Building Gather Catering & Events: Newell Orfei on Sustainable Catering, Team Culture & Human-Centred Hospitality

In this episode of The People-Driven CEO Podcast, Shane sits down with Newell Orfei, Owner and Executive Chef of Gather Catering & Events in Calgary, to talk about entrepreneurship, leadership, sustainability and what it takes to build a hospitality company around trust and people.

Newell shares how his career evolved from restaurants and private chef work into purchasing an established catering company with his wife in 2018. He opens up about stepping into an existing team, learning management on the fly and how a long-standing relationship with one of his private clients ultimately helped make the acquisition possible. The conversation explores how Gather navigated the pandemic, rebuilt its team and developed a workplace culture strong enough for Newell to begin stepping back and trusting his people to make decisions without him.

He also shares how sustainability became embedded into the company’s operations, with Gather now working toward near-zero-waste events and a longer-term goal of becoming carbon neutral. Newell and Shane also discuss the future of hospitality, where technology and AI can make operations more efficient without removing the personal connection that defines a great guest experience.

Ultimately, Newell’s approach comes back to intention, trust and being willing to try, fail and keep learning, something he describes as one of the most human journeys we all take.