Holly Cunningham fully embraces the idea that part of enjoying life is enjoying food—and has since she was a little girl baking at home with her mom, grandma and aunt. What began at a young age as a fun way to spend time with family and get creative with recipes has developed into a successful career, with those same two concepts at the core of everything.
Originally, Cunningham never saw her love of baking as anything more than a passion. “I was in sales and instead of buying holiday gifts for clients, I would bake for them,” she recalls. “That’s how it all started. My boss was extremely supportive and is actually still a good mentor of mine. When I was ready to quit and do it full time, I asked to use my client list as prospects.” She never expected what was to come. “I started out just baking corporate gifts in a kitchen the Knights of Columbus let me use. I paid them back with my reject cookies,” she laughs. “I was still working full-time, and my mom and I would bake at night after I worked all day. Our first holiday season as Hollyberry Baking was in 1998, and I assembled gifts in my basement!”
Her hard work paid off, and the operation continued to grow. In 2001, Cunningham was pregnant with twins and knew she needed to make a leap if she wanted to continue. She moved into her own space and changed the name to incorporate her latest venture: Hollyberry Catering. Today, event catering is the company’s biggest division, handling parties of all sizes, some up to 2,000 guests. “To be honest, I didn’t even go this far in my head,” she reflects. “I just thought it would be something fun to try. I went with my instincts and learned from there.”
As “chief juggler,” Cunningham says her job is to make sure her managers succeed and credits them for helping the company grow and flourish. “I now have approximately 45 full-time staff and lots of part-time positions, along with eight culinary chefs. I wouldn’t be this far without hiring such great people,” she says.
Her most recent venture is Nourish, a cafe and market in Warson Woods opened last year that offers sandwiches, soups, salads and more for people to grab and go or eat there. It also served as a way to get the community familiar with the brand to facilitate another of Cunningham’s business ideas: a local meal subscription delivery service that launched recently. “It grew out of my own personal need as a busy working mom to serve my family healthy food that tasted good,” she says. “I often brought food home for dinner the chefs had made, but I realized not everyone had that luxury! Our meals are a way to take a break and nourish yourselves through food and family time.”
The subscription service serves 45 zip codes and offers three different ‘tracks’ on a six-week rotation, with seasonal recipes added in as well. “We all just brainstorm, and I often bring in family recipes for the chefs to play around with, and they create unique meals that come flash-frozen and are ready to be cooked in the oven in an hour or less.”
Cunningham often has her daughters, now 14, make an entree on her way home from work. “They’ve grown up in a culinary family and love to cook and bake,” she says. “With this, they get to ‘make’ dinner by themselves.” When they aren’t eating Nourish meals, the family enjoys trying new restaurants. “We’ve been doing a lot of ethnic food recently, like Vietnamese and Thai,” she says. “My husband loves Pueblo Solis. There are so many choices here; it’s inspiring.”
At the heart of it all is family. “If hosting for the holidays, take shortcuts and let people bring something—they want to contribute,” Cunningham says. “Some things, like making homemade rolls and using china, are just not worth it to me anymore. It’s all about spending time with my family; that’s the stuff you remember.”
holly’s signature stuffing
yields four servings
5 oz. 1-inch cubed French bread
5 oz. butter, melted
2 oz. grated Parmesan
2 t. black pepper
1 t. ground coriander
2 t. ground dried sage
2 t. oil
8 oz. mushrooms
4 oz. onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
12 oz vegetable stock
2 oz. scallions
»Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
»Toss bread cubes in melted butter. Bake 10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to bowl and toss in Parmesan, pepper, coriander and sage. Set aside.
»Heat 1 T. oil in saute pan over medium high heat. Add mushroom and cook, tossing or stirring frequently, until water has evaporated and mushrooms have started browning. Transer to bread bowl.
»Heat last tablespoon oil in same pan. Add onions; cook for 3 minutes until edges are browned. Add garlic; transfer to bread bowl. Mix all ingredients well.
»Spray or grease 9-inch square casserole dish or 9-inch deep pie pan. Spoon stuffing into prepared dish, pushing to ensure even thickness.
»Slowly pour stock over dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, bake 5 minutes until brown.
