Our Story
Who We Are
Over 50 years ago in 1973, two brothers, their father and their uncle started a catering company on Washington Street in Roslindale. Their mission was simple, treat people well. The Wiggins family quickly developed a reputation for delivering hospitality at Boston’s most well-known cultural institutions, like Boston Symphony Hall and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.
From 1986 to 2001, Gourmet managed premium food service at Fenway Park. Family and hospitality, much like baseball, are team sports. Although the Red Sox did not win it all until 2004, these years set up some big wins for Gourmet. From 2001 until now, measured in feet not miles, Gourmet has progressed to be Boston’s hospitality leader.
Multiple brands fly under the Gourmet flag. Corporate Dining services have been part of Gourmet’s offerings since the 1980s. An acquisition of Olson Cafe Services and Uptown Cafe Services in 2005, all now branded under Gourmet @ Work, renewed Gourmet’s focus to deliver the very best in workplace dining. Gourmet acquired Peppers Artful Events – local industry leader in sustainability – in 2022. Catering by Andrew, New England’s leading kosher caterer, joined the Gourmet family in 2024.
Since its founding, Gourmet is privately owned and family run with long term plans for family and private ownership. Being privately owned, we only answer to our customers, not shareholders or investors. Some 50 years since our founding and the mission remains the same; treat people well.
Sustainability
From hydroponics to robotics, we're leading
the charge in bringing
green solutions and
innovation to the food service industry.
We're farmers!
Gourmet owns and operates two Freight Farms hydroponic container gardens that produce lettuces, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers year round. Our Freight Farms use vertical farming methods and a closed-loop system to create highly water-efficient and productive, compact growing spaces. One 40’ x 8’ x 9.5’ container can grow 2–6 tons of produce and have an equivalent land yield of 2-4 acres annually. We love farming and having the ability to grow, harvest, cook, and serve our own ingredients. It's a difference you can taste in every farm fresh dish by Gourmet.
Committed to embracing a greener future
Where and who we source our food from is important to us. For that reason, Gourmet is one of the top purchasers of organic produce in Greater Boston. Most of our meat and produce purchases are sourced within 100 miles of our commissary, which encourages support of our local communities and reduces carbon emissions attributed to shipping food.
Food service management of tomorrow
The future is bright for Gourmet! We are persistently researching and learning about the newest high-tech innovations in the food service industry and are open minded when it comes to adopting modern changes to our daily operations, both at events and in our commissaries. While we continue to move forward and scale, we are committed to staying true to our roots, which have supported and grown our business for over 50 years.
