Owner Sharon Snuffin, who grew up in Gig Harbor, got her start more than 30 years ago as a personal chef cooking for small dinner parties in corporate clients’ homes, working part time. A decade later, she was at it full time, and with the help of her husband she opened her first facility, a tiny 640 square feet of space. Luckily, their home was a block away, so they stored everything in their garage. Those days, the couple did much of the work themselves, from grocery shopping to washing dishes, while taking turns staying at home with their two children.

Through the years, the company continued growing, and now occupies 5,000-plus square feet of space that includes a spacious commercial kitchen. It owns seven vans (which sometimes aren’t enough), and employs more than 100 people during the peak season.

Snuffin designed the new kitchen herself, adding details like large windows above the dishwashing sink. Since dishwashing is probably one of the worst jobs, she felt at least people could enjoy themselves by looking outside. She approached the rest of the space using the same philosophy. The air-conditioned kitchen has a spacious prep area and a light, open feeling. The office has bright colors of red and purple (with which she surprised her staff) to make it a more fun place to be. And her own office, next to the kitchen, has large windows so she can jump right in and help when she sees the need.

The storage room is lined up with shelves packed with every type of conceivable tray, platter and serving utensil. One can find everything from wicker baskets and cast aluminum trays to French and Italian white pottery. Snuffin keeps adding new things — there is no such thing as too much when it comes to a brilliant table presentation.

A special demonstration room for prospective clients holds dozens of choices for available rentals: table settings, chairs, linens and such. The name of the company may be slightly deceiving because Snuffin’s Catering is much more than a caterer, offering the entire gamut of party planning services down to working with florists, rental companies and other vendors.

Employees, which include three planners, have party planning down to an art, with various checklists, forms and procedures in place. “We’ve been doing it for so long, we have so many procedures,” Snuffin said. It’s not unusual for an established corporate client to contact the company just once to arrange for its party, and never to speak to anyone at Snuffin’s again until it’s almost party day.

“We are very organized, and that appeals to organized people,” Snuffin said. “We’ve built an excellent reputation for excellent food and great presentation.”

Snuffin has enough to keep her busy more than 40 hours a week, but she jumps at the opportunity to be in the kitchen. On Sunday, for example, she relieves the chef so the chef can enjoy the weekend day off because “she works very hard.” On any other day, it’s not unusual to find her in the kitchen helping place orders, train new staff, or develop recipes.

“You have to have a passion for what you do, and I love food,” said Snuffin, who has a degree in home economics and used to teach. “I like catering. It’s a hard business, and a lot of hours, but it’s fun making people happy.“

Snuffin said she’s been fortunate to have excellent staff through the years, and many are longtime employees. College students often return summer after summer, and women who are going through life transitions are welcome —and drawn to Snuffin’s.

Summer is the busy season at the catering company, and finds Snuffin working seven days a week. Weddings are a big part of the business, which require constant marketing. “You always have to continue marketing. You don’t want the client to forget about you,” Snuffin said. “The best marketing is doing a good job for people. If our food and service our outstanding, that’s the best marketing.”

Snuffin notes that young people tend to shop a lot online, which is where they find might the company first. To keep up with this trend, a Web site (which is about to be revamped) includes extensive information about services, menus, and even planning tips.

The company has been recognized with various achievements, including being selected as the small business of the year in 1991 by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, and an outstanding small business by SCORE. Snuffin herself is recognized in the community, having been involved through the years with a range of boards and organizations. Her latest big project is co-chairing the capital campaign for St. Anthony’s Hospital being built in Gig Harbor. “It’s a big commitment but my heart was pulled. I had to do it,” she said. “You have to participate (in the community), whether it’s through time or money, or both.”.