 It’s all about Southern hospitality for this stellar caterer
Ann Confer’s grandmother made sarsaparilla and a ton of money selling hamburgers in Mississippi in the early 1900s. Evidently, the family’s connection to food stuck with Ann. She lived with her grandparents while her widowed mother worked long days running her own restaurant, but Ann soon found a passion for entertaining. So, at the age of 8, she catered a cookout for her friends. She learned flower arranging at charm school, where Miss America also taught her how to properly cross her ankles.“There was no entertaining in the South without table linens and flowers,” Ann says, “and everything matched.” Eventually, Ann’s spirit for celebration paid off. Now at the helm of the popular Southern Exposure Catering, Confer and her staff cater all year round. During a recent trip to the venue, I found the air saturated with the aroma of warm chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen. Upstairs, Ann and her assistants, Patricia and Amy, composed masterpiece celebratory occasions. Not surprisingly, the caterer’s success lies in some special ingredients. When Ann’s youngest child was 3 years old, she opened a Mexican restaurant in the Galleria in downtown Santa Cruz. Accruing a following of UC Santa Cruz students, in 1985 she accepted the opportunity to run Oakes College’s coffee shop. She began catering University events, where her attention to detail and charming presentation earned her an exquisite reputation. “Flowers go with everything they do,” says LuAnne, Ann’s daughter. “My mom always felt like that just created an ambiance that made people feel that they were being nurtured by someone who cared.” LuAnne, who now manages New Leaf’s New Beet Cafe in Capitola, was instrumental in developing the catering business. “She’s so artistic, so talented,” Ann says. “Between the food, the customer service, and LuAnne’s presentation, that’s really what set us apart.” After leaving campus, Ann shared a commercial kitchen with Brown Bag Lunch Company, until Brown Bag was ready to expand. She moved into the cozy Aptos cottage that had housed Chez Renée and opened Southern Exposure Bistro, gaining Chef Adam in the process. “He has the most integrity of any chef I’ve ever worked with,” she says. “If it’s not good, it’s not going.” Following the downturn after 9/11, catering carried the restaurant. Then in 2004, LuAnne was involved in a near-fatal car accident, requiring a series of operations. Ann and her husband Charlie cared for their daughter and grandchildren, while assistant Patricia ran the operation. Realizing she had no heart left for the restaurant, Ann decided to sell. Moving back into the Brown Bag neighborhood, Southern Exposure could again concentrate on its core competency as an all-service, custom party provider. Ann and her staff strive to understand each client’s vision, and offer everything from set-up and decorations to uniformed bartenders. Chef Adam can recreate a bride’s traditional family recipe. At the event, the on-site supervisor and staff are in step with the pre-arranged timeline. “Not only are you getting quality of food,” LuAnne explains,” but you’re getting 100 percent full blown love and care in presentation, in delivery.” With client contracts written in advance, the business feels the pinch of the economic environment. Neither the 30 percent increase in food costs nor the fuel surcharge added to each supplier’s delivery can be recouped. In March, Ann purchased the Brown Bag Lunch Company, which sells economical prepared meals through delis and mini marts. Chef Adam’s sister Bethany is the General Manager, and Ann’s 17-year-old grandson assists in the kitchen. In November, both fully cooked and ready-to-cook Thanksgiving dinners will be available. Southern Exposure can even arrange the meal on your family’s special platters. Recalling her youth, surrounded by aging Southern Belles in her grandmother’s living room, Ann explained the passion that drives her company today. “They were always cooking,” she says, “or doing something that had to do with food in a happy atmosphere. Food has always symbolized to me hospitality and love.”
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