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• Customized meal planning takes imagination. • Incorporating local products into the menu.


Midwest Meetings:


Tell us about your back- ground and how you be- came involved in the food and beverage business? Patty Lemke: I be-


gan my career in the hos- pitality industry as a front desk clerk in Texarkana, TX in 1977 and could never have imagined where it would take me. From front desk clerk to food and beverage direc- tor there was not a job in that little hotel that I did not do. It gave me a real


appreciation for the term cross-training. Before coming to Madison and Monona Catering my ca-


reer followed the path of director of catering and food and beverage director in various hotels from Knoxville and Pi- geon Forge, TN to Fayetteville, NC. If you have never worked in a seasonal resort location like Pigeon Forge, you just haven’t lived. In season, there is too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Off season, there are staff layoffs and again not enough hours in the day. A true learning experience! A subsequent relocation brought me to


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Minneapolis and Kelber Catering, the on-premise caterer for the Minneapolis Convention Center and parent company of Monona Catering. I began with Kelber in 1993 as a sales assistant, had a brief foray into restaurant ownership during the mid 90’s with my husband, but when I was offered the position of Director of Sales on Monona Catering’s Opening Team for Monona Terrace Commu- nity and Convention Center in Madison in 1996, it was a chance of a lifetime that I couldn’t turn down. The past 15 years with Monona Catering have been a fascinat-


ing journey, which has taken me from director of sales to my cur- rent position as general manager. My career has given me a lot over the years, so I feel it is important to give back to our industry and its future leaders. I do that by being involved with organizations like the Wisconsin Restaurant Association (WRA) and National As- sociation of Catering Executives (NACE), where my involvement has included board positions on both the local and national level. I also serve on a program advisory committee for MATC (Madison Area Technical College) and volunteer with the Urban League in their workforce development program. MM: What do you enjoy most about being in the industry? PL: Great food and service is what we are all about, but I truly


enjoy the relationship building; both with our customers, many of who return year after year and especially our staff. We have a great team and I feel privileged to lead them. MM: There seems to always be new food and drink trends. What


are some of today’s trends and what things are you expecting in 2011? PL: Appetizers and bite-sized food is still very popular, but local,


MIDWEST MEETINGS SUMMER 2011


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