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Fall in Love With Chef Paul
By Rick Davis
Reprinted from
Palm Springs Life, February 2006
During a 15-year career in the corporate
world, Paul Hietter developed a recipe for success that
featured industrial-sized portions of pharmaceutical and
healthcare products and services.
The Illinois native's expertise was in
business development, a field that suited him even if
occasionally he had to mentally put on the blinders to
maintain his focus.
Now, some 20 years later, it is Hietter's
second career that truly has him enamored. Here he is
entrenched in the desert and trying all sorts of recipes
as owner of a catering and event-planning business.
It's a fresh start for sure, but also a
reconnection with something he first fancied as a
7-year-old growing up in the Midwest.
"I spent a lot of hours in the kitchen as
a kid watching and helping my mother," says Hietter.
"Cooking has been an integral part of my life ever
since."
It's also become critical because what
used to be a hobby now is his livelihood.
Welcome to "Love At
First BiteT," a catering and event-planning
company that seamlessly handles everything from intimate
dinners to wedding galas to Impressionist art
receptions.
Hietter says he thrives in such
environments. For him, the kitchen is familiar turf.
"Actually, for years, it seemed like I was
catering," he says. "When I lived and worked in Chicago,
I was the one hosting the dinner parties."
Catering though was not on Hietter's radar
when he came to the Coachella Valley four years ago to
enroll in a program at the Betty Ford Center. The
decision to remain in the desert sort of evolved, driven
largely by his desire to become one of those hit-bottom
people who discovers a way to turn his life around.
Hietter only had $5,000 to invest in his
new business. But going with his intuition, Love At
First Bite became the biggest piece of the puzzle. A
business was born and revenues have doubled every year
since.
"During busy times, it can be
overwhelming, seeming like 24 hours, seven days a week,"
says the 43-year-old Hietter, and a Palm Springs
resident. "But I'm very grounded spiritually. We try to
set ourselves apart in using the freshest,
highest-quality food, preparing everything by hand, and
offering beautiful display and presentation."
He figures it served as a jump-start when
his first client back in '01 was actress Tippi Hedren,
who hired him to cater a party at a private home in
Rancho Mirage. Because that debut went well, word
spread, referrals followed, and his client list these
days includes residents of such upscale enclaves as
Bighorn, The Reserve, and The Citrus.
"I believe in under-promising, then
over-delivering," says Hietter. "The rules I live by
are: don't make assumptions, always do your best, be
impeccable with your word, and don't take anything
personally."
The toughest part, Hietter says, is
maintaining a profit margin along with raising capital
to grow the business.
"Everything goes back into the business,"
he says. "I am passionate about it and feel I started
the old-fashioned way, one day at a time, seeing a
greater vision. I believe I have an innate ability to do
this."
Hietter figures his corporate-world
experience that included extensive duty in helping
startup companies has served him well.
"I don't regret I didn't do this sooner in
my life," he says, "because I would not have had the
experience and the knowledge before."
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