Local Business Owners Branch Out with Wildwood Catering

Ben and Jessica Wood, the owners of the popular URI Emporium restaurants Caliente and The Burger Shack, have begun a new endeavor that plans on literally catering to the tastes of customers across Southern New England.

Wildwood Catering, the third company in the Woods' Fire and Water Restaurant Group, offers a fresh take on traditional catering cuisine, utilizing unique combinations, quality ingredients and original recipes to "step up quick service."

After three years of discussing the venture, the Woods decided to turn their ideas into reality with the help of their current employees, including Jonathan Baskins, Wildwood's Catering Coordinator.

Baskins came to Fire and Water after spending over five years in California honing his craft while cooking at various gourmet restaurants that allowed him to experience different settings, flavors and cooking styles.

"Working in San Fransisco really got me into the street food culture," Baskins said. "I got to try new things and started to like the idea of making higher end food."

"When I found out about his (Baskins') background, I realized he would be a good fit for this new company," Ben Wood said. "There's only so much we can do here with burgers, but I thought we could use his background as a new tool."

The idea behind Wildwood is a corporate lunch concept, offering boxed lunches and platters for university and business meetings and networking events, and eventually expanding with full dinners and buffets for parties and large scale functions.

"We definitely want to continue growing and offering more options," Wood said. "We're working towards that."

The company has created a "Wild Nights" menu that features offerings from various themes, such as Small Bites with options like chicken and waffles and 'miniwiches', sliders that include ingredients ranging from beef to lobster, grilled flat breads made with fresh produce, quality meats, cheeses and spreads, and salad cups like the iceberg wedge, watermelon and feta with balsamic and mint and endive and prosciutto salads.

Dinner buffet option ideas are also in the works and contenders include beef tenderloin with gorgonzola butter and seared salmon with crème fraîche and shallots.

"We'll be able to work around anyone's needs," Wood said.

Clients can request full-service or drop-off and in some settings may also have a bartender supplied by Wildwood for their event.

Meals are currently prepared on-site in the Burger Shack's commercial kitchen, but as the company grows and evolves, so will its surroundings.

"We'll eventually have a separate staff and maybe even a brick and mortar building where we serve sandwiches and prepared foods - maybe some breakfast items, gourmet coffee or pastries," Wood said.

Another hope for the future is eventually offering grassroots "farmer's market-to-table" parties that would allow staff to shop at the farmer's market the day of a planned event and prepare a meal based on what was fresh from vendors that day.

Members of the Wildwood staff can be found at the Charlestown Farmer's Market on Saturdays selling their goods and letting people know what the company is all about.

"We're gearing it to be something new and exciting that people haven't tasted yet," Baskins said.

To contact Wildwood, call 401-935-WILD or click here for Wildwood Caterers or here for the Fire and Water Group. Check out their Facebook page as well for news, specials, menus and promotions. (Also see the attached lunch menu.)