Belinda cooks up a great business

Belinda Lombard always has one goal whether she's catering for a small dinner party or a huge wedding.
"I want people to say 'that's fantastic, who's the caterer?"'
The personal chef and caterer started Lemongrass Catering Company just two years ago but already the business has gained a shining reputation in the Western Bay. As a professional caterer, Mrs Lombard offers corporate catering, themed events, parties, weddings, barbecues and cake decorating.
On the personal chef side of the business, she offers personally designed menus - and the best part is all the cooking, shopping and cleaning up is included.
Mrs Lombard, who has more than 15 years' experience as a chef, started Lemongrass after returning to New Zealand after an extended stint overseas.
She had spent years working as a chef at a Scottish hotel but the pull of home eventually brought her back to Tauranga.
And as the mother of two small children, Tayler, 5, and Finnley, 4, Mrs Lombard decided that starting her own business would offer her the most flexibility.
She installed a commercial kitchen at her Welcome Bay home and a desk for the paperwork side of the business.
It's an arrangement that works well for the family.
"I think I'm always going to be home-based for the convenience, for the kids," Mrs Lombard said.
"It is a little bit of juggling. But if I didn't do it this way, I wouldn't be where I am today. I'm pretty fortunate and happy with the way I've got it."
When she's got a job on, work is "full-on" - she can do a week's worth of work in just two days if she's catering a wedding.
Working from home also helps her avoid high overhead expenses such as rent, which often kill small businesses. But a home-based business does have its downfalls.
"I'm here all the time. I don't see or talk to anybody. Anybody that works from home will appreciate that.
"This is the peril of working at home. No matter where I am in this house, I can see the desk and all the paperwork I have to do. But the advantages outweigh it."
When it comes to crunching the numbers, Mrs Lombard's accountant husband Pierre takes over. But while Mrs Lombard is obviously in charge of the kitchen and creative side, she is also a whizz at marketing. Promoting her business is something she's passionate about.
"There's no point being shy in business - you need to get out there and put yourself forward.
"The worst thing someone can say to you is they don't want to."
Mrs Lombard appears in regular slots on local radio stations to increase brand awareness and has also entered into the Westpac Regional Business Excellence Awards.
But personal referrals were the best form of marketing, she said.
"In the beginning I was not a threat to other catering companies. Now I am, because of my reputation and word of mouth.
"The referrals are so important. It's my name behind it. I'm 100 per cent proud of what I do.
"I have the commitment to make sure these people have fabulous catering.
"It doesn't matter whether you are working for a job that's $25 a head or $125 a head, it still needs to be the same quality."
Mrs Lombard had wanted to be a chef as a child but it wasn't until she was working in Glenshe, a remote part of Scotland, that she finally got into a kitchen.
After getting a start in the pastry section, she soon moved up to the ranks in the hotel. "I didn't work for Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver but I was really lucky I had a really cool chef."
She takes great pride in creating specialised menus and is constantly seeking new ideas and keeping up with "foodie fashions".
She loves catering to themes - she's done a red and white wedding, a fairy queen wedding and plenty of 1960s parties.
High tea is currently on-trend and she enjoys the challenge of putting a new modern twist on classic foods.
"As a chef, you don't want to do champagne ham and boiled potatoes and salad all the time."
The concept of hiring a personal chef to cater at home for dinner parties or special occasions was becoming more and more popular in Tauranga, Mrs Lombard said.
"People really love it, they have got a chef in the kitchen and the don't have to do anything.
"People enjoy the convenience in their own home and having the dishes done at the end of the night."
But after cooking for clients, Mrs Lombard admits sometimes she's had enough of cooking by family dinner time.
"If I don't want to cook I get takeaway."