth and success. - Frank Peters
Frank Peters, Executive Chef
Born: Buffalo, NY
Favorite Recipe: Everything he prepares!
Time in: 2005
Frank began his amazing food career washing dishes in a diner in Middletown, PA in the late 1980’s. He began in Raleigh as a sous chef at Glenwood Grill and the Twisted Fork. Frank has also served as Executive Chef at Bogart’s American Grill. Frank is self taught and very passionate about food. During his employment with Catering Works, Frank has been recognized and has won several prestigious awards in the Triangle area, including the “Peoples Choice” winner at the Epicurious Vino Challenge at the Hinnant Family Vineyards and “Best Overall” in the Iron Chef Chocolate Competition at the Museum of Natural Science (October 2009). Frank has also participated in the “Toast of the Triangle” for the past 4 years and won several honors. Frank's award winning creations have positioned Catering Works as a leader in entertaining and fine dining. As our Executive Chef, Frank oversees a kitchen of 16 team members and assumes responsibility for over 500 special events and nearly 6,000 delivery orders each year, in short, serving approximately 50,000 meals a year (phew, that's a lot of chicken). Frank’s creativity, attention to detail and presentation as well as his avant-garde approach to culinary artistry has made Catering Works stand out from our competitors. Frank has developed menus that appeal to the diversity of our region and encompass vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and many other special dietary requests. Since his time at Catering Works Frank has prepared dishes for 1 U.S. President and 1 U.S. Vice President, as well as our state and local representatives and celebrities. Frank is married and the proud father of 1 daughter and 2 sons.
- Anthony Calcagno
Anthony Calcagno, Executive Pastry Chef
Born: Brooklyn, New York
Favorite Recipe: Seared Foie Gras on toast points and anything chocolate
Time In: 2011
Anthony was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Uniondale, Long Island at the age of 4. Before he found his calling as a Pastry Chef he was interested in architectural drafting. This talent along with his love of “anything chocolate” grew into a lifelong position as a Pastry Chef. He began his career working at a friend’s bakery in Brooklyn. From there he was employed as a Pastry Cook at Rockefeller Center in New York City working for its 3 restaurants under the tutelage of various international chefs with whom he credits his love of Parisian, Austrian and Italian desserts. He honed his skills at both The Harvard Club and Palio Restaurant in NYC where he served as Assistant Pastry Chef. From there he secured the Pastry Chef position at The Hilton at Short Hills Hotel in New Jersey. He was instrumental in helping achieve the hotel’s AAA Five diamond and Five Star rating. It was here that Anthony was able to expand his knowledge of pulled sugar and chocolate sculpting at the International School of Confectionery Arts with Ewald Notter. In 1994 another opportunity was offered to Anthony at a prestigious corporate country club in NJ. Being a golfer, he jumped at the chance to be the Executive Pastry Chef at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club. In 1998 Anthony got married and moved to Pennsylvania where he and his wife added to their family by rescuing a golden retriever named Guinness. They have since rescued another golden named Tyler. In 2001 Anthony was offered the position of Executive Pastry Chef at the renowned intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC, but he chose to relocate to North Carolina to work at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary – a wise decision. Here he created elegant wedding cakes surpassing couples expectations and quickly gained a reputation as one of the areas leading wedding cake designers. He revels in creating palate pleasing, eye catching plated desserts. Anthony has earned many pastry awards for originality and best in show. His pastry creations have been seen in Culinary Trends Magazine, Cary Magazine, and The New York Times. Anthony, his wife Jennifer, son Benjamin, 7 and daughter Sarah, 4 reside in Apex where Anthony enjoys golfing, baseball and spending time with his family.
- Pam Walklet
Pam Walklet , Corporate Sales Manager
Born: Honolulu Hawaii
Favorite Recipe: Mixed Greens with Cranberries, Pears & Walnuts
Time In: 2003
Pam grew up in Northern California and been working in the food industry for most of her adult life. Pam’s epicurean adventures started while growing up in Northern California’s Wine Country. Pam worked in the tasting rooms at Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley. She also worked at several award-winning restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pam attended College in California before marrying her husband John. In 1998 they moved east to Maryland where they lived for 4 years. Pam has three children; a son attending UNC Wilmington, a daughter attending Clemson University and a daughter at home attending Cardinal Gibbons High School. Pam is very involved in all her children’s activities from Soccer to Softball to Rugby. She has a wonderful adopted Bernese Mountain Dog and in her spare time she loves to cook and relax when she is not traveling to a game.
Pam is the voice of Catering Works. Her rapport with our clients have made ordering from us seem like calling an old friend. - Joseph Barnes
Joseph Barnes, Floral Designer
Born: Rocky Mount, NC
Favorite Recipe: Vietnamese Spring Roll with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Time In: 2004
Joseph is a Carolina native and spent his educational years taking several classes in art and design. He is a self taught designer and continuously researches and educates himself on the latest trends and styles. Joseph started his design career as a visual designer for Pier One Imports and moved on to work for Fallon's Florist, and other local florists. At Catering Works Joseph as participated in the NACE Top of the Table design competition winning “Best in Category” 3 years in a row as well as The Toast of the Triangle (Tammy Lynn Foundation), designing the Catering Works presentation 4 years and taking home a best presentation award in 2006 and 2008.
Joseph is extermely innovative, and is able to produce incredible designs with the smallest pieces of inspiration; a color or company logo for instance, evolves into a fresh creation that can quickly steal the stage at the event. He prides himself on resourcefulness, finding unusual containers and methods of display is his specialty. He cotinually studies the latest trends and enjoys a challenge. Joseph has a strong passion for his work and has been responsible for Catering Works favorable reputation in quality and affordable floral designs. - Kelli Harrison
Kelli Harrison, Event Sales Representative
Born: Pottsville, PA
Favorite Recipe: Corn Cakes with Duck Confit
Time In: 2012
Kelli grew up in Pottsville, PA and attended West Chester University outside Philadelphia majoring in Marketing and Psychology. She moved to Philadelphia for her Senior year of college and lived there for 4 years working in sales before moving to Apex, NC with husband VJ in 2006.
Kelli worked at Marbles Kids Museum directing the Facility Rental’s department for over 5 years where she managed sales requests for wedding ceremonies and receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate meetings, parties and additional social gatherings; working closely with cliental to carry out their vision. While at Marbles she served as a committee member of the Isaac Hunter and Horizon Hospitality Award Winners 2010, 2011, 2012
Kelli and VJ have two daughters, Charlotte and Grace and a Bernese mountain dog Riley. In addition to traveling to see family in PA, Connecticut and going to the beach in Hilton Head, she enjoys spending time with her family at various parks in the area and trying out new restaurants with her husband.
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