Mention the name “Jolanda” in the Village, and chances are, just about everyone will know who you mean.
She’s Jolanda Day, caterer extraordinaire, who’s been providing feasts for all sorts of Village events — luncheons for Mother’s Day, Christmas and other holidays; meals tailored to the Kentucky Derby, Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day and other events; dinners for special club gatherings; even private parties.
She also runs Jolanda’s Cafe, a breakfast and lunch place in Lake Forest that is open daily.
All in all, a very busy schedule.
“I tend to work seven days a week — not because I’m a workaholic, but because it is something I have always loved,” she says. “I believe that it’s most important to do what you love and do it with integrity, and the money will follow. Maybe not a lot of money, but enough to enjoy your life.”
Jolanda — that’s how she prefers to be called, she said, because nobody in the Village knows her by her last name — has been catering for about 35 years. Born and raised in Switzerland, she spent a considerable amount of time in Texas before she came to California in the late 1990s.
“I came to study in America from Switzerland for a year,” she said, laughing. “I never went back, other than to visit family.”
She came by the catering business just as unexpectedly, after a chance meeting.
“I met a French woman at a swim meet where my kids were competing, and we became good friends,” she said. “One day she asked me if I would help her with an upcoming catering event that she had booked at a residence in Laguna Woods.”
Jolanda agreed and observed how the woman was preparing the dinner. This gave Jolanda the idea that she would be able to do the same thing, only much better, simply by being more organized.
“My dad was a chef, and he worked in many restaurants and hotels, so as a young child I was always running around in big commercial kitchens,” she recalled. “I was familiar and comfortable with all the food terminology, and I always wanted to be in the food business, even as a child. I decided that helping my friend was going to be my future and allowed me to contribute to our household.”
For many years, Jolanda catered only in people’s homes for small groups of 10 to 30 people.
“My business and my confidence began to grow, and one day someone asked me to cater a dinner for 200 people in a clubhouse in Laguna Woods,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if I could pull this off. I had never imagined myself catering to this many people.”
She was extremely nervous about the prospect, she said, but then she read a passage in a Reader’s Digest magazine: “How do you know you can’t do something unless you try?”
“Those words resonated with me, and that was it,” she said.
Jolanda catered the event, and it went well. Her business grew, with her primary clientele in the Village.
In January 2000, she bought a small, unassuming cafe in Lake Forest where she figured she could prepare the food for her catering business.
“I had never intended to be a restaurant owner, but to my surprise, the cafe took off and has been a cozy breakfast place for many locals,” she said.
Along the way, Jolanda has had help from her family. Her husband, Don, was an active participant in the catering business until he died a few years ago. Peter, one of her two sons, is her “valuable right-hand man in the business,” and her daughter is a teacher who lives in Los Angeles. Jolanda is also a proud grandmother of four girls.
In March 2020, the pandemic changed everything in her business. All the clubhouses shut down, and there have been no events to cater for more than a year.
“My cafe came to a point where I was afraid that I would have to close the doors and lay off my employees who have been so loyal to me for 20 years,” Jolanda said.
To survive, she started delivering boxed lunches and dinners.
That June, she was asked to participate in a state program called Great Plates Delivered, administered through Age Well Senior Services, to deliver food to eligible seniors. The program was a lifesaver.
“It kept me afloat financially,” she said, “and I was able to retain all my employees.”
The program ended in late November, but the cafe’s doors are open again, and Jolanda and her crew have resumed regular daily food deliveries.
Despite the rough times, the principles Jolanda started out with have never wavered: “My philosophy has always been to give my customers their money’s worth, to always keep my word no matter what, and to always provide what I promised, even if it meant losing money on the job,” she said.
“I conducted my business with no contracts to be signed and my word was all that was needed. In all these years, I never had a customer skip on the payment.”
And she can look back on her accomplishments with pride.
“The cafe, although it wasn’t what I ever thought I’d own, has grown to be a very charming place where people can gather and feel comfortable knowing that the food, taste and quality will be great, and they will never go away hungry,” she said.
Jolanda’s Cafe, at 23615 El Toro Road, Suite T, in Lake Forest, is open seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Call 949-951-8675 or go to jolandascatering.com.
https://www.ocregister.com/2021/05/29/you-know-her-cooking-now-meet-jolanda
2021-05-30 02:40:29Z
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