Our Team
A Locally Grown Catering Company
At Seedling & Sage our mission is to make people happy. We believe our staff – passionate, professional and filled with love for what they do – set us apart. We take a people-first, food-focused approach. You’ll notice the difference in our honest, upfront communication style. You’ll taste it in food that’s local, seasonal, and always visually alluring. You’ll see it as we style your event and create what we call ‘catering couture’.
But, mostly, you’ll sense an unmistakable radiating energy created by people who just love what they do. We still believe in a warm smile and good old fashioned work ethic… with a smidge of panache.
Melissa Manzo McDevitt
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
As a Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Seedling and Sage, Melissa is responsible for overall Business Development. She is a true hospitality industry professional with more than 15 years experience in the sales, marketing, and planning of national and international events with an emphasis on hotels and catering venues. After almost a decade as a director of sales and marketing at a boutique hotel property, Melissa and Laura launched Seedling & Sage Catering in 2014. Melissa wrote class curriculums and is an adjunct professor at Temple University for the Event Management Certification Program. Classes: Critical Steps of Event Planning, Risk Management, Social Media for Small Business.
Laura Halligan Kidwell
Managing Partner & Co-Founder
As a Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Seedling and Sage, Laura is responsible for overall Operations. Her passion is in the operations and executions of events both onsite and offsite. Laura often finds herself at barns, farms, and arboretums that have no kitchens or cooking facilities. She works with the culinary team to devise plans and execution strategies to assure seamless events. In addition to opening Seedling & Sage in 2014, she is also a restaurant owner and operator, an expert in operations and executions of her 150+ seat restaurant and special event facility.
Sara Maher
Director of Catering
Sara has been part of the Seedling and Sage team for many years! As a sales manager, Sara planned many events from showers to parties to galas at many preferred properties and private homes. Now, in her role as a director, Sara works closely with the wedding and social events sales managers to help our clients visualize their event in their space, and then select a menu that not only meets their needs, but their budget too! Sara is organized and detail-oriented. When she’s not here in the office or onsite at an event, Sara volunteers a lot in her community and can often be found at track meets, lacrosse games, or rowing events with her husband and three children.
ABOUBACAR KOUYATE
Executive Chef
Abou is the Executive Chef at the helm of the Seedling & Sage culinary team, leading all of the onsite and offsite catered events. Chef Abou has decades of experience leading and teaching. From hotels to upscale restaurants, to teaching at the Walnut School and working with the United Nations, Chef Abou's global knowledge is an amazing attribute to our team. He also speaks 22 languages! Chefs Johnny, Naeem, Kos are not yet pictured...
Kos Skutaru
Chef
Bio coming soon!!
Silimane Diaby
Chef
Bio coming soon!!
Jenny Walsh
Senior Catering Sales Manager
Jenny is our Senior Catering Sales Manager with a focus on weddings at Flourtown Country Club. Jenny graduated from the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Temple University and has always loved being the planner amongst her friends and family. Prior to joining our team, she was living in Nashville working for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. She's always keeping up with the latest fashion trends, which allows her to have an eye for detail and creativity for weddings. Outside of work, she hikes with her 90 lb. Pitbull/Boxer Mix, Bain and is always on the hunt for new places to travel!
Annette Piazza
Catering Sales Manager
Annette has been in the hospitality business since she was 16 years old! After completing her degree in Fashion Marketing, she soon decided that the hospitality industry was where she wanted to be, and loved this business ever since! Annette is from Newtown and is an avid sports fan; the NY Mets, Giants, Flyers, and Sixers are some of her all-time favorite teams. When she isn't hard at work or watching sports, Annette enjoys spending time with her cat Lexi, traveling, and attending Pilates and Spin classes. Her passion for planning and organization has allowed for her to excel in this business, and she can't wait all of her adventures to come with Seedling!
Maggie Rhamy
Catering Sales Manager
Maggie has been with the Seedling team for several years working onsite at events. She currently specializes in weddings and events at one of our nearby venues, Morris Arboretum, and has executed dozens of gorgeous events at this location. Maggie always brings her positive attitude, enthusiasm, and high level of customer service to our events. She is customer focused and highly trained in fine dining. Maggie went to Rutgers Mason Gross school of Art and continues to pursue art & illustration in her free time. We are so very lucky to have Maggie as part of our team!
