‘The heart of my business’: A Q&A with Evansville area caterer and gift meal maker Lexie Fankhouser
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Gift meals are common acts of kindness for life events such as a newborn entering the world or a loved one passing away. Newburgh resident Lexie Fankhouser has been cooking for others for years, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she decided to start a catering service called To The Table and incorporate gift meals into the business model.
The former business consultant and her husband, former pro hockey player Scott Fankhouser, moved to southwestern Indiana about eight years ago after living all over the U.S. and some places in Europe.
Inside INdiana Business spoke with Lexie Fankhouser about using her talents in the kitchen to help people in the Evansville region express their joy and empathy for others.
Why did your family decide to settle in the Evansville area?
The community. We moved to Newburgh, and there are a lot of people there who are also not from Evansville, so it was a very smooth transition with all of the other ex-pats, if you will, getting into the schools, into the city, into the community. And then after joining business networking, I feel connected all over the city and the Tri-State just with really great people who are welcoming and laid back.
It’s like the Midwestern dream. The hustle of the north with the chill of the Midwest and the politeness of the south. All right here.
How did your catering business get started?
The idea was given to me because I was cooking for my husband. He was taking lunches to work, and his workmates thought they looked delicious and offered to pay me to make them lunches, too.
Then my girlfriend, who hates cooking, was like, “Did I hear that right? You’re cooking for people. Can you make two dinners, and I’ll buy one from you?” So it started as a family meal business, and it got really busy, really fast. That was pre-COVID, and I was cooking out of my house.
I took the time off that the pandemic and the lockdown gave us and said, “Am I going to do this or not?” That’s when I got a business license, insurance, ServeSafe, the commissary kitchen, all the things I needed to do the business for real. Instead of doing family meals, which kept me busy seven days a week, I switched to catering so I could schedule it into my work-life balance.
How would you describe gift meals?
Gift meals are something I’ve always done. I’ve always brought a meal to somebody because it’s the way I can at least make things easier for somebody in a hard time or a great time. That’s the thing I love the most. Catering affords me the leeway to do gift meals at a reasonable set price for people because that’s where my heart is. That’s the passion of the business.
A gift meal is a soup or salad, a main dish, some sides, and a dessert. I always create the menu with the person receiving it so they’re getting something that they really want. The way it works is someone will contact me to send a gift meal and give me the recipient’s contact information. I get in touch with the recipient and share the news that this person is buying them a gift meal through my company, and I’d like to know if there’s something that they crave or something they can’t get or a childhood favorite.
If they don’t have suggestions, I’ll make suggestions, whether it’s a cuisine type or a dietary need or something like that. I present a menu, they accept, and then I bill the gift giver. It’s always $35 and there’s no minimum. Then, I schedule the meal for the recipient’s best day and time to receive it, cook it, deliver it and then thank the gift giver.
The most popular things are steak and potatoes, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Chicken parmesan is one of the biggest ones. But it could be anything. It could be hot dogs and scrambled eggs. Nobody’s asked me for that. But if someone did, I’d be like: This is going to be the best hot dogs and scrambled eggs you’ve ever had.
Are there any meals you find difficult to make?
Yes. Fried foods, which are delicious and comforting and wonderful, but they don’t travel well. I will always put the brakes on if there’s going to be a quality issue with getting something done. If it’s risotto, that’s really hard to deliver because it’ll get gummy. I will say, “Yeah, I can make it, but it might not be as wonderful as you’re thinking unless I cook it at your house,” which I’ve never done.
Do most people share the reason they want to gift a meal?
I have never had somebody not share it. I don’t know if that’s because I’m easy to talk to. More likely it’s because they want me to understand the situation—if it’s urgent or tragic. And more to the point, with each gift giver, I write a note. I ask them what they want to say, write the note word for word, and deliver it with the meal.
Where do you cook your catered and gift meals?
Swonder Ice Arena. They have a very small kitchen there. I called every church. I called anywhere that has a grease trap. Kitchens that are not open during the day. I was just trying to find a space. I ended up contacting Venue 812, but that was before it was built. I finally went to the health department and said, “What do people do?” And they said there are two options: one that had to close [their] doors and Swonder.
What’s your delivery radius for gift meals?
I’ll deliver anywhere. There’s a delivery fee of 75 cents a mile round trip from my kitchen. That way, I can make it make sense. And if it’s too far for me, and it doesn’t fit into my schedule, I use a hired driver. I have two. One is official; one is becoming official. But I deliver as much as possible because I do like to have that personal connection.
Do you have any plans to grow your catering business?
If The Wine Down in Newburgh comes up for sale, I want to buy it. I want it to be a shared kitchen so people like me on this side of town can do what I do. I would have it as a commissary. I would have it as an event space. I know it’s changed hands again and again, so I’ve kept my eye on it. I’ve got a business plan and lending in place.
I can’t grow right now without a space. I don’t think the quality would grow that way. But I’m open to seeing where things go.