Chef Anthony Gonnella

Grand Haven has a catering company that is just not all about doing the job they are about quality, and Chef Anthony Gonnella Owner of Anthony's Kicked Up Catering the dream that started some three years ago has turned into reality.

From small beginnings to big cities, Anthony Gonnella has experienced it all. From New York to L.A., Anthony has seen the sites and experienced life on many frontiers to bring flavor to Grand Haven. Opening Kicked Up Catering in January 2009, Anthony Gonnella’s name has spread. With over 19 years of culinary experience Anthony has taken his passion and turned it into a lifestyle.

Raised in Dayton, Ohio until moving to Wisconsin in junior high, Anthony’s travels began early. After graduation, he moved to New Jersey where his interest in the culinary arts began. “[I have] been cooking since I was a kid with my mom, she is a great cook” Anthony explains. From there he decided to enroll in a local, 8 hour a day culinary arts school for adults. With a year of completed culinary education under his belt he began working for restaurants all over the country. Starting as a dishwasher and working his way up to prep cook, Anthony knew what he wanted to be doing, cooking. Cooking is his passion and he has continued to improve his skills. He attended a second culinary arts school in 1999 in New York, shortly after completion moving out to the west coast. In Los Angeles he got out of the business several times taking odd business jobs, until he became fed up with the cost of living and decided it was time to move, this time settling in Michigan to be close to his family.

Anthony started doing odd catering jobs until he decided to make a business out of it and in three short months Kicked Up Catering was open to the public. The idea for Anthony’s catering company “just fell together” as he would put it. He decided that in order to grow his catering business it would be a good idea to have some seating for people to come in, try the food, and spread the word. Kicked Up is known for their barbeque, but according to Anthony “I have always liked grilling and smoking, cooking on the grill, but…I didn’t know a whole lot about it, until about the time I started this place…I have gotten really good at it and won a lot of awards for it, and that’s what we have become known for, but that is not what I intended at all when we first opened.”  The menu is not limited and that’s what he loves about owning his own business, if he gets tired of something, just change it. “I get tired of the same thing quick, I need variety, that’s one of the things I love about catering, and you’re basically doing something different every day…if you want to try something new you just do it.” Unlike franchises that he started out working for, he has the freedom to change things and everything is homemade from scratch, including the bread that he brings in from the Gonnella Bakery in Chicago.

Kicked Up Catering is a middle of the road catering company that can cater to any need, from backyard barbeque to a high end wedding dinner. Even though they are known for their barbeque, Anthony really loves to be a personal chef and come into someone’s home and cook them a meal. The majority of the business is due to corporate America; such as lunch boxes or catered business meetings, weddings, and graduations. The bread is fresh baked daily, soups made from scratch, and deli meats roasted in house. Making everything from scratch gives Kicked Up an edge on other catering companies, because they can change recipes for any dietary needs without issue. The name for Kicked Up Catering came from Anthony’s respect for Emeril Lagasse, who made television cooking popular and has always said “kick it up”. With that and the bull logo all coming together, Kicked Up Catering has become a well-known catering business in Grand Haven, that’s saying “It’s no bull”, has really proved that quality homemade food is what people come together over.

More Info About This Service: