Kim Medici and Andy Tannehill sit down for a conversation about Table Nectar and Nectar Events, Inc., their farm-to-table catering and event companies, which are born from a passion for preparing food that is good for the guests and good for the earth.

For Kim Medici and Andy Tannehill, the owners of Table Nectar and Nectar Events, Inc., art and food have always been deeply intertwined. The couple, who married in 2007, met at Burning Man, where Andy was catering. After creating Table Nectar together in 2007, they went on to cater other music festivals, including Coachella. “We were fueling the creative fire, feeding the artists who made the magic,” Kim recalls. Originally based in the Bay Area, Table Nectar represents a synthesis of Kim and Andy’s unique passions and skills: Kim’s passion for “nourishing, healing, organic food” met Andy’s expertise in event coordination, kitchen building, and catering. “We have always said that Andy is the Table and I’m the Nectar,” Kim says. Andy puts it more bluntly: “We are basically a glorified moving company that cooks.”

Their “glorified moving company”, whose tastefully presented gourmet offerings have enchanted thousands of customers and enlivened countless events, was relocated from the Bay Area to the Sierra Nevada foothills, where Kim was born and raised, when the couple decided to start a family. Their newfound proximity to a bounty of organic food from local farms was a welcome bonus. “I like to say that the flavors tell the story,” Andy says. “I think that’s what is so remarkable about our business, and what sets us apart from others: We know where these ingredients are coming from; we know who made them, who touched them, what their story is; we have relationships with the people who create our ingredients.”

Table Nectar is, in more ways than one, a family business. Kim and Andy, who often bring their kids to work with them, have expanded their notion of a “family” to include their staff, whose quality of life they prioritize over profit. “People don’t like being managed,” Andy explains. “They like being included. That’s an important part of our ethos… We pay people more than probably any food service in the county. But that’s what it takes to live.” Their sense of family even extends to the local community. Kim has allowed their facilities to be used as a cooperative work space for other small businesses, and she has leveraged their connections with local farms to give families in the community access to high-quality, healthy food. Kim and Andy also place a major emphasis on the environment, demonstrating a sense of responsibility to a kind of global community, or to the planet itself. “You have to make your business sustainable financially, socially, and environmentally,” Andy says.

Table Nectar, which has been primarily known for its catered food, is now nested inside Nectar Events, Inc., a shift that reflects the broadening scope of Kim and Andy’s vision. They have long viewed Table Nectar as an artistic enterprise, but they are now focusing more explicitly on the artistic dimensions of their work. “The food is art,” Kim says. “I love working with local wineries to make food and wine pairings. If it’s creative, it’s fun for me. Going forward, I want to focus mostly on art-inspired events where people are appreciating food artistry and ambience.” With Nectar Events, Inc., they see an opportunity to create “art-forward experiences” that incorporate food, music, visual art, and more. “People know us for the food, and it informs everything that we do,” Andy says, “but it’s our sincere desire and goal to do more with the events… Given the right opportunity, in a healthy, nourishing environment, people are going to put their best foot forward. Taking care of the food and the structures and the lighting and all the basics allows people to move on to the greater things: connection, creativity, expression.”