Kaitlyn Roberts’ love of cooking can be traced back to her childhood and her late grandfather.
A school principal in upstate New York, he had a summer restaurant that was open when classes were out of session. He served simple dishes, Roberts said, nothing overly complicated but special nonetheless. More than the stirring, sautéing and spicing of dishes, her grandfather liked what food did: it brought people together. He enjoyed having family and friends over to socialize and to enjoy what he had prepared for them.
Her grandfather even went so far as to build a second, separate, full-sized kitchen on his property at home. “It was almost as big as their house,” Roberts, proprietor of Easy Entertaining Inc. of Providence, said with a laugh. “It was considered sacred ground and my grandmother was not allowed in.”
Roberts also appreciated how food unified people.
But first – a legal career beckoned.
She graduated from Wofford College in South Carolina, headed for law school. During her undergraduate years, during which she received fire-code violations for cooking on Bunsen burners in her dorm, she completed a study-abroad program in Italy, and was exposed to the country’s brand of fresh, local cuisine. Back at school, the dean of foreign study suggested Roberts look into culinary school in Italy.
So, Roberts finished her undergraduate degree and let her parents know she wanted to get off the law track. She enrolled in the Apicius International School of Hospitality in Florence, Italy. But she found she was on a learning curve, truly blazing her own path in a foreign country.
“I was starting way behind,” Roberts said. “Most females were in pastry,” meaning that her area of study – savory foods – was also out of the norm. But she persevered, and fostered a love for Italy’s fresh, local, seasonal dishes, a culinary passion she brought back to the U.S. well in advance of the farm-to-table movement.
In 2006, Roberts established Easy Entertaining in Providence.
Executive Chef Ashley Scungio came onboard about two years later, Roberts’ first hire to help in the kitchen. Scungio was from North Providence and Roberts was from Barrington, but they quickly learned how much they had in common. Both women started in the field of law (Scungio ultimately went to Johnson & Wales University for culinary arts and food-service management).
“I really like working with her,” said Roberts. “Now that we’ve been together eight or nine years, I trust her implicitly. She is as responsible for the growth of Easy Entertaining as I am.”
Scungio said she“wanted to start a catering company and use local products, but I found that here. She is a really good person to work for,” Scungio said of Roberts. “We are alike in many ways, such as how hard we work.”
The business has grown from bringing in a few thousand dollars a year while Roberts worked multiple jobs at the same time just starting out, to its current status: a commissary, public café and event space in a unique venue at Rising Sun Mills, a former jewelry-manufacturing plant. There are now about 30 employees on the team. This year’s projected sales are $1.5 million.
Changes have been made to accommodate growth. The company closed for more than two weeks for a renovation in January. A year in the planning, and complicated with winter weather, the interior was gutted with walls removed and a new kitchen built, complete with walk-in refrigerators and other improvements. The redo increased Easy Entertaining event capacity from about 75 to 120 people.
Just as she uses local ingredients, Roberts made it a point to use local, small-business contractors for construction. This focus on giving back is a priority.
Herself born premature with a neonatal intensive care unit stay, Roberts has a special place in her heart for babies in hospitals. Roberts is a longtime supporter of the March of Dimes, a New York-based nonprofit with a goal to improve the health of mothers and babies, attending her first culinary fundraiser for the organization while she was in South Carolina.
Then, Scungio’s daughter, Sophia, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, requiring a hospital stay after she was born two years ago. “I knew I was working for the right place. I got so much support from the people I worked with and Kait herself,” Scungio said.
“We spent a lot of time there, feeding everyone in the NICU,” Roberts said.
Roberts is the March of Dimes 2018 Signature Chef, set to offer her skills at the Signature Chefs Auction to support prenatal wellness programs, research grants and other efforts for moms and babies on Sept. 27 at the Aldrich Mansion in Warwick.
Her ties to Italy also remain strong, with culinary travel another area of focus. With The Savory Grape and The Savory Affair’s Jessica Granatiero, she leads gourmet food and wine tours through Piedmont, Italy, and Tuscany, Italy; the next trips are set for October and November.
Combining food and travel brings people together, while bringing them out of their comfort zone at the same time, Roberts said.
“It makes people more aware and present with what’s going on. Travel makes you a better person,” she said.