Up and Coming - Cuisine Unlimited - Up Grade, Salt Lake County

Cuisine goes International

Cuisine Unlimited, Inc., founded by Maxine Turner in 1985, is an award winning, $2 million dollar business specializing in gourmet, off-premise catering. Ranked the top catering service in the United States by Event Solutions, Cuisine Unlimited, Inc. has been recognized within the State of Utah, nationally and internationally.

A native of Utah, Maxine Turner received her education in Salt Lake City public schools and attended the University of Utah, majoring in Business Administration. In 1970 she married Marvin Turner and after working eight years in the private sector, Maxine retired to raise her children.

Shortly after the birth of her third child, Maxine was asked to coordinate the catering services for a local charity. This opportunity provided a springboard to launch her own cater company. Subsequently, Maxine was invited to coordinate the lunch program of a local private school, giving her the opportunity to use the school facilities for catering.

The cooperative agreement with the school allowed Maxine to cater school events, helping her reputation grow by "word of mouth." These years provided her with a grass-roots and hands-on understanding of event planning and logistics, customer satisfaction and business savvy.

In 1985, Cuisine Unlimited, Inc. opened a corporate and social catering operation and a small international deli establishing Cuisine Unlimited Deli & Catering. During this challenging time with the help of a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, the company grew at 20 percent a year. Focusing on creating beautifully presented cuisine in a unique and creative setting with outstanding service, the business flourished. Demand for their exemplary services grew. In 1995, her husband, Marvin left his corporate position to join her in operating Cuisine Unlimited, Inc.

In 1998, Maxine's business warranted a new SBA loan for a larger location and in 1999 the Turners established Culinary Expressions International together with Frank Puleo and Frank Lombardi, owners of Catering by Framboise in New York City. This partnership has provided the additional manpower, business contacts, and creative and catering expertise to service larger scale multinational events. The Turners have had the honor of participating in many prestigious private, corporate and community events.

They spearheaded a delegation of Utah caterers invited to participate in Atlanta for the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996, even giving their competitors an opportunity to participate on a national level. They have catered at the Lincoln Center in New York City, created a tribute luncheon for former President and Mrs. Barbara Bush, and launched a night to remember for the 100th Episode of Touched by an Angel. One of their millennium celebrations included a prestigious star-studded event in Bedford, New York. Recent years have garnered demand for their talents at the US Open Golf Tournament in Chicago.

Cuisine Unlimited led a team of over 380 staff members to cater major events for many prestigious corporate and USOC clients for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. They served over 350,000 meals during the Olympic period.

Maxine and Marvin, under the Culinary Expressions umbrella, were honored to be selected to caterer events at USA House in Athens, Greece for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. They and their staff of 40 prepared over 1200 meals during the games. Their program was so successful that their contract has been extended to include the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.

The Turner's feel strongly that their success is a result of the support of their family and the strength of the business community. They also credit an exemplary group of professionals that are dedicated to their trade and make up their staff at Cuisine Unlimited.

(Reprinted with permission from the 2005 SBA Small Business Guide.)