Restaurants begin preparing months in advance by hiring and training extra wait staff. For the hospitality industry, it’s like gaining an extra month, because many do about 10% of their annual business in that one week.
Vera Stewart starts preparing in May for the following April’s tournament! Augustans may think of “Very Vera” as a one-woman show. By the time April comes, she’ll have worked with a few hundred people on her Masters business.
The Masters will mark 87 years at Augusta National. Vera Stewart has been catering for the tournament for almost half that time—40 years.
Vera’s menus include shrimp cocktails, pimento cheese sandwiches, beef tenderloins, Cowboy pork chops, and many other Masters favorites in between.
“As a former Home Economics teacher, I have a heart for cooking, catering, and hospitality,” Stewart explained.
She said that being in Augusta changed things for her, presenting great opportunities to build relationships and her brand. ABD profiled her multi-platforms including cookbooks and television programs in this feature in October 2023.
“Eventually, as I started hosting the cooking show, I would ask our Masters clients, “Where are you from? Oh, my cooking show airs in your city, and I would tell them the time they could watch.”
“I bring in chefs from across the country. Prior to the tournament, we do Zoom meetings and discuss every single detail and every meal, most of the recipes are mine that are highlighted on my show and in my cookbooks.”
Stewart and her team also coordinate drivers, bartenders, waiters, floral arrangements, cocktail parties, private corporate dinners, and in-home catering. It’s a commitment of about 175 to 200 people she hires to ensure guests are well-fed and happy with their Masters’ experience.
Stewart and her team also oversee rentals for the Masters. It’s the full circle of hospitality that she knows so well. “Clients expect a refined experience, and we give it to them.”
Think of it as a hospitality tradition like no other.
For more information on Vera’s full line of services, visit her website.
