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About A Cappella Catering Co.

established 1991

For over 30 years, A Cappella Catering Co. has been a quiet pillar in the Edmonton food community while offering the city’s most advanced and efficient off-site catering operations.

Founded in Edmonton in 1991 by Todd Rutter, A Cappella Catering Co. has evolved. We now have over 100 employees in our kitchen and driving the 19 vans in our fleet. We can help you choose a menu selection from over 200 items to be served in anyway, from buffet-style and butler-style service to a simple drop off of assorted platters for a casual office nosh.

Chief Operating Officer Kim Mahoney, joined Founder Todd Rutter as co-owner in 2010, together they are proud to serve Edmontonians and continue a legacy of fabulous food and service across the greater Edmonton area.

Occupying a 10,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in central Edmonton and operating a fleet of 19 vans – A Cappella Catering Co. employs nearly 100 staff year-round to deliver and serve meals to tens of thousands of guests annually. From simple corporate breakfasts and lunches to full-scale large events and galas, we’ve got you covered.

In 2018, A Cappella Catering Co. took their show on the road (literally) with the addition of mobile services with CURBSIDE Food Truck.

Because we are locally-owned and operated, we offer personalized service from order placement to delivery and we follow up after every job is completed to provide our gratitude and collect feedback.

Todd is still highly ingrained in the day-to-day operations of the business and has a penchant to join an off-site catering event as up as part of the delivery service and waiting staff, to make sure events are up to the team’s high standards and to connect with customers to ensure they are pleased with the service and food.

Todd Rutter

Todd Rutter

FOUNDER

When Todd Rutter founded A Cappella Catering Co. in 1991, the menu was started with a few family favourites his mother taught him to make and by studying local supermarket magazine racks for recipes he could riff off of. “It’s pretty funny, I think the first thing I made was a Mushroom Madeira out of an issue of Canadian Living Magazine,” he says, with a chuckle. “We’ve progressed a lot since then, but that dish is still a fan favourite.” Rutter, a born-and-raised Edmontonian, launched “A Cappella Pizza” when he was fresh out of the University of Alberta as a young man looking to make his entrepreneurial mark on the world. A pizza joint running out of the bar at RATT (Room at the Top) on Campus where he was also a bartender seemed like a great idea at the time and a chance to get a business off the ground. “That was scary times, I remember being fairly financially on the hook for something that seemed a lot bigger than I had imagined it was going to be. I didn’t have a choice, once I got started, I had to make it successful,” he says.

Before Todd knew it, he was growing A Cappella Catering into a full-scale catering company.

He believes that as an owner, he should be hands-on and involved in day-to-day business, engaged with employees and supportive of his community.

Todd says his business principles include supporting local producers and partners, as well as encouraging staff and chefs to come up with innovative menu ideas and processes. Todd believes that good businesses are built on a bottom line of empowering people and supporting the community.

His colleagues describe him as, inventive, passionate, persistent, and generous.

“I can be a tough boss and I know it,” he says. “But ultimately I believe that you have to treat people well. If you support your employees and your partners, they will stick with you and they will take just as much pride in delivering amazing food and service to your customers as you do. I truly believe that is why we have been so successful; our people (employees) take extreme pride in what they do.”

When Todd isn’t helping run the show at A Cappella Catering , you can find him spending time with his wife and teenage son and daughter, as well as hiking, biking, skiing, running … and pretty much anything that takes him on a trek into Alberta’s beautiful outdoors. Todd has a background in Political Science and Zoology from the U of A and has been one of the province’s most successful entrepreneurs for the past two decades.

“One of my most exciting times in business over the past few years has been bringing Chief Operating Officer Kim Mahoney into the fold as a partner. Knowing that I have Kim as a strong partner with me, who started as an employee, is key,” Todd says. “When you’ve been at the helm for a long time, you have to remember that new blood and ideas are what keeps a great business thriving and evolving. Kim is part of that progression that is taking A Cappella to the next level.”

