Utah Food Services

From church kitchen to the exclusive caterer at the Salt Palace Convention Center and South Towne Exposition Center, Utah Food Services continues to evolve with the times.  Due to our strong financial management, UFS added an off-premise catering division in North Salt Lake, with three custom built commercial mobile kitchens, a fleet of support vehicles, and an 18,000 square foot kitchen facility, while maintaining a debt free position and top credit rating.  Continual reinvestment of earnings back into equipment, décor, kitchen upgrades and small wares increases our marketability and keeps UFS on trend. 

UFS embraces the entertainment aspect of food service, heightening the senses while engaging the guests, creating a theatrical atmosphere.  Some of our favorite events include interactive chef stations where uniformed chefs entertain the guests while tossing micro greens at salad shaker stations, searing savory tenderloin tips from cast iron table-top grills, or flambéing Utah’s Own cherries in giant woks.

As a leader in the hospitality industry, we are committed to serving the local community and preserving the environment.  Thinking globally, UFS promotes mindful and creative ways to reduce our carbon footprint, including an aggressive recycling program which on average diverts 160,000 pounds of waste from our local landfill annually. In fact, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recognized our sustainable practices and certified UFS as a “Clean Utah” company. We converted our fleet of vehicles to propane which yield less smog-producing hydrocarbons compared to gasoline. 

Our philanthropic efforts reach a wide range of charities, especially organizations involved with women and children’s healthcare issues, mentally and physically disabled children and adults, and the under privileged members of our community.  UFS fully enjoys and supports the Arts of Utah.  Throughout the year UFS supplies meals to the local food banks to provide hunger relief in Salt Lake as well as underwrite a significant portion of the Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving homeless meal.

We provide employment opportunities for the mentally/physically challenged, individuals in recovery programs, retirees, youth groups and political refugees.  Our kitchen management team works with our challenged employees and their job coaches to match their skills with the tasks at hand while providing continual training and advancement.  Building self-confidence and believing in each individual’s potential and creative spirit starts from the top down.

UFS reaches out to local culinary institutes and high school ProStart programs, in conjunction with the Utah Restaurant Association (URA) and the Utah Beehive State Chef Association to offer on the job training and culinary development skills.  In fact, UFS created an annual $5000 scholarship program for aspiring chefs at Salt Lake Community College. 

Creating a vested interest by our management and hourly staff in the success of our catering company, UFS invests in our employees. Providing flexibility in the workplace, profit sharing, 401k, health and dental benefits, employee service awards, bonuses, opportunities for advancement, and national trade show opportunities builds company loyalty and boosts morale. UFS responded to President Obama’s plea to raise minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and we challenged the local business community to follow suit. 

Fortunately, UFS has been recognized and honored with various awards throughout our history.  We are grateful for the awards we have received; we measure our success by cultivating new events into repeat business and by always exceeding our clients' expectations.