Kaley Horton has been serving delicious meals and using those culinary skills to help the community for years but cooking wasn’t a path she originally pictured.
Kaley moved to Norfolk when she was just a baby, growing up in the community and loving the area.
Originally, her sights were on hotel management, even going to school for this.
But with few hotel options locally, and her love of the community, Kaley pivoted into the restaurant business and hasn’t looked back.
In fact, her business just continues to blossom from a modest eatery in Downtown Simcoe to a food truck, a set up at the Norfolk Golf and Country Club, a booth at the Farmer’s Market, and offering full-service catering for events.
She is even using what spare time she has to teach courses at Fanshawe College when the opportunity arises.
But she says her success and these expansions have to do with this community embracing her and what she does, and her returning the favour.
Just as Kaley is connected to good food, she is also directly linked to helping out when someone is needed, often fundraising or raising awareness to events or causes in the community.
This need to give back started early as she said her father modelled what it meant to be a good citizen and the rewards of volunteering your time.
She especially saw the dedication to the MS society after her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Much like Kaley originally pivoted from hotel management to a restaurant, this past year and a bit has been all about pivoting.
She says when she was allowed to offer food to takeout, the community kept showing their support and she wanted to take her platform to help as well.
She said for a while, they turned into more of a grocery delivery model helping out those who couldn’t go out during the height of the pandemic or has concerned.
That included having freezer meals and senior programs put in place.
Women of Influence Day is brought to you by Venture Norfolk.