The spotlight is on Caper & Olive Catering Co.

Personal Chef to the Best

Her work/life balance may be a little skewed in such a demanding industry, but Chef Dany Duguay wouldn’t have it any other way.

By Heather Fegan

“I’ve never wanted to be anything other than a chef,” says Dany Duguay. “When I was a kid, I had my easy bake oven, and I’d cook for my brother, and always be in the kitchen with my Grandma or my Mom or whoever. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. It’s just been the trajectory of my life.”

Duguay is the owner and founder of Caper & Olive Catering Co., offering curated catering, plated dinners, grazing tables, and an unforgettable culinary experience for all of her clients. Though, it’s not where this personal chef started her career.

Duguay started working in restaurants at age 13, working in them all through high school.

Studying Pastry at George Brown College, she graduated top of her class. “That's where I thought I wanted to take things at that time,” says Duguay. “That was almost 15 years ago now.” Duguay worked in the pastry field for five years, owning and operating a cake business in Ontario. She moved to Halifax in 2013, fell in love with the city’s hospitality scene, and started working as Executive Chef at Jane’s Next Door.

Now she’s been running Caper & Olive for seven years.

Chef Dany Duguay moved to Halifax in 2013 and fell in love with the city’s hospitality scene. She’s been running caper & Olive Catering co for seven years. Photo: Zack GOldsmith

A combination of hard work and luck

“My business that I have now really fell in my lap,” says Duguay. “I mean I’ve had to work very hard for it, but the beginnings of it, the blossoming.” Duguay had just happened to have left Jane’s. “I was looking for something super low key. This industry can take a lot out of you so I was looking for a little bit of a break. I saw an ad on Kijiji for a family looking for a chef once a week.” Duguay says she thought that sounded great, and took on the work. “Every single client pretty much I’ve ever had since then, I’ve never really had to advertise or anything, it all sort of stemmed from that. A lucky coincidence I guess,” says Duguay.

It’s not just luck. As Duguay points out, she works very hard. The particular day we are speaking is supposed to be her day off. And yet, she’s just returned from running errands for her business, and has back-to-back calls lined up. “I have my hand in so many different pots with my business. I have my social media component, I have a roster of clients under contract that I cook their day-to-day meals for, and right now I’m delivering those. It used to be an in-home service pre-covid. I also do dinner parties, often five or six of those a month. I’m also doing grazing boards, I’m doing recipe development, and food photography.”

A grazing board created by Chef dany dugay. Photo: Dany Duguay.

The balance of time

Her schedule sounds like a whirlwind yet Duguay sounds calm, cool, and collected herself.

“My day-to-day is crazy right now. I like it that way. I am really pleased that I have built myself a business that I can absolutely never tire of because every single day is different. I’m in a different home, with different people, cooking different food as opposed to that sort of mundane repetitive feeling you can get after working in the same kitchen for a long time.”

Duguay admits one of her biggest struggles is with time. “It's a very demanding industry. For me personally I struggle with this balance. Right now oftentimes I’ll work 17 hour days, seven days a week easily and it takes a lot out of you. It's a lot of standing on your feet, a hot kitchen, it’s a lot of attitudes, personalities, and a lot of people-pleasing. I mean I wouldn’t give it up for the world but it definitely, it’s not for the weak per se, to work in this industry. Especially when you want to be in these higher ranks or own your own place or whatever your goals are.”

While her days are busy, Duguay does still find time to recharge. “The biggest thing that I do that grounds me and centres me is Stephane [her partner] and I usually just pack up and go somewhere for a few days. We go out and we eat good food and we drink good drink and that always seems to be what I need to feel re-energized. Oftentimes it's nice because I can rope that into a business-related experience, but certainly that’s my R&R. Even if we’re moving around and going, I’m still feeling the energy coming back.”

She’s going to need that energy, because Duguay also has an exciting new project coming up—she’s in the process of brick and mortaring her business, the next step in her exciting culinary career.

For now, you can find Chef Dany and her catering menu at www.chefdanyduguay.com or send her an email with inquiries.