Caitlin Is a Mercenary For Food Experience

If you are ever in need of being uplifted, I recommend you stop by the CWC Restaurant or Station Family + BBQ, both in Wyoming, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati) and ask if Caitlin Steininger is around. (Caitlin is always at CWC on Sundays and at one of the restaurants on Fridays and Saturdays.)

Caitlin is the C in Cooking with Caitlin, and it is pretty difficult to NOT be in a happy mood in her presence. Actually in the presence of any of the partners of CWC – Caitlin, her sister Kelly Trush, or best friend Molly Ross (partners of the Station Family +BBQ Restaurant are Caitlin, Kelly and Karen Klaus) – you would be hard pressed to feel anything BUT happy.

It is the what I have always known about them since our first meeting more than ten years ago. Back then the two sisters and best friend were forging new space in social media and the region as pioneers in community building…through food. Cooking with Caitlin took Greater Cincinnati by storm with their recipes, cooking demonstrations, radio talk show, website, columns in the local media, Foodies Night Out Twitter chats, and events. They were (and still are) EVERYWHERE. Caitlin even most recently appeared on Bravo TV’s Top Chef reality competition show.

And, in their true fashion, their restaurdants are just as much fun with games to play at Station Family +BBQ and weekly Third Thursday at CWC where $25 gets you a 9-course meal.

I love being around Caitlin and her team, even talking with Caitlin on the phone for this post made my day. She has this infectious energy that spreads effortlessly. It is no wonder they have built such a huge success.

I had to learn about the woman behind this powerhouse.

I bet you’d be surprise to know, the whole Cooking With Caitlin business happened in the spur of the moment, by taking a leap and jumping over the cliff. No, it was not something they spent years dreaming about, planning, researching. The concept was born in 2007, the day after Kelly and Molly attended a cooking class that Caitlin was teaching as a means for promoting the market where she was working at the time. So impressed, the next morning Kelly and Molly (without Caitlin’s knowledge) purchased the domain www.cookingwithcaitlin.com.

With Caitlin the chef, Kelly the amazing wordsmith, and Kelly the business savvy professional, they just knew they had a curiosity for things and an entrepreneurial spirit that came from Kelly and Caitlin’s parents.  They had no blueprint. No plan. Just an undying passion for food and joy and people.

“We pride ourselves in creating conversations around food but not experts because everyone’s mother is a great cook,” Caitlin told me. “Kelly always described us as mercenaries for experience. We very rarely say no to an opportunity. We can’t wait to feed you!.”

Lisa:  Tell me about some of the fun experiences CWC has given you.
Caitlin:  A high school friend of Kelly’s boss once hired us to go to Italy and cook meals for them for a week. That was my first time abroad. We got to explore while we were there. That was amazing. And of course, opening the restaurants. I feel like I am exactly where I was meant to be. I love being a part of creating people’s memories with food.

Lisa: What has been the scariest part of being an entrepreneur?
Caitlin: Everything is scary when you build a brand without a blueprint. You have goals but you don’t know how to accomplish them. I thrive on butterflies though because that means I care. All of us have children. That balance has been a great challenge but I don’t regret any part of it because my kids have seen my hard work to create something from nothing. My kids have been to every grocery store in this area. They know the difference between Swiss and Gruyere.

Lisa:  As close as you are with your parents, how do they feel about your career?
Caitlin: They were not excited when I told them I wanted to go to culinary school because they knew it was a hard life, but I have worked hard to prove to them that this is what I want to do. Now they are so proud of both of us for doing what we love. They are regulars at the restaurants. Every Saturday night is their date night at CWC Restaurant. Mom makes all the flower arrangements and Dad has made himself in charge of keeping it clean.  We have a large staff at Station so Mom and Dad just come and enjoy themselves there. If they see our cars out front, they will stop in.

Lisa:  You are known for changing your dishes frequently. Talk to me about that.
Caitlin: I have never owned chaffing dishes because that is where good dishes go to die. Every three months we change the menu at CWC. Station Family +BBQ has only been open for a couple months and we just changed its menu. And I still do not own a chaffing dish.

Lisa:  What makes you smile every day?
Caitlin:. I am lucky because food is love and it makes everyone happy; and I get to talk about it all day long. The best parts of my childhood were around the dinner table so it is an important part of my growing up.