Photo Credit: SV Images

The Simply Fresh Events Story

It all began with passion, hard work, and a few bright, young minds—this is how Simply Fresh Events was born! Based in Maryland, our catering and event planning company was founded by two dedicated couples, the Phelans and the Barkers. Together, they turned their dream into reality, creating a business focused on bringing people together through delicious food and unforgettable events. Simply Fresh Events continues to thrive as a leading Maryland-based catering service, delivering memorable experiences to clients every day.

Passion and Partnership

Simply Fresh Events was founded by two couples and a close-knit group of friends, all with a shared passion for catering. With years of experience across various event types—from picnics and weddings to galas and disaster services—Matt and Jocelyn, who started in the industry at just 14, helped officially launch Simply Fresh Events in 2015. Our journey is a culmination of hard work, dedication, and building a business we’re proud of alongside inspiring partners.

At Simply Fresh Events, we prioritize partnering with local businesses and fostering connections within our community. Our foundation is built on hard work, authenticity, and a commitment to delivering exceptional catering services. We’re excited to share what we’ve built with you!

Who Are We?

Integrity matters

At Simply Fresh Events, we take pride in our brand and our work. Our focus is on doing what’s right, not just what’s profitable. We’re in this business because we love it, and our passion for helping people is at the heart of everything we do. Integrity is key to our success, which is why we never cut corners or compromise the quality of service for our partners and clients. At Simply Fresh Events, we are committed to always doing right by our people, ensuring exceptional service and lasting relationships.

It’s all about the team

At Simply Fresh Events, we prioritize growth and collaboration. Every week, our team gathers to share encouragement, exchange ideas, and seek continuous improvement. Being on the same page is crucial, as it directly impacts our relationships with each other and our clients. We’ve built an incredible support network, fostering a positive, energetic environment that resonates throughout our work. This contagious energy extends to our clients, enhancing their experience with every event we cater.

We like to have fun

Catering is a high-energy and demanding career, which is why it’s essential to hire individuals who understand the fast-paced nature of the industry. At Simply Fresh Events, we never sacrifice fun in the process. From regular team outings to celebrating personal milestones like the births of our children, we cherish both the big and small moments together. As a small but mighty team, we prioritize keeping each other happy, fostering a supportive and enjoyable work environment that translates into exceptional service for our clients.

Meet our team

Matthew Phelan

Matt is our President and co-founder of Simply Fresh Events, along with his wife Liz and the Barker Family.

Matt started working his first catering job when he was 14, learning the ins and outs of the business. He grew to love the food industry, dreaming of one day owning his own company. Upon entering the workforce Matt quickly moved into management, and helped successfully grow several businesses. In 2015, his dream became a reality when we opened our doors and served our first customers.

Having grown up in the area, Matt takes pride in being an active member of the community; supporting local schools and scouting, creating and encouraging our in-house recycling program, and partnering with local initiatives like the Montgomery County Composting Program. He takes pride in fostering young minds, both within the company and outside, and helping teach the next generation how to start/grow their own businesses.
Geoff Barker

Geoff is our Vice President. Along with his wife Jocelyn, and Matt and Liz Phelan, Geoff is a co-founder of Simply Fresh Events.

Geoffrey has been in the catering business since 2005. He leads our sales team and manages our disaster catering division. Geoff enjoys creating special events of all types utilizing your vision while working within your budget. With Geoffrey’s experience and expertise, you will not only realize your vision, you will enjoy the event! Geoff will consider and offer answers to every detail for planning that perfect event, taking the stress out of the planning and ensuring the event is just as you wanted and better.

Geoffrey thrives on challenges presented to have successful and unique events, especially outdoor events, so that the event will go off without any hitches. He enjoys the challenge and recognizes the importance of each event’s unique features and strives to create the difference.

Geoff is a native Washingtonian and grew up in the melting pot that only this area can offer. He knows the wide variety of entertaining venues as well as the cultural traditions and customs. Geoff brings a unique insight into a variety of options available to initiate the selections in your planning from the start so that your event is the very the best.

Geoff is a sports enthusiast, from coaching his children to attending their practices and games. He also enjoys Washington Capitals games. He is always around sports!

Favorite quote: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. ” -George S. Patton
Jocelyn Barker

With over 20 years in the catering and event industry, Jocelyn has coordinated more than 250 weddings across 50+ venues, making her a seasoned expert in planning memorable celebrations. She co-founded Simply Fresh Events in 2015 alongside her husband and the Phelan family, bringing with her a deep understanding of every aspect of event management—from cooking and event design to logistics and client care. Now leading Simply Fresh’s Event Coordination team, Jocelyn is passionate about transforming client visions into reality.

