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(Lander, WY) – Husband and wife duo, Joe and Angie Hammer, along with their little chef in training, Jackson, launched Prairie Fire Catering just over a month ago and their plate is filling fast this summer.
Not only do they cater private events such as weddings and parties, but you may also spot them at community events like Lander Presents and the farmer’s market.
Joe, a professional chef, and Angie, a level two certified sommelier, have decades of varied experiences in the restaurant business from working in both Philadelphia and Lander.
The two serve up fresh, scratch-made eats from customized menus to fit their customer’s tastes, styles, and budgets. If feeding a large gathering isn’t part of your plan, they also offer smaller-scale event options like at-home dinner parties, cooking classes, wine dinners and cocktail parties.
Catering is something they have discussed for quite some time and shared that it just felt like a good time to do it. Their first catering event was for a friend’s wedding and things have taken off from there.
“I kind of always knew that I wanted to be in the industry,” Angie shared with County 10.
She explained she was “born” into it since her parents being restaurant owners. Angie worked for them while growing up and moved on to other restaurants. After graduating from college, she turned the restaurant and hospitality industry into her career.
She began formally studying wine in 2014, and passed the required exams which include written, a blind taste and a service to become a level two certified sommelier in the Court of Master Sommelier program.
Joe was also in the restaurant industry his entire life, noting it’s the only thing he’s ever done. His spark to become a chef began in 2008 when he worked in a nice restaurant at a ski resort in his hometown. The chef there took him under his wing and taught him many things. In 2010, he attended culinary school in Pittsburgh.
“It just sort of took off for me when I got out of culinary school,” he said.
His internship out of culinary school was at a restaurant that produced their own food on a several hundred-acre farm. From there he was the executive chef at different fine dining establishments in Philadelphia and eventually met Angie while working at one.
The two moved to Lander in the spring of 2019 when Joe took the executive chef job at Mulino. This was not Angie’s first time in Lander though, she lived here about seven years ago.
They are both excited to have their dream of owning their own custom catering company off the ground and providing this service to the community.
Their calendar has filled fast this summer, but encourage anyone interested in custom catering for big or small events to contact them through the Prairie Fire Catering Facebook page, by calling (610) 295-7086 or emailing [email protected].
