Warkentin finds the recipe for success

Team player. Born leader. Perfectionist.

Because of the right combination of factors, Tracey Berry Warkentin is all of these. “My success in business is due to a couple of factors,” she says. “First, the support of my family telling me I should and I could. Then working for someone who told me I didn’t have what it took, which fuelled a fire within me. Last, but definitely not least, is the support of my partner Randy, who I call our logistics co-ordinator. He is the one who taught me to stop doubting myself and just get stuff done.”

The result is that Warkentin wears many hats — and makes it all look easy. The chef/owner of Freelance Catering, she also operates the French Fryer Variety and Aw Shucks Gourmet Corn Company. They’re all different ventures she hopes to bring together, such as offering healthy home-made menu items from Freelance served at The French Fryer as well as parking lot pop-ups for Aw Shucks

Her road to culinary school and catering begins, obviously, in mom’s kitchen. She explains that her mother was a good cook but didn’t really enjoy it. Young Tracey stepped up and found it suited her

“I wasn't much for experimenting but I loved the rules of recipe cooking,” she explains. “Later in life when I had children who were born with allergies, recipe creation became necessary.”

In college, she received the highest grades of her graduating class and the Board of Governors Award.

That drive is evident in everything she does. A self-styled perfectionist, she believes that if someone is paying for a service they deserve the best possible treatment and product.

“It doesn't matter if I am serving fried chicken at the French Fryer or an elegant plated dinner with Freelance Catering, customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance,” she declares. “If someone is unhappy with my service or a food item isn’t coming out quite right, I will work on the problem until it is rectified.”

That commitment to the highest standard of service is something she expects from herself and her staff of seven as well as occasional employees.

“I never expect anyone to do something that I would not be willing to do myself,” she says. “I am a good team player but I have learned that I am a better leader than follower.”

However, she is also modest and is sometimes awed at what she has accomplished.

“I never in a million years considered myself an entrepreneur,” Tracey says. “After creating two business and buying a third, I am still not completely convinced!”