Outside of work, Jocelyn enjoys spending time with her two sons and cheering on the Washington Capitals.

Favorite quote: “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Brian Giganti

Brian joined Simply Fresh Events in 2018, bringing over 20 years of catering & management experience with him. Equipped with an undeniable work ethic and positive attitude, Brian takes pride in motivating and empowering the Simply Fresh Events team to deliver spectacular events by going above and beyond for our clients. Outside of work, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, attending sporting events and exercising.

Favorite Quote: “Leadership is not a position or title, It is ACTION and EXAMPLE.”
Jon Schrock

Jon started working for Simply Fresh Events in 2019 as an Event Server and truck loader. Through the years of his dedication and hard work, he has grown to fill an important role! On the weekends, you can find Jon organizing loading and managing events…and on occasion he runs wedding rehearsals! During the week, he is managing the operations of our warehouse – ensuring all events are prepared to be produced successfully.

Jon is a huge Washington DC sports fan, enjoys spending his free time skiing, playing basketball, and being with his friends and family.

Favorite Quote: “There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things. Isn’t that kind of the point?” – Pam Beesly, The Office
Lexi Opdenaker

Lexi began working her first job at Simply Fresh Events in 2015 as a server, bussing tables and packing trucks. Through several years of training, dedication, and experience, Lexi has grown to be an integral part of the team. She has done a little bit of everything from kitchen prep, warehouse loadouts, cooking, and her favorite, event management. Lexi loves training new staff members, the fast-paced environment, ever changing industry standards, and, in particular, the focus on the logistics and planning that goes into producing a client’s dream event.

Outside of work, Lexi enjoys spending time with her friends and family, trying new foods, skiing, and traveling.

Favorite Quote: “A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential” – Brene Brown
Jonathan Till

A third-generation chef, Jonathan Till began his culinary journey at his grandmother’s restaurant in Saratoga Springs, NY, at age four. After graduating from the New England Culinary Institute in 2008, Jonathan honed his craft at esteemed establishments, including L’Espalier in Boston and Capitol Grille in Nashville. He worked as Executive Sous Chef at Beekman Street Bistro, Executive Chef at William Jeffrey’s Tavern, and eventually joined Neighborhood Restaurant Group as Executive Chef of Evening Star Café, earning critical acclaim for his commitment to local, sustainable sourcing. After overseeing operations at popular establishments like Tiger Fork and Union Market’s rooftop bar Hi Lawn for the Blagden Hospitality Group, Jonathan launched Bar Ivy in Clarendon, VA, earning a “Best New Restaurant” finalist position in the prestigious Rammy awards. In 2023, he pivoted from the restaurant industry to event catering, bringing his culinary expertise and passion to Simply Fresh Events.

Favorite Quote: “I am Batman”
Greg Kraus

Greg has been a part of the Simply Fresh Events team since 2015, occasionally cooking for weekend events and learning the ins and outs of the kitchen. He joined the team full-time in 2021, bringing many years of management and leadership experience with him. Throughout the week Greg oversees the day-to-day operations of the kitchen and ensures each event is prepared and executed to our high standards. Greg loves making delicious home cooked meals with his family, especially meat and seafood!

Greg enjoys spending his free time with his wife, 3 kids, and their dog Tiny, and smoking meats on their Traeger at home.

Favorite Quote: “You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together” – Anthony Bourdain
Jessica Meltzer

Jess has been a part of Simply Fresh since 2019 when she was helping in the kitchen for a couple weeks during a gap in employment and the rest is history. She is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a bachelor’s in management as well as associates in culinary & pastry arts.

You can find Jess in the kitchen creating new dessert shots or managing her team. She loves working events, cooking on the back of trucks is such a challenge. She is drawn to the fast pace of the kitchen and creating desserts that exceed clients’ expectations.

In her free time, you can find her enjoying her new condo, trying new restaurants, testing recipes, or spending time with family and friends.

Favorite Quote: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it” – Charles Swindoll
Buffy Wiltz

Buffy is known inside and outside the company for her devotion to building lasting relationships with clients, family and friends. She brings years of business experience to her love of all things food in her position on our Sales team. She loves spending time with her husband of 30 years and her 3 adult daughters. Traveling and seeing new things is one of her favorite things in life. Her favorite food is anything that includes avocado.

