Meet Brenda Teichroeb, Director of Sales and Catering, The RK Culinary Group at Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
As San Antonio hits triple digits this week during the usual hot Texas summer, Brenda Teichroeb is right where she wants to be. Like they say, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’
As Director of Sales and Catering for The RK Culinary Group in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in the Alamo City, Teichroeb is fine being around the kitchen as well as putting up with a hot summer as long as she can avoid the long Canadian winters she experienced before heading south.
“When you come from what they call ‘The Great White North’ it was a really easy transition to make for me,” said Teichroeb, who moved to San Antonio from Winnipeg, Manitoba in 2004. “I really don’t have a desire to live in the cold and I can handle the heat.”
Teichroeb, who had worked in sales on the hotel side in Canada, made the move to San Antonio when her husband was transferred in his job. She continued her sales in hotels until moving on to The RK Culinary Group in 2006.
“We had been here (San Antonio) to visit,” said Teichroeb, who ironically joined her husband at a convention in San Antonio and really enjoyed what they saw. “We fell in love with the city and the downtown, so we knew (what to expect when we moved).”
Teichroeb wasn’t as sure what she was getting into when she joined The RK Culinary Group on the catering side of meetings.
“When I started at RK I did not have a catering background. I had a sales background,” she related. “While I sell and sell our services to clients, I really didn’t know much about catering at that time. I’m fortunate to have a boss who is good at the logistics side, as well as being a chef, but the logistic-side of what we do. Just learning what will hold up longer in a hot box versus what won’t. Those kind of things.”
With 13-plus years under her belt, the catering side is no longer a mystery, but the current state of conventions and how food service will alter during social-distancing standards are all new. Conversations with clients and discussions with her team and leadership have led to some protocols while others are still under examination.
“People think we won’t do buffets, but you can,” Teichroeb said. “We have kind of figured out how to do that. It just won’t be two-sided. It will be a one-sided. There will be shields up to make sure there is no interaction coming on to the food from the customers. There is no self-serve. Everything has to be served by an attendant from the catering department.
“Things like a pre-plated (meal) can’t happen,” she continued. “We can still serve you with plate covers on the plates if we bring it from the kitchen and we can serve you once you sit down. That’s something else you have to work through.”
Teichroeb says each catering experience will be worked through with the clients and adjusted to their needs. While meal service is very doable, although it might be a bit more labor intensive, she says the larger talk surrounds the social events.
“The biggest discussion right now for us is how we are handling a reception. Because the networking part of any convention or meeting (are receptions), right,” Teichroeb explained. “The things that you know and love (is) to gather in front of a bar because that’s what people do at a reception — and we can’t gather in front of the bar right now. How do we maneuver through those dynamics is the biggest discussion we are having.”
“The reception-side is — how many more bars do we have – additional bars – because we need to spread them out so we don’t have people gathering,” she said. “Do we just have beer on ice – in a trough — and we hand that to a customer? Do we pass wine? Do we do those things? Those are the discussions we are having right now with clients.”
And talking with clients has been growing. Teichroeb has had multiple virtual tours walking the convention center and she has had a number of in-person site visits with in-state clients as well. Visiting with the people is the most gratifying part of her job.
“I think it is the relationships over the years – people from all walks of life. Because the convention center is not just corporate or it’s not just associations it is anyone having a meeting or a convention,” Teichroeb said. “To meet them from all parts of the country and build relationships. We’re fortunate to have a lot of repeat business in San Antonio (at the convention center) where we really get to know our repeat customers also.”
While the client conversations are warming up and the high summer temps are a San Antonio repeat customer, Teichroeb knows she can handle that type of heat anytime.
Notes: Teichroeb has been a Gulf States PCMA member since 2006. She has four children and five grandchildren.
Hobbies: Reading, going to the beach, visiting the wine country, traveling and hanging out with my husband.
Favorite Movie: Pretty Woman