His favourite A Cappella Catering menu items include Potatoes au gratin (Dauphinoise potato) and the Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich.

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Kim Mahoney

Kim Mahoney

Chief Operating Officer

Kim Mahoney knew from the moment she started working in food services, she would own her own business one day. She just didn’t quite know how she was going to get there.

“I worked at fast-food chains as a teenager and quickly learned what a great boss and leader is and isn’t. I know what it’s like to work for people who don’t care about their employees and I swore I would never be like that if I ever got the opportunity to own my own business and lead a team,” Kim says.

After high school, Kim applied to NAIT’s Food and Beverage Management program, completed her practicum at the Chateau Lacombe hotel and began her new career in the culinary arts. By happenstance, she started working for A Cappella Catering as a casual employee when her then-roommate, was a former event coordinator needed her to cover a catering shift.

“A Cappella Catering means so much to me. When I began working here, I was a young adult at one of those transitioning times in life, and I wondered what would be next for me. I took shifts to help my friend, and before I knew it, I was working full time!” says Kim, adding that through founder, Todd Rutter’s mentorship, she was able to build her business skills in the culinary industry.

“I was able to grow so much at A Cappella Catering by developing efficiencies in the office and moving into other parts of the business from there. Todd supported my path from worker-bee to overseeing all of the operations in the office, then project managing, and today – as a partner,” she says.

Kim’s colleagues describe her as extremely organized and caring, as well as dedicated to her clients and her staff. She’s known as a bit of a den mother around the office and a strong leader.

“My office staff are well-grounded and I’m proud to have cultivated a strong team. I appreciate everyone who works for us and their unique skills and abilities. We really balance each other out and care about each other,” she says.

“I think that’s what contributes to exceptional customer service and attention, you have to make sure your team is happy and taken care of and that’s when you can trust that they will pass on those traits and feelings to every customer they come in contact with.”

Kim says she sees the A Cappella Catering Co. as a family and team. Today, her dad is even part of the crew!

“Yes, my dad moved up here from Lethbridge and he works with our team helping us out with everything from fixing things as our resident handyman to supporting efficiencies in day to day operations,” she says.

She lives in Sherwood Park with her husband, daughter, and son. When she’s not running the operations at A Cappella Catering you can find her cheering on her daughter, a rhythmic gymnast and her son an avid, young hockey player. She also loves painting, scrapbooking and travelling.

Her favourite A Cappella Catering menu items are pulled pork, CURBSIDE Mac n’ Cheese and fish tacos.

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I wanted to send you a note to express our immense gratitude to you and the team at A Capella for putting together an amazing lunch for our team. I received so many compliments on the quality and presentation of the meal and for that I am soooo grateful! Your team that arrived onsite to set-up and take down were so pleasant to deal with and very professional. Our team is looking forward to more catered meals by A Capella. We’ve even discussed using you for quarterly breakfast meetings. Woohoo! – HILDA L

Things were EXCELLENT! Absolutely great. We had the perfect amount of food, a bit to take home which was nice. The pick up and drop off was easy and hassle free as well. We will be using you guys for our future events! – ASHLEY S.

Everyone really enjoyed the dinner, your team did an amazing job. The roast beef and the broccoli salad were huge hits! We had more than enough food for everyone. We are still going through the leftovers. The quality of the meal was phenomenal. We had no complaints and many of our guests went for seconds and thirds. Service was on time, and very professional. 5/5 You organization did a amazing job! – MELISSA O.

by A Cappella Catering Co.

One of our most enjoyable new additions is Curbside Food Truck! This full-scale, remote kitchen delivers everything from fried chicken and smoked meat sandwiches, to brussel sprouts, mac and cheese, fish tacos and more in record time.

We not only have a full-scale kitchen, but we have one of North America’s most state-of-the-art meat smokers. Our chefs travelled to the U.S. to study Texas-style barbeque (think Austin-style brisket and Montreal smoked meat) with pit-masters who know it best!

Book Curbside Food Truck View the menus