Taste! To Go Achieves Event Excellence

August 1, 2024

By April Pearson 

Founded by sisters Emily Gross and Andrea Williams in Des Moines 20 years ago, Taste! To Go has grown from a small café in the Drake neighborhood to a thriving kitchen in the Waveland neighborhood, complete with an events venue called Curate in the East Village. Thanks to innovative problem-solving, community support, and access to fresh, quality, local ingredients, Taste! To Go is a go-to catering and event-planning company in Central Iowa. 

The Sisters Serving Up Success 

Williams dreamed of starting Taste! To Go after graduating from culinary school in 2004, and asked Gross to help out temporarily. Gross was working for an Iowa senator at the time but looking to leave her life of legislation, so she agreed. She had no experience in business, culinary arts or event planning, but had a strong work ethic and a hungry mind. She learned on the job, grew to love it and decided to make her temporary role permanent.  
 
“I think what really kept me was that our businesses started growing quickly, and I liked watching the development and growth,” says Gross. “It was extremely challenging — and it’s still challenging because every event is new — but that’s the part I like. There’s always a problem to solve, and I love doing that with my team.” 

The Team Behind Taste! To Go 
Taste! To Go flawlessly produces corporate events, weddings and private parties. Williams, the executive chef, plans every menu, orders the ingredients and manages the kitchen. She and her team — including Brett Henderson, a talented chef — prepare all the dishes from scratch. Their expertise in the kitchen ensures that every dish meets the high standards that Taste! To Go is known for.   

Gross, the business manager, oversees event planning, hiring, HR, payroll and sales. She’s assisted by Jayme Jaeger, an event manager who helps manage logistics to ensure each event runs smoothly. “We’re so lucky — we've got a great team right now,” says Gross. “Andrea has Brett in the kitchen, who is incredible. And I have Jayme — another great partner I can count on to deliver amazing events for our clients.”  

The Culinary Creations of an Iowa Kitchen 

As executive chef, Williams sources ingredients for Taste! To Go’s signature dishes from Farm Table Delivery, a local business that procures produce, dairy and meat from small-to-mid-sized farms all over Iowa and other parts of the Midwest. Working with an aggregate business like Farm Table Delivery makes it possible for Taste! To Go to offer a wide range of options featuring delicious, wholesome ingredients.  
 
“What’s great about Farm Table is that they source from lots of different farms,” says Gross. “Since our ingredient lists aren’t as consistent as a restaurant’s — we may need 400 servings of lettuce one week and none the next — it’s nice to have a food distribution partner that can get us the ingredients we need when they’re at their peak.” 
 
And what does Chef Williams prepare with those peak ingredients? Small plates like fried green tomato bites topped with bacon, arugula and crème fraiche. Salads like mixed greens with dried cherries, blue cheese, candied nuts and a balsamic vinaigrette. Main courses like beef tenderloin medallions with a red wine sauce, pommes puree and rainbow carrots. And don’t forget desserts like cheesecake with dulce de leche, chocolate or strawberries. 
 
Gross says a lot of Taste! To Go’s clients like to showcase Iowa products — especially when out-of-towners come to visit. “We may have a client marrying someone from Colorado or California, or a client bringing in associates from the East Coast for a corporate event. And these clients will say, ‘We want to show the people traveling here all the great things Iowa has to offer,’ so we’ll create a seasonal, local and special menu. It’s really fun to create based on that concept.”  

The Community That Comes Together 
Gross credits Iowa’s supportive community and abundant resources with much of Taste! To Go’s success. From the Small Business Administration (SBA) to Iowa State Extension, the state offers numerous programs for small business owners, particularly women-owned businesses. The willingness of others to share their knowledge and encouragement has been a cornerstone of the company's growth.  

“I think people in our community wanted to see us succeed,” says Gross. “We started our little café in the Drake neighborhood, and the people there were super kind and happy to give us their business. Having support from the university and the neighbors was amazing. Then we moved down the street to the Waveland neighborhood, and they’ve also been incredible.”   
 
It’s only natural that Gross and Williams would want to give back to the community that’s given Taste! To Go so much. The company is active in the Waveland Neighborhood Association, partners with Roosevelt High School for dinners and events, and donates food to local charitable organizations. 

The Ideals Instilled in Iowa 

As Taste! To Go continues to thrive, Gross and Williams remain dedicated to the Iowa values that have brought them success: innovation, community, quality and generosity. Celebrating two decades of culinary excellence, Taste! To Go truly embodies the spirit of Iowa. 

Photos by Joseph Hopper