KatieLou Desserts Caters in Honor of Great Grandmother’s Name

A woman who truly knows the flavor of independent business, Kathi Berman owns and runs KatieLou Desserts, a successful private catering business based out of Pacific Palisades.

Having grown up on her family farm and without formal training as a baker, she pulls it off in an organic fashion.

“We raised chickens and sold eggs and a few years ago, I started baking. Everybody wanted me to bake for their parties,” says Berman.

Berman refers to her business as homespun, very rustic, yet everything as big, like her large Texas-style cupcakes.

In homage to her heritage, Berman named the business after her great grandmother, KatieLou. The entire family started out in poultry in Cleveland, Ohio. After working on the family farm, she started the business in 2007 and ran it through 2008, when she decided to take some time off. 

“It started out as a joke as I put my cookies in a friend’s restaurant. The business started to grow, but I didn’t really have a game plan,” Berman said.

Her catering clients were in high demand, so the business grew exponentially.  However, as passion, practicality and organization overrode her hiatus, Berman used her first experience to reclaim her success in 2010.

“I swore I was not going to do it again and here I am,” she said.

Private catering is Berman’s mainstay and she is currently deciding on whether to establish a storefront, a food truck or perhaps both. Berman said time will take its course as to what will work best for her. Her hours of operation are when the client calls for it.

“Every day, all day, it’s made by appointment,” she said. “I cater to special orders, small orders and big orders, including several businesses in the Palisades.”

Cookies, breads and cakes for events like birthday parties, weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s include her specialties: lemon ricotta pound cake, cinnamon sticky buns which she says are “insane and really good”, banana chocolate chip bread and pumpkin chocolate chip bread, which she does not bake with butter, hence a healthier alternative.

Berman has catered for American Idol, Sugar Ray Leonard’s son’s birthday and charity events, such as actor Hank Azaria and teacher Sara Hahn’s Determined to Succeed nonprofit at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood. The nonprofit educates low socio-economic students, providing after-school tutoring through the college application and acceptance process. The Geffen donated the theater, while KatieLou Desserts donated its goods. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to Determined to Succeed.

When American Idol eliminates one contestant on Thursday nights, the production has a dinner prior to the taping and then afterwards they have a wrap party for the contestants and crew. KatieLou Desserts was fortunate to cater this a few weeks back.

KatieLou Desserts is looking forward to a full summer calendar, including a wedding in Malibu. Look out on Twitter in the future if Berman decides to go the food truck route.