NDG caterer delivers comfort food to West End families

Born in Côte St-Luc and residing in NDG for the past 16 years, Caroline Ross has always enjoyed preparing and serving food to people. Since both her parents worked long hours she started cooking at a very young age and started working in the food industry as a teenager. "After working in the restaurant industry and filling every position from hostess to management to cook, at 23, I decided to open a catering business," says Ross. "The business flourished and I even had the great honour of catering The Study's 75th anniversary in 1991, but in the past few years I decided to downscale and go back to the basics." Bon C Bon (a clever play on Caroline's name) aims to prepare and deliver delicious, healthy and affordable meals for the week right to people's door. The meals are delivered fresh, never frozen, in recyclable containers with the ingredients listed as well as heating instructions and a best before date with the option to freeze.

The weekly menu (posted on www.boncbon.com) varies and includes a mix of fish, chicken, pasta (Tilapia with Lemon Caper Sauce, Grilled Flank Steak with Shallot Garlic Butter, Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad were just some of the dishes featured on the website at last look), but Ross readily admits it's her comfort foods most people reach for on a regular basis.

The Favourites, as they are tagged on the website menu, include Turkey Lasagna, Spinach Zucchini Lasagna (which I personally sampled and can attest to being absolutely delicious), Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese and Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie.

The main menu changes every week, with salads added during the summer and soups in the fall. "Based on the orders that have been placed by Thursday, I shop accordingly," explains Ross. "I spend Friday night prepping, all Saturday cooking and Sunday I deliver." Ross' husband, Michael Verrall, also chips in, helping with deliveries and serving as the unofficial taste tester. "Michael is well fed, but he's often my guinea pig," Ross says laughing. "He offers honest feedback on my food and keeps me in check."

Ross' real passion is to get families eating around the table again. "Eating together is becoming a dying art. You just don't see people sitting together to eat anymore," she says. "Family members have such different schedules these days…"

Studies have clearly indicated that sitting down to a meal with your family on a regular basis can greatly reduce the risk of alcoholism, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy, Ross explains.

The NDG resident, who volunteers at the Salvation Army feeding the homeless and also mentors troubled teens, hopes to one day start a local lunch program for underprivileged children in schools to help families who are experiencing hardship.

In the meantime, in her own little way with her comfort food at Bon C Bon, she hopes to help busy families out there understand – or at least remember- that food, security and love are always intertwined. For more on Bon C Bon and/or to peruse the weekly menu, log on to: www.boncbon.com or call 514-358-2669.