dana shortt gourmet shop
55 Erb Street East
Unit 101
Waterloo, Ontario
N2J 4K8

phone: 519-880-1555
email: retail@danashortt.ca
web: www.danashortt.ca

Adding Some Shortt'ning - Dana Shortt Gourmet Expands to Meet Chef's Innate Need to Entertain
By Greg MacDonald, Chronicle Staff
Business Section
April 2, 2008

When Dana Shortt was a young girl, she loved helping her mother host guests. She'd help cook, set the table and serve the food whenever her mother had a dinner party. And on nights when there were no guests, Shortt would tell her mother that she should have dinner parties every night. Her exasperated mother would protest, saying, "When you get older, you can have guests every night if you'd like."
And now she does.

Shortt owns and operates Dana Shortt Gourmet, a catering business and food shop on Erb Street. Since 2004, Shortt and her team have provided high-end catering for various events, from personal parties to big corporate dinners. "I always loved helping my mom make meals and hosting parties, and while I don't have parties at my house, I get to help people with their events," Shortt said.
It's the perfect scenario for the young girl who loved to host. But the path from being mom's little helper to gourmet chef and businesswoman wasn't that direct.

Shortt originally attended the University of Guelph for nutrition, but eventually decided that wasn't the path for her. She switched to hotel and food administration and finished her degree, but was still unsure what to do. "I didn't know what to do. I knew I loved food and I wanted to be involved in the food business," Shortt said. She eventually went to chef school and opened her own catering business in Waterloo.

At first, Shortt had very little help, with one other chef on staff -- and sometimes a little help from mom. In the beginning, Shortt was involved with every aspect of the business, from testing recipes, to accounting, to making all the food for catered events. Over the past five years, however, Dana Shortt Gourmet has grown and the owner has moved more to the business side of the venture. She now employs 10 staff members as well as more than 20 servers. "I don't miss being involved in the everyday stuff," Shortt said. "I don't need to make every quesadilla that goes out."

Focusing on the business side has allowed Shortt to capitalize on some opportunities. The store at 55 Erb Street East has recently expanded from 500 square feet to 2,000, taking over Blessings gift shop. She's expanded her business to include some of the services that Blessings offered, including gift baskets and gourmet chocolate. "I always wanted to do gift baskets and sell chocolate but never did because (Blessings sold those). We had a good relationship and were good neighbours," Shortt said. So when the opportunity to purchase Blessings came along Shortt jumped it.

The main food shop, which offers fresh and frozen lunches, as well as baked goods and gourmet labels, moved into the old gift shop and the old store was converted into a kitchen. And while chocolate and gift baskets are an exciting new venture, the store's main currency is still catering.

Dana Shortt Gourmet offers full-service catering for customers who want the works, as well as pick up catering for people who want delicious food but don't need a full service staff. They also offer frozen items off their menu, which includes quiches, soups and entrees such as Asian-glazed salmon, cashew chicken curry and beef bourguignon.

Shortt is happy with the expanded location and hopes she can offer even more services in the future. "It's always good to start small but I had been hoping to expand. Now we have the space to offer more and do more," she said. But the growth won't stop at a bigger store. She's got lots of ideas of things she'd like to try. The first on her list being gourmet delivery. "I noticed a lot of our customers go north to cottages for the summer, or weekends," Shortt said. "I'd like to have a refrigerated truck go up there once a week or something and deliver our food."

Before she can get that going, however, she has to juggle her usual responsibilities with the pressures of a newly expanded store -- not to mention she's pregnant and expecting her first baby in four weeks. And while the mom-to-be is excited about her little bundle of joy, she doesn't expect to be off work for long. "It will be a 'Shortt' maternity leave," she joked.

And once she's back, she has even bigger ideas, including writing a cookbook and starting a gourmet food label. Shortt also wants to start food appreciation and cooking classes at the store. It sounds like there will be a lot on the plate for the new mom. "We'll see how it goes. I love my business and I love what I do. And I'm going to be a mom," she said. "I'll be trying to juggle the two for a while."