Her Little Works of Art

Katie Schwartz enjoys designing beautiful charcuterie boards for Good Mood Food clients

by ELLEN ORR

Katie and her fiancé, Nick Tuberville, and their son, Tyson, at Katie’s little sister’s wedding this past March. (Photo by Benjamin Martin Photography)

J

ulia Child once remarked that the only true obstacle to overcome when cooking: a fear of failure. “You’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude,” she said.

Local caterer and charcuterie aficionado Katie Schwartz of Good Mood Food has a similar life philosophy, though she puts it a bit more delicately: “I just believe in taking advantage of every good opportunity that comes my way, and wherever life takes me along the way is where I’m meant to be,” she said.

Katie never planned to work in the food service industry. After high school, she moved to Fayetteville to attend the University of Arkansas, but she returned home to Ashdown after one semester. “I was not motivated and did not do very well,” she said. “I started taking classes at Cossatot Community College, but I still wasn’t focused.”

Team Good Mood Food worked a bridal fair at Ramage Farms in February of 2020.  Pictured with Katie (center) are her mother, Denise Schwartz, and sister, Rachael Potter.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, Katie was receiving invaluable education during these years, albeit not necessarily in the classroom. She began working at Ironwood Grill, where she benefited from top-tier on-the-job training. “They held very high standards for their food and service,” she said. “From polishing knives to the way the food is presented, those small details are what make a business successful. I learned so much.”

Chef on the Run Jeff Loving worked with Katie during a catering event in May 2021.

After working at various restaurants, Katie went on to spend three formative years working under Jeff Loving, first at Twisted Fork and then at Chef on the Run Catering. “I would never have opened my own catering business if it wasn’t for my time working with Chef on the Run,” Katie said.

Working as a catering assistant was ideal for Katie at the time, as she had recently become a mother. After the birth of her son, Tyson, she had chosen to be a stay-at-home mom, but she quickly discovered how unsustainable that lifestyle would be for her. “It was very isolating, and I needed time out of the house to be around other adults to feel like myself again,” she explained. Working select catering events provided her the balance she sought.

When Chef on the Run went on hiatus in 2019, Jeff offhandedly commented that one of his staff ought to launch their own catering service. “When he said that, a light bulb went off in my head,” Katie remembered. “I decided then that I wanted to start my own business.” In December 2019, Good Mood Food was born.

From the beginning, GMF was successful—perhaps too successful. “I did not know what I was getting myself into,” Katie admitted, recounting all of the holiday parties she booked that year. “In the beginning, I said yes to every order that came my way; I was afraid to lose momentum. I never ran into any real problems, but there were definitely days I took on too much, and that would quickly lead to feeling burnout.”

During August 2020, Katie (second from left) worked her first wedding at Tree Haven with Amber Brown, Mellisa Brown and Joni Millican.

When COVID hit, Katie was forced to cancel or postpone all of her bookings. She was secretly relieved. “My world slowed down for a bit and gave me time to think more about what I wanted from Good Mood Food,” she said. 

In the summer of 2020, Katie started receiving orders for charcuterie boards, and she quickly garnered a reputation for her beautiful meat-and-cheese spreads, garnished with both typical and unconventional accouterments. “They are my little works of art,” she said. “I just love going all over to different grocery stores and finding new things to put on them.” 

Katie’s work often features playful ingredients—candies, artisanal honeys and jams, fresh sprigs of herbs, and out-of-the-box hors d’oeuvres like miniature waffles. Bursting with color, texture, aroma, and flavor, these spreads are clearly made with equal parts skill and fun.

Katie and Tyson enjoying the sun and surf in Florida last October.

“For once, I have found something I enjoy doing, and I have been successfully doing it,” she said, adding that she now accepts very few non-charcuterie jobs. “It really has been a great experience.”

While building a business and raising her child, Katie has also been working toward a bachelor’s degree in business administration for the past three years. She will earn her diploma this August and intends to pursue an MBA afterward. Katie once believed that higher education was her ticket out of the food service industry. “But I enjoy doing Good Mood Food and the flexibility in my schedule,” she said, “and I have been able to apply a lot of the concepts I have learned in school to the operation of my business. Honestly, I have no clue what the future holds. I have some big decisions to make in the next couple of months.”

Katie’s life has not followed any recipe. The food service world, initially intended only to be a young-adult stopover, has become her playground. Her child, Tyson, made her a mother, an honor not sought out but bestowed upon her. “I never pictured being a mother, but I was also young when I had Tyson and didn’t have my life together when I got pregnant,” she said. “Now I couldn’t imagine my world being any different and love being a boy mom.” And, in October, she will finally marry Tyson’s father, her fiancé of five years, Nick Tuberville.

If the past is any indication, the future certainly holds more bounty than Katie could imagine for herself. In this way, Katie’s life is reflected in her favorite aspect of charcuterie assembly: “My favorite part of the work,” she said, “is starting from a blank slate and watching everything come together.”