Maria Benamar
Catering Sales Manager
Maria is a Catering Sales Manager with more than 15 years of experience in the wedding and catering industry. We are proud to say that Maria has been with us since our Seedling Sprouted in 2014! She loves working with people and helping their visions come to life for their Special Day. She believes that it is a beautiful process to see someone's ideas and help them grow into reality! Passionate about food, family, and fun! Not only does Maria sell and plan events, she also is an onsite Event Designer and often works throughout the events with her clients.
Monica Auman
Catering Sales Manager
Monica is a Catering Sales Manager with a focus on social events. Monica studied locally as well as at the University of Barcelona. She has over 15 years of experience and has planned hundreds of weddings and special events prior to joining Seedling and Sage. Many of her clients have become lifelong friends, which is something that makes her very proud! When not at work, Monica loves to travel, take photos, and spend time with her young daughter and husband.
Taira Hayner
Banquet & Operations Manager
Taira has a passion to make guests and clients happy while also supporting her fellow team members. Prior to joining the team, Taira had a 20-year career running her own business, teaching private lessons and running and events and recitals for as many as 30 students per week! She then re-entered the workforce on a full-time basis for a few years with Lifetime Fitness as an Assistant Member Services Manager. Here, she was able to use her problem-solving mentality and strong attention to detail and organization as a front-line leader. Her and her husband are always supporting their 3 kids by running between swim meets, football games and performances. She loves long walks and runs with her dog Kona, finding a way to sneak down to her favorite place in the world (the beach), or cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles!
Asia Simmons
Staffing Manager
Asia is a proud Philadelphia native! She has worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 15 years in some of the most ambitious kitchens and restaurants in and around Philadelphia. Through her culinary education at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Asia gained her most rewarding experience working for the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. Asia studied sustainable agriculture at Goddard College and has been a seasonal farmer where she has developed a new passion for farm to table events. Her goal is to pass down the traits of farming and cooking to her family and loved ones. She says knowing where your food comes from and how to cook it is a vital tool and a rewarding experience.
Allison Yoder
Sales Manager
Ally joined us in October 2021 and has been a wonderful addition to our team! Between taking on her own events and working on marketing, sales tasks, and more, Ally is always keeping busy. She is a Penn State Alum (WE ARE!) and grew up in Oreland, PA. We are so grateful to have Ally as part of the Seedling team.
Lila Moore
Marketing & Social Media Coordinator
Lila recently graduated from Penn State in May 2022! She received a B.A. in Advertising and minored in Digital Media Trends & Analytics. Lila has been with us since May 2021 and plans to continue growing in the business field, fueled by her originality and love for social media. With incredible time management skills and a bright personality, she is always busy posting on and creating content for our different social media sites, updating our website, and more. She loves being able to let her creativity flow, and is excited to help us show the world who we are!
Tamira Dougherty
Event Designer
Bio coming soon!!
Molly Gallagher
Event Designer
Molly has been a part of the Seedling family for the past 4 years and served as a team leader for the past 2. She welcomes the responsibility with open arms and juggles the new responsibilities with a smile and grace! She spends her free time down the shore at Ocean City with her 3 children, and works as a substitute art teacher at St. Helena’s Elementary school in Blue Bell, PA. One of her favorite things about working with her friends during the events, she says, is that “it feels like fun rather than work. We work hard to play hard and see the smiles on our guests' faces. They’re what makes the stress worth it.” Not only does Molly sell and plan events, she also is an onsite Event Designer and often works throughout the events with her clients.
Omar Hamim
Event Designer
Bio coming soon!!
Tina Wakefield
Bookkeeper
Tina joined the team in April 2022 and is beyond excited to be part of the Seedling family! She's been in the accounting field for over 15 years and loves working with numbers. Tina is from the great small city of Conshohocken. When not at work, she can be found hanging out with family, spending time with her beautiful daughter, and playing with her Golden retriever! She is a die-hard eagles fan, and loves sampling all the desserts the chefs make.
FULL SERVICE CATERING
Our clients are in the Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks and Chester counties and Jersey shore areas, and they want beautiful, honest events that bring out the best of our community. They also want style. And class.
Our network of relationships, built on decade’s worth of running restaurants and hotels, and our high standards for doing business make accomplishing this delightfully easy. It’s your event. You should enjoy it.
At Seedling & Sage, nothing is typical. We offer both quick service and full service catering for events big and small. We cater events in homes, at off-site venues, under tents, on farms, barns and arboretums, in boutique shops… even at sea. We love new. We love different. Do it.