The gradual return of in-person work is fueling a new business venture for a local culinary company. Last week, Cooks | Bellecour – the merger of longtime cooking school Cooks of Crocus Hill and chef Gavin Kaysen’s Bellecour Bakery business – announced that it’s launching a new catering arm.

The catering business will serve breakfast and lunch for groups of 10 or more people. Company leaders say the new business can cater corporate events, meetings, office gatherings, and other celebrations.

In an email to TCB, Cooks | Bellecour co-owner Karl Benson said the idea for the new line of business came from the fact that many companies are returning to the workplace. The goal of the new venture, he said, is to offer opportunities for businesses to come together over food.

“We want people to build teams and camaraderie in the kitchen and around the dinner table, rather than the conference room,” Benson said.

He also sees the new business as a way to “share the love and expand our reach.”

The catering arm represents the fourth major business line for Cooks | Bellecour; the company already runs a cafe, a cookware store, and cooking classes. Benson said that all three existing business units have been relatively consistent in performance. He noted that the company, which has a long history as a retailer, has been working to diversify revenue streams.

“So much of this diversity has been driven by our attempts to offset the realities of having started as a retail focused business,” he said.

He added: “Bakery, classes, and events have been a few of our endeavors of diversification over the course of the years, rather than being vulnerable to the Q4 roll of the retail dice. There’s also a cadence to each of these business units.”

Ultimately, Benson sees the new catering arm as a chance for the team to “stretch their wings.”

“This is all internal growth,” he said. “We are fortunate that this is a chance for our current team to stretch their wings. To push and to grow. To apply their talents in a new direction.”