BY KRISTIN MARAND
You may not remember the speeches, the venue or the table decorations — but a great meal is hard to forget. WOW CATERING has been creating memorable culinary events since 2017. A joint effort between catering manager and partner Kurt Marykuca, executive chef Luc Jean and WOW president and CEO Doug Stephen, the first few years were focused on catering private events, primarily in people’s homes. Then came the great shutdown of 2020. In a creative pivot, the catering company switched gears to serving food via two ghost kitchens (Mercy Me specializing in Nashville hot chicken and a vegan concept called Fuel Functional Foods) that operated out of the main hub of the catering operation, the Masonic Memorial Centre at Confusion Corner. This allowed the company to continue operating and keep their staff employed. “When restrictions lifted, we were in a unique position. We had staff already because hiring at that time was really tough and other companies couldn’t hire,” Marykuca explains. “We ended up absorbing a couple other businesses, and then in February of 2022, we won contracts at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, and that’s what really excelled us as a company.” WOW Catering is now the caterer at some of Winnipeg’s most iconic venues, including the art gallery, the human rights museum and Masonic Memorial Centre — WOW also runs the restaurants Katita and Bistro Boréal at the WAG and CMHR, respectively. They are also the preferred caterer at Alloway Hall in the Manitoba Museum, as well as at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada and the Millenium Centre. From their humble beginnings of catering one to two events per
WOW Catering is now the caterer at some of Winnipeg’s most iconic venues, including the art gallery, the human rights museum and Masonic Memorial Centre — WOW also runs the restaurants Katita and Bistro Boréal at the WAG and CMHR, respectively.
week, the company has grown to 30-plus events per week, and they are approaching a milestone of 6,000 events catered.
SAVOUR MANITOBA | SPRING/SUMMER 25 27
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