Favorite Quote: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” -C.S. Lewis
Charlotte Neville

Charlotte’s love of food and events started when she began working in a pizza and sub shop in high school. Earning a BA in Journalism and Public Relations, instead of accepting a position with a PR firm after graduation, she instead chose the path of hospitality and has never looked back! Charlotte began her management career in Chicago spending many years in hotel food and beverage. She has experience in all aspects of catering, restaurant management and consulting for new restaurant concepts and openings. Charlotte spent several years managing in Sports and Entertainment, having the privilege to execute and lead such events as PGA Tournaments, the NBA All Star Game and other large, high-profile events. With a high energy level, her passion for our industry and connecting with people is apparent on a daily basis.

When not working, she loves talking about her dog, Radar, spending time with her friends and experiencing the diverse restaurant scene in the DMV.

She may be the only Chicagoan who detests pickles and mustard.

Favorite Quote: To err is human, to forgive divine”-Alexander Pope
Gabrielle Rodriguez

With a passion for curating memorable experiences, Gabrielle brings her expertise in client relations and event planning to Simply Fresh Events. Gabrielle excels at collaborating with clients to ensure each gathering is tailored to their vision and needs. Whether it’s a corporate gathering, a wedding, or a special celebration, Gabrielle’s personalized approach ensures that every event is seamless from start to finish. Her background in food & beverage, coupled with her love for creative, engaging content, gives Gabrielle a unique perspective on how to enhance every occasion with Simply Fresh’s exquisite catering services. When she’s not planning events, you can find her curating culinary experiences for her popular digital platform, where she explores the best restaurants and food trends around the DMV.

Favorite Quote: “Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people get together to eat.” – Guy Fieri
Christa Oden

Positive thinking is what led Christa to the catering industry over 10 years ago, and what brought her to the Simply Fresh team in 2018. Christa found her heart in customer service as she worked with clients throughout the event planning process. She wants every customer to have the best possible experience with every interaction and loves to devise systems to make any process run smoothly. For Christa, seeing a couple’s happiness at the end of their wedding is the best part of her job!

A dedicated mom who loves hanging out with her three amazing kids, Christa spends her time enjoying the outdoors, traveling anywhere warm, and teaching fitness classes. She loves connecting with people, and you’ll always find her ready to lend a helping hand.

Favorite Quote: “Positive thinking leads to positive outcomes.”
Hillary Clagett

With over 200 weddings, mitzvahs, galas, and special events coordinated at more than 50 venues across the DMV, Hillary brings unparalleled experience and passion to every event. Since joining Simply Fresh Events in 2015, her lifelong love for cooking, entertaining, and meticulous planning has made her an invaluable part of the team. By 2018, she officially took on the role of event coordinator, dedicating herself fully to creating unforgettable experiences for her clients.

Hillary’s commitment to detail and client satisfaction ensures that every event she handles is executed flawlessly. When she’s not crafting exceptional events, she enjoys cooking, beach trips, raising service dogs, and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Favorite quote: “A party without cake is just a meeting.” -Julia Child
Maya Murphy

Maya began working for Simply Fresh events in 2021, after knowing Geoff and Jocelyn for a few years through her college roommate’s family parties. Maya grew a love for events in college when she started volunteering for her University’s Student Activities Board and quickly grew within the organization. After graduating, she then began a journey in sports, working for the Baltimore Orioles Community Relations Department and later producing NFL Athlete’s Charity Events.

Maya is still a Baltimore Orioles fan at heart and enjoys spending her days off at any kind of sporting game. Her passion is working with people and being able to make their special day a reality.

Favorite Quote: “If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. The world needs more of that.” – Unknown
Brittany Flohr

Brittany began working for Simply Fresh Events in 2022. She has worked in the hospitality industry for several years among other things. Her love of events stems from always being the planner in her family for all the major milestones of her loved ones. She discovered the event industry is where she belongs after working for a fast-growing real estate team in the DMV area. Brittany was in charge of coordinating and conceptualizing all their events for clients and strategic partners. Now she will producing corporate events and weddings for our Simply Fresh team. She loves to be on site during events and help with all the little details.

When she’s not in the office or on an event you can find her outdoors, popping into art galleries, and watching how happy our clients are after their special day comes together.

Favorite Quote: “It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” – Jane Austen
Celine Manneville

Celine joined the Simply Fresh family in 2022 as an Event Manager with big goals. A year later, she found herself signing emails as Event Producer. With over 13 years of experience, Celine has been in the hospitality industry for as long as she can remember, from the kettle corn stand at Merriweather Post Pavilion to event planning for her university, bartending, and throwing her own parties here and there. She loves the challenges that come along with events, from making sure all the little details are perfect, to coming up with solutions to big problems on the fly.

She considers herself a student of the world, and is always asking questions, figuring out how things work, or trying to find new solutions to problems.
In her free time, you can find her playing with her dog, Ada, cracking jokes, searching for street art, attending concerts, or on a plane jet-setting around the world.

