Toronto's Top Choice Food Truck and Caterer

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food service but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Chef Matt Basile, founder of Fidel Gastro's Street Food Co., a Toronto-based full-service catering and events company that prides itself in creating unique and different food experiences.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a local food catering company specializing in events, kitchen takeovers, brand partnerships, and creative menu development and consulting. I absolutely love what I do because the only style of food I embrace is fun food. Our customers are the same - they believe that a wedding can have fried chicken on a menu. That fancy doesn't mean better, and that comfort food and street food can still be the best quality possible.

Tell us about yourself

I was 26 and working in advertising - quit my job to sell sandwiches off tables illegally. From there, I graduated to a food truck, then a full brick-and-mortar, multiple QSRs, a TV show chronicling my journey, and two cookbooks. It's been ten years, and we've always been busy feeding people and growing. My motto is to always be different.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My nonno (grandfather) got to see what I do for a living at an event before he passed away.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

People don't realize that success can still bring stress. Busy can bring stress. The thing you love the most can bring you stress. It's very hard to just stop working, and it's always there, so it takes years to understand how to be a leader, communicator and when to step back, so you don't burn out.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Make sure you are ready to sacrifice a lot of things you used to enjoy. If you think anything is easy money, then you were lied to. And if you're only doing it for the money, you will probably fail.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.chefmattbasile.com/

Instagram: @fgcateringTO / @chefmattbasile

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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