THE BUSINESS
Mindful Fork Catering customizes its menus to both the season and the preferences of each client. Angie Larson is honored to offer boutique farm-to-fork catering services which feature beautiful presentations of chef-curated menus and locally sourced ingredients.
Angie said, “What makes us unique is that everything is chef-driven and made from scratch. There are stories and connections behind each of our ingredients. For example, Veggies and More is one of our local growers and one of our main produce suppliers. Rising Bread WI is a micro bakery based in River Falls that we partner with for sourdough.”
The business caters for weddings and corporate events, and hosts tastings. “The tastings are open to the public. We get lots of previous wedding clients returning to these tasting events, often sharing their wonderful stories about married life,” Angie said.
THE SUPPORT
Angie enrolled in the Entrepreneurial Training Program (ETP) offered by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) about a year after she opened for business. Angie said, “I was doing great with meal prep and private catering, but I knew it was time to grow. The ETP class was wonderful! It gave different perspectives for different stages of business and helped me learn so many new things. I would even love to take the ETP class again now since it has been a couple of years and my business is at a different stage again.”
Listen to Angie describe the Entrepreneurial Training Program
Accomplishments with SBDC at UW-River Falls
- Capital access
- Financial projections
- Pitch events
Angie worked closely with Maren Valentine, a consultant at the SBDC at UW-River Falls. Angie said, “Maren is a like-minded woman with her own entrepreneurship experience. She assisted me with financial projections and capital access. She was helpful in my efforts to apply for grants and opportunities, specifically overcoming my dislike of public speaking in the pitch for the Scale Up Challenge.”
Angie shares her experience presenting at the Scale Up Challenge pitch event
She also received entrepreneurship support from the City of River Falls and the St. Croix Valley Business Innovation Center. Financial assistance came from the Main Street Bounceback Grant which Angie used to help build out her kitchen. The Royal Credit Union and the First National Bank in New Richmond also helped with needed capital infusion.
THE PIVOTS
“The COVID pandemic kept us very busy with meal prep, but we knew that was not sustainable. We pivoted to focus on culinary arts and private chef services and catering in 2023,” Angie said.
“There is currently a lack of venues which offer catering services in the local area, so we just purchased a wedding venue that is a renovated old school house. We are pivoting again to meet needs in the community. We have already hosted a couple weddings in the space and hope to use the renovated schoolhouse, the outdoor pavilion, and the 16 acres of beautiful, wooded property for a variety of events in the future.”
THE ADVICE
Hear Angie’s insights on being a successful entrepreneur
“I love being an entrepreneur and the fact that I only have to answer to myself,” Angie said. “Some advice I would offer to others hoping to own a small business is not to rush it. You need to have patience, and you need to have the hunger, the drive to succeed.”
View story videos linked below
Published November 2025