Shoalhaven’s Jack Dinnie from Bumpy Road Catering was named Outstanding Young Business Leader by Business NSW this week at a gala event, wrapping up a slew of wins in recent years including Best Wedding Caterer in the Shoalhaven and South Coast for the past four years running.
At the helm of a frenetic catering company that is working on around 150 events each year – that’s an event every 2.5 days – with a core staff of 35 regulars, Jack is clear about his ethos for being a successful business leader. “It has to be fun. Fun for us, fun for the people who hire us and fun for their guests.”
There is a lot more to his success than a good time for all. The high volume of events and the wide variety, anything from a private dinner at an Airbnb to a 200+ attendee wedding banquet, means Jack and the team are facing challenges and creatively solving problems all the time.
Bumpy Road’s journey started seven years ago when Jack and wife Alyce noticed an explosion of the food truck scene after their overseas honeymoon. The couple were keen to establish a business on the south coast, so they quickly found a caravan and turned it into a mobile kitchen – their distinctive blue and white vintage caravan is an instantly recognisable icon for their business.
From a humble beginning serving “elevated” street food on weekends, the couple were soon booking full-service catering jobs on a regular basis. Their fame as event planners on the south coast means they are often booked up 18 months or more in advance as event planners for weddings and other special events.
Street style is a hallmark of a Bumpy Road catered event. Their food is simple and elegant, sharable and much photographed – Jack knows that the catering is the second-most important aspect of any wedding, behind the bride and groom. It’s what makes an event memorable – when the food is delicious and the service seamless.
Jack works directly with the couple (or host) to design the event to match their personality and the venue, to create the perfect mood. He finds it very satisfying to work with people who are unsure of what they want, by guiding them through multiple options to help them focus in on what will make their event special.
Grazing stations with colourful charcuterie boards, delicious morsels served as canapes, and desserts such as gelato are all popular fare for events this season, as well as Bumpy Road’s signature street style food like gourmet sliders and tacos and flavour-packed “bowls” which are more flexible than a sit-down dinner but just as satisfying.
Jack and the team are intimately familiar with many popular venues and locations across the region, which means they can devise a creative solution for every client, backed by meticulous planning and attention to detail. Bumpy Road has amazing relationships with other providers including event stylists who work closely together on anything from rustic to refined. A quick look on their socials shows the calibre of events.
Jack trained as a chef here in the Shoalhaven at TAFE under Di Laver (founder and president of the Shoalhaven Food Network), and is thrilled to be an employer for dozens of people in the local area, where hospitality is a thriving sector. He says that despite rising challenges for hospitality businesses, such as the cost of food and wages, he gains immense satisfaction from it. “I always deliver, even when there are challenges, I’ve seen so many things at weddings that we can roll with the punches and make it work,” he says.
With this new trophy on the shelf, we know that Jack and Bumpy Road Catering will be even more in demand.