Favorite Quote: “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” – Robin Williams
Zak Curtis

Zak had been working part time with simply fresh since 2021 before joining the team full time in April of 2023. Zak has a background in operations, working for a shipping company during and after college. He has always had a passion for food and feeding people.

He began his career in the hospitality industry in 2016 working in several different capacities. He has worked in traditional restaurants, as well as being integral in running a food truck business. He loves the challenge of each event being unique and cares deeply about the customers event and food experience.

Favorite Quote: “Let’s Ride” – Lexi Opdenaker
Korey Elliott

Korey started working for Simply Fresh Events in 2018 as an Event Server and truck loader. Through the years of his relentlessness and hard work, he has grown to fill an important role! On the weekends, you can find Korey managing an array of events. You can even catch him on occasion being a chef! During the week, Korey is managing our inventory of alcohol and beverages for events coming up – making sure that all events have the correct quantities and brands.

Korey is a huge basketball fan, he enjoys listening to all types of music, playing basketball semi-professionally, and having a good time with his friends and girlfriend.

Favorite Quote: “If you ain’t first, you’re last”
Liana Bowles

Liana began working her first job at Simply Fresh Events in 2019 as a server, bussing tables and learning the ins and outs of the catering world. Her love for hospitality drove her to pursue a master’s degree in hospitality and Tourism Management from Florida International University. Since entering this industry, she has gained large scale event experience as well as luxury catering experience. At Simply Fresh, she has taken on various roles, gaining hands-on experience in everything from working warehouse to event management. Liana thrives in the fast-paced world of hospitality, where she combines her love for logistics with a passion for helping clients to bring their events to fruition. Her education and practical experience are at the core of her approach, making her an essential part of the team.

Outside of work, Liana enjoys spending time with her friends and family, trying new restaurants and traveling.

Favorite Quote: “I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that.” – Jose Andres

Leadership Team

Event Management

Culinary

Warehouse

Our Values

Service

Providing exceptional service to our clients, our team and our community is the foundation of everything we do.

Teamwork

Our team members and the sum of it’s parts allow us to go above and beyond for our clients and each other. #teamsfe

Reliability

We operate with the highest level of integrity and honor our commitments with a positive attitude.

Innovation

We encourage creativity and collaboration to consistently exceed expectations.

Versatility

We understand that it takes flexibility, patience and a “whatever it takes” mindset to delight our clients.

Excellence

Our goal is to deliver an outstanding, culinary driven experience that will “wow” our clients and their guests.

Join our Team

#teamsfe

We Support Our Community Partners

At Simply Fresh Events, our passion for people drives everything we do. We are committed to sharing our talents and resources with the community by partnering with impactful, people-centered organizations such as Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland and Nourishing Bethesda. Their missions to combat poverty, reduce homelessness, and address food insecurity align with our core values. We are proud to support these causes, making a difference where it’s needed most and staying true to our commitment to community service.

Local, Sustainable Ingredients

At Simply Fresh Events, we take pride in offering sustainable food solutions to our clients. We partner with businesses and vendors who share our commitment to environmental responsibility. By sourcing ingredients as close to the original source as possible, we prioritize working with local suppliers and using sustainable foods. Our dedication to eco-friendly catering practices helps reduce our environmental impact while delivering fresh, high-quality meals.

Reducing Food Waste

At Simply Fresh Events, we believe catering should contribute to a healthier planet. That’s why we actively compost and utilize energy-efficient kitchen equipment to reduce resource consumption. As proud members of the Maryland Green Registry, we continuously seek new, practical ways to minimize waste and lower our carbon footprint. Our commitment to sustainable practices ensures that every event we cater supports environmental responsibility.

Our Mission

At Simply Fresh Events, our mission is to deliver high-quality culinary experiences and exceptional creative planning. We strive to be recognized for the value we bring to every event and the support we provide to our community. Committed to building trustworthy relationships with clients, staff, vendors, and suppliers, we operate with the highest standards of ethics and transparency. Our dedication to excellence ensures that every event reflects our passion for service and integrity.

The Simply Fresh Events Story

Passion and Partnership

Who Are We?

Integrity matters

It’s all about the team

We like to have fun

Meet our team

Matthew Phelan

Geoff Barker

Jocelyn Barker

Brian Giganti

Jon Schrock

Lexi Opdenaker

Jonathan Till

Greg Kraus

Jessica Meltzer

Buffy Wiltz

Charlotte Neville

Gabrielle Rodriguez

Christa Oden

Hillary Clagett

Maya Murphy

Brittany Flohr

Celine Manneville

Zak Curtis

Korey Elliott

Liana Bowles