Behind the Scenes – My Journey from Catering to Art to Home Restoration
Behind the Scenes – The History Behind the Creation of this Catering Site, My Art & Our Home
Catering has always been more than just food for me. It’s a constant exercise in creativity, problem-solving and paying close attention to the little details that make people feel genuinely cared for. The moment guests walk into a room, the standard is set. That single idea — “You never get a second chance at a first impression” — guided every conference, convention, wedding and special event I managed over more than forty years.
What I didn’t fully realize at the time is that the same mindset would eventually spill into every other part of my life. The discipline of planning an event for hundreds of people, the quiet satisfaction of solving problems before anyone else notices them and the creative energy required to make something feel effortless all found new places to live. That process and perspective helped shape how we restored and live in our home. It pushed me to pick up a spatula and start painting. And it all eventually led me to share the stories and practical lessons I’ve collected along the way.
This section of the site is where I pull back the curtain on those parts of life that grew directly out of my work in catering and the creative impact it continues to have. None of it is separate from the work. It’s all connected.
Our Home — A Creative Project That Became an Oasis
In 2010 my partner Sanda and I bought a semi-renovated nineteenth-century colonial house in the heart of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. There was no garden, no pathways, no cabana and no third bedroom. It needed a massive amount of love. Over the next thirteen years we restored it room by room, turned the empty backyard into a lush private garden with a large pool and slowly transformed the property into what we now call Casablanca Living — a three-bedroom, three-bathroom hacienda-style home that operates as both a private residence and a luxury short-term vacation rental.
The same attention to detail that once went into plating a dinner for four hundred people went into choosing historic floor tiles, placing antiques and making sure every corner felt intentional. Living with that house taught me that restoration, like catering, is really about creating an atmosphere people can feel the moment they walk through the door. You can explore the full story, photo galleries and rental information under Our Home.
Steve’s Art — The Visual Side of the Same Creative Energy
After decades of collaborating with talented chefs and watching them turn ingredients into something memorable, I began to wonder what would happen if I applied that same creative impulse to canvas. I started painting in 2012 with no formal training. Using spatulas instead of brushes, I build dense, textured layers of oil paint — a process I still describe as “like putting icing on a cake.”
By 2025 I had completed my one-hundredth piece. Many of those paintings now hang in homes across Canada, the United States, Mexico, and beyond. The work is abstract and intuitive, guided more by emotion and the light of Mérida than by any pre-planned image. The studio itself sits inside the same home we restored, so the art, the house and the catering background all occupy the same physical and creative space. You can see the gallery and read more about the process under Steve’s Art.
My Stories — Personal Reflections That Still Shape the Work
Behind every successful event are the smaller, often unplanned moments that teach you something lasting. Some of those moments have found their way into short stories — real experiences from an unconventional life and relationship that continue to influence how I approach both catering and everyday living. They are still a work in progress, but they sit here because they belong to the same larger picture.
You’ll find those reflections under My Stories.
Why This All Matters
When I look back, the lens is clear. Whether I was coordinating an event for the Dalai Lama, restoring a 1890s colonial house or standing in front of a blank canvas with a spatula in my hand, the core questions stayed the same: How do you make people feel something? How do you solve problems before they become visible? How do you raise the standard of whatever you’re doing?
This website and the YouTube channel that grows alongside it exist for one practical purpose — to share the systems, shortcuts and real experiences that turn potential chaos into controlled success. The home, the art and the stories are simply the wider context. They show that the habits formed behind the scenes of a high-level catering career don’t stay confined to event days. They travel with you and become more about who you are as a person.
If anything here sparks an idea for your own project, your own event or simply reminds you that the details matter, then this section has done what it was meant to do.
Thank you for joining me on this journey of catering, creativity and the Art of First Impressions.
Sincerely,
Steven Lemire
While you’re here, look at the practical templates I actually use for real weddings and events.
You can download them and start using them today.
Download Free & Premium Wedding & Event Planning Tools
Practical templates used for real weddings and events. Download and start using them today.
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Guest List + Seating Planner
Organize Guests, Track RSVPs & Assign Tables in One Sheet.
FREE
Wedding/Event Budget Tracker
Excel with Automatic Calculations or Printable Word Version
FREE
Invitation & RSVP Checklist
Printable Timing Guide Checklist to Keep Everything on Track.
FREE
Event Master Timeline Template
13-Sheet Professional Excel System Used by Catering Teams & Planners.
$24 USD
Stay in touch
If you would like occasional updates on new event guides, upcoming art releases or notes from us in Mérida, please send us a message and we’ll add you to our Contact List.
In the meantime, Enjoy!
