Monmouth Chef Takes Catering Biz From Private Jets To NJ Homes

MORGANVILLE, NJ - New Jersey native and food industry veteran Michael Farber has been serving top-tier ingredients from restaurants to private jets for over 40 years. While he’s used to prepping exquisite meals for private clients with their own aircrafts, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Farber is taking his talents in the sky to local dinner tables under the name Blue Basil Catering Co., in which he prepares the same high-quality gourmet dishes for Monmouth County families.

Formerly of Tep’s Restaurant in Rahway and Mike and Nellie’s Steakhouse in Oakhurst, Farber began catering for private jets in the early 2010s. Together with front-of-house manager Lisa Schutzer, the duo now source ingredients, prepare, plate and deliver around 60 individual meals every Friday evening from Marlboro to Monroe.

“Even before the COVID-19 hit, what I was doing was, with the experience I provided on private planes, I was trying to grow into a catering business that I could offer to other people,” Farber told Patch.

“It’s like an elegant experience up in the sky when you’re serving influential people. But now, these CEOs are not flying anywhere. They’re not doing meetings, they’re not going overseas, which is what most of these big shots do. They’re flying to their vacation homes, and that’s about it. That’s what I am trying to bring to people’s homes around here.”

Blue Basil Catering currently offers one Friday night dinner package, with orders due Thursday at 10 a.m. from a specialty menu that Farber crafts each week. Farber claims the business idea is an innovation in modern dining, as COVID-19 spikes in the state create a decidedly uncertain future for many local restaurant owners.

Related: Monmouth County's COVID Cases Remain 'Very High:' Town Updates

“When COVID-19 hit, my business was flourishing when this happened. I believe that this is going to be the new way to dine out,” Farber said. “[The state] needs to keep these restaurants in business, because if they do a full shutdown … who is eating in 35 degree weather in a tent with space heaters? People are definitely wanting to get food delivered.”

The experienced chef, who hails from Maplewood and has called Monmouth County home since the ‘90s, even goes so far as to say that the business model is more sustainable than traditional restaurant models during the ongoing pandemic:

“If I owned a restaurant now, I’d be out of business, unless you’re doing a volume of people. I lived week-to-week in the restaurant world for 20 years. If you missed a Saturday night - the last year I was in the business, there were three major snowstorms, all on Saturdays. That’s a killer for restaurants. That Saturday night pays your rent,” Farber said.

“Remember when we couldn't go out, you couldn't get your hair done, you couldn't get your nails done, I was having all my food delivered to my house. I wouldn’t leave the house. I think we're going back to that. Hopefully when everything goes back to normal, if it ever does, that people go to restaurants again and they’ll still consider doing this every once a week.”

Call Blue Basil Catering Company at (908) 692-6793 to place an order. To view the latest menu, click here.