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Meet Brandon Maxwell of M Culinary Concepts in North Phoenix

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Maxwell.

Brandon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It began in the mid-nineties when Chef Michael DeMaria and I met as part of the team redeveloping Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn and T. Cook’s at the Royal Palms Resort. In September 1997, Chef Michael and I struck out on our own to open our first stand-alone restaurant, Michael’s at the Citadel in north Scottsdale. The night of the opening we had more than 1,500 guests, which effectively shut down the intersection of Pima and Pinnacle Peak Roads. From that moment forward, we knew we had something special.

Together Chef Michael and I quickly discovered that the Valley had a bigger appetite for our food beyond the restaurant. Restaurant patrons asked if we would cater parties in their homes and at their offices, and so Michael’s Catering (now M Catering by Michael’s) was born to fill the demand. In 2000, we catered our first hospitality tent at the Phoenix Open, and later that year Michael’s Catering had grown so much that we moved it to its own facility.

Our business up to that point was completely seasonal – once thermometers shot up to 100 degrees in the Valley, our business fell off. Worse yet, every summer many of our employees would leave Arizona for to work in other markets, and many of them would decide not to return. We needed to generate more opportunity from June through September and keep our best people working through our off-season. Listening to a restaurant patron one day, we learned about an opportunity to feed wild land firefighters at remote locations throughout the western U.S. – we jumped at the chance. I personally worked as a volunteer for an entire season with a company already in the business, learned what we needed, and then we launched our own sister company. I am proud to say that we finished our 14th “fire season” in 2017, once again with some of the highest ratings from the fire fighters. I’m even prouder to say that we found a great way to keep our people working, and that is one of the reasons M Culinary enjoys tremendous employee longevity with our best people in an industry known for high turnover.

Over the years, we have diversified our portfolio, with major growth by adding Business Dining accounts starting with Brophy College Prep in 2004 – and we’re still serving the students, faculty and staff! In 2008 we rebranded as M Culinary Concepts – it just made sense as we had grown far beyond a typical catering company. Today our Business Dining group serves over 9,500 hungry people daily at our clients’ buildings and facilities throughout the metropolitan area.

All the while M Catering (formerly Michael’s Catering) was growing by leaps and bounds, serving the higher-end, luxury, and large-scale spectator event markets. We realized that we were missing opportunities to serve other markets including clients with more modest budgets for intimate and relaxed events. Thus, we launched Main Course Catering, focusing on tasteful simplicity and effortless entertaining.

In November 2013, we acquired Nibblers Catering, the largest and most respected corporate delivery catering provider in the Valley. The delivery service model fit perfectly into our operation, and through subtle refinements and efficiencies, we have grown the business by 29%. Then in December, M Culinary Concepts won the exclusive food service contract for WestWorld, the 386-acre mixed use facility in north Scottsdale. The property is home to the 277,000-square-foot Tony Nelssen Equestrian Center, and 17,000-square-foot special event venue Monterra. We have been able to engage all three of our catering brands at WestWorld, from catered events to concessions stands.

Never ones to sit still, we combined our several decades-worth of experience and knowledge to create yet another sibling brand, M Culinary Associates. Specializing in hospitality consulting for a wide range of clients, M Culinary Associates helps local companies, regional convenience store chains, and national hotel brands with their food & beverage programs including menu development, service training, product sourcing, and even facility design (something our Business Dining clients benefit from, too).

Today, the M Culinary team strives to create customized experiences that surpass expectations, guided by the company’s three core values: inspire PASSION; INTEGRITY always; and make huge FUN! (That last one is our favorite!)

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Together, Chef Michael and I have weathered storms of major economic cycles, including the 2009 housing collapse and ensuing recession. M Culinary suffered a single-year double-digit drop in annual revenue. That year, we realized drastic changes were needed, and we started “throwing stuff from the plane” – anything non-essential was cut or repurposed into something at least resembling essential. More than anything, though, our leadership was determined to make it through the downturn with all our employees, so the two of us along with our managers and supervisors voted unanimously to take a 10% pay cut. It worked – not a single layoff occurred! We continued to adapt our business model and developed new opportunities. In the end, we achieved our goal. Revenue in 2017 was 244% higher than 2010, the year hit hardest by the recession.

So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into the M Culinary Concepts story. Tell us more about the business.
If you’ve attended a charity gala, corporate celebration, or fairytale wedding in the Valley over the last 20 years, chances are you’ve indulged in the creations of our award-winning culinary team.

We are also fortunate to cater some of the Valley’s premier spectator events including Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Arabian Horse Show, The Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships, and Fiesta Bowl. We also have grown our out-of-state services to include the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at the University of Oregon, CFP Championship events with ESPN, private social and corporate events, and emergency response catering in the western U.S., Louisiana, and even Puerto Rico.

As the largest catering company in the state of Arizona and one of the largest in the Southwest region, our portfolio includes:

  • M Catering by Michael’s – full-service catering company offering restaurant-style cuisine, beverage services and event services, serving the high-end, luxury, and spectator event markets;
  • Main Course Catering – limited-service catering company offering buffet menus, beverage services and event services, serving the mid-range corporate and social markets;
  • Nibblers Catering – delivery-service catering company offering value-priced meeting and event catering and beverage services, serving the corporate and not-for-profit markets;
  • M Culinary Business Dining – on-site employee dining solutions provider offering cafeteria management, vending and coffee services, and commissary-based food service;
  • Monterra at WestWorld – north Scottsdale’s premier event venue served by all three of our off-premise catering services across a 386-acre of mixed-use facilities and grounds; and
  • M Culinary Associates – hospitality services consulting company providing comprehensive analysis, thoughtful solutions, and customized programs for clients across the United States.

In the end, though, everything comes down to people – and I couldn’t hope for a better team than the one Chef Michael and I have. Through all the success M Culinary has enjoyed, and the challenges endured, I am most proud of the fact that we have such longevity among our team members, from executive leaders to line cooks. We truly feel that we are in this together.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Every time it’s not raining or windy at our outdoor events, we consider ourselves lucky!

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Harley Bonham Photography

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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