Campbell Vanderwiele’s journey to catering started with an Easy Bake Oven.

“I begged for that thing,” Campbell, 19, with a smile. “You could always find me cooking.”

She honed her kitchen skills in culinary arts classes at Baker High School, and in 2020, when she was 15, she put her baking skills to work.

“I decided I wanted to make money, and it was COVID,” she said.

She started Campbell’s Pop Up Shop before Christmas 2020 to offer charcuterie boxes and desserts.

“That was really successful,” she said.

Her mom, Tara, helped her deliver orders — being 15, Campbell couldn’t drive herself.

In 2022, she started catering events and was hired to provide food for the Thomas Angus bull sale.

In May 2022, she rebranded her business to Campbell’s Catering and Sweets and a few months later she modified a small horse trailer — with the help of her parents and friends — to use for farmers markets, fairs and other events.

Then she added plated dinners to her business options, weekly to-go dinners, and breakfast and lunch pop-ups around town.

And, as a senior at Baker High School, she learned to balance work with school.

“I constantly worked through the weekends,” she said.

She graduated in June 2023, and continued to run her catering business while attending college. She also traveled to Prague to experience the food culture.

“I learned a lot about cooking,” she said.

She’s now pursuing an accounting degree and also running her business. The Thomas bull sale continues to be a yearly event when she prepares four meals over a 24-hour period that serve from 30 to 150 people, depending on the time of day.

“I have to prep for four days,” she said.

In October 2024, she participated in Taste of Baker for the first time — she parked her trailer on Main Street and offered delicacies along with other local eateries for the fall event sponsored by Baker City Downtown.

“I like the people, and to be in my hometown,” she said.

She continues to cater, and has added private chef to her repertoire — for this, she is hired to cook an entire meal, from prep to clean up.

Her mom helps as her assistant.

And she’s not, she said, afraid of hard work.

“I was raised in a family with a hard work ethic,” she said.

Her grandpa, Cass Vanderwiele, founded Triple-C Redi Mix and Campbell has worked at the business over the years.

“I like to work for my own things,” she said with a smile.

She credits her hometown for supporting her business dream.

“My business wouldn’t be possible without the support of this community,” she said. “It’s hard to start as a small business, let alone as a young adult serving food to the public.”

And she plans to keep growing.

“I continue to gain and grow knowledge in hopes of continuing to serve the Baker County community and beyond,” she said.

Information
For more information, visit campbellscateringandsweets.com or check out her pages on Facebook and Instagram.