Meet Simply Elegant

Robert Vidra started a catering company in Calgary in 1996. Over time Simply Elegant grew into an all-in-one hospitality firm. This means that we have the resources to make your event a success from venue selection to event planning, catering, decorations, flowers, etc.

Robert Vidra

Robert Vidra

CEO and Owner

Robert is a certified chef and has worked in the hospitality industry for over 40 years. He founded Simply Elegant in 1996 in Calgary and designed each division to complement each others. Read posts by Robert.

Mark Nickerson

Mark Nickerson

Director of Food & Beverage

Mark began his career in the hospitality industry in 1988. In 1995 he received his Journeyman Red Seal in the Culinary Arts. Throughout the years Mark has worked for hotels, fine dining, and corporate restaurants. Read posts by Mark.

Eric Nieto

Eric Nieto

Executive Chef

Eric, a chef apprentice since the age of 15 and the most recent addition to the team. As an executive chef Eric believes in the value of building a strong team by uplifting everyone’s strengths to balance out each other’s areas of growth. This is his commitment to our team and to your meals.

Jade Gandasubrata

Jade Gandasubrata

Event Production and Design

Jade has been active in event planning for both corporate and private functions since early 2006. In addition to years of related experience, Jade has pursued additional professional training and is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Event Planner Certificate program. Read posts by Jade.

Shelley Clements

Shelley Clements

General & Accounting Manager

Shelley is the person behind the scenes keeping us organized by handling both the office and accounting functions. Shelley came to Simply Elegant with over 25 years in the industry.

Eduardo Cueva

Eduardo Cueva

IT Manager

Ed (Electronic Engineer and MBA) is in charge of our Information Network. As part of our team since 2003, Ed has developed our information infrastructure onto a private cloud system which integrates communications, productivity, collaboration, data protection and security.

Alex Zagoumenov

Alex Zagoumenov

Digital Marketing Manager

Alex has over 20 years of experience managing marketing campaigns through digital channels such as display, paid search and social media advertising. Alex has worked with Simply Elegant since 2012 and is responsible for website development and our online marketing efforts.

Our corporate customers

These are just a few of our corporate customers.

Our partners

These are the venues and companies we're proudly working with to deliver unforgettable experiences.

About the company

We are a multi-divisional company that offers a full range of services to meet all your planning needs in one place. We love what we do, and we’d love the opportunity to see how we could make your life easier and your event the best it could be. You could say “We’re in the Business of Events.”

Our history

We started as a Calgary catering company in 1996. Owner Robert Vidra, a trained chef, came to Calgary determined to open a catering operation that met the specific needs of the business community. He talked to everyone from receptionists to the CEOs of Calgary’s largest companies, designing a company that would best meet the needs of the Calgary culture.

The business developed a reputation for providing excellent food, outstanding service and tremendous value for Calgarians. In fact, the service was so good that Simply Elegant’s clients encouraged the company to move into events, because of their unwavering attention to detail. Simply Elegant a “Hospitality Firm” expanded into events in 2005, adding a nationally recognized, award-winning designer and events planner to the staff.

Now, instead of having to deal with a variety of vendors, clients are able to turn over everything to Simply Elegant, right from the early planning through to the decorations, catering, entertainment, execution and clean up.

Starting in 2018 Simply Elegant ventured into it’s very first venue called Skyline; a one of a kind event venue situated on the 4th floor of the new Kensington Legion building. Then in 2020, partnered with the Calgary Shriners to create Waterfront Park (home of the Shriners). Since the very beginning Simply Elegant’s goal was to work with and develop robust community of great Calgarians.

Our team is still growing; always looking to the future and great possibilities.

Our values

We actively listen in order to understand the corporate culture and needs of our clients and create events that reflect their brand and values. We do not believe in “one size fits all.” Rather, we customize events by working collaboratively with our clients in Calgary. We never take for granted the trust that our clients and vendors put in us.

Simply Elegant staff are experts in their field. Numerous employees have enjoyed long-standing careers at Simply Elegant. We value their loyalty and support their continued education.

We have established strong, working relationships with our vendors in Calgary, Alberta and treat them how we want to be treated. We believe that honesty, integrity and social responsibility are vital to our corporate culture and seek out vendors with similar values.

Our future includes caring for the planet and we actively seek ways to lessen our footprint on it. We are mindful of the environment as we design our events.

  • Leadership starts at the top. It has always been the core principle of Robert Vidra to accept responsibility for all that happens and not blame others; all of our staff follow that same conviction.
  • We enjoy what we do by creating fun and a little magic.
  • Our business is not an object but a live entity; we are a community of people who love to work and socialize together.
  • We believe that change is inevitable and by accepting the evolution of change, we can inspire others.
  • There is nothing more important than communication.
  • We are open to accepting constructive criticism.
  • We accept that each person has strengths and weaknesses; we recognize the strengths of others and minimize their weaknesses by providing support and working as a team.
  • Success is directly measured by those around you; we cannot be what we are without our staff and vendors – it’s the people we work with that make us great.

Our culture

Community

  • Each person is required to work in other departments so they understand the other divisions.
  • We share in the joys of others and their lives.
  • We are community minded and give time, money, food and services to the Calgary community.
  • We believe in doing the right thing even when it is not an easy thing.
  • We believe business is earned and trust cannot be abused.

Education

  • Enlightenment through education brings out the best in us.
  • We give an employees company money to go out for dinners and experience new things that make them happy.

Environment

  • Supporting strong policies since 1996; we did what was right before most people cared.
  • We recycle, reuse and reduce.

Vendors

  • We do not take advantage of our vendors; it is through collaborating with them that we can succeed.

We support

  • Shriners of Calgary
  • Médecins Sans Frontières HK / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
  • Canadian Red Cross
  • David Suzuki Foundation
  • World Wildlife Fund

Green philosophy

Simply Elegant’s Green Initiative

There’s no point being a premiere events and catering company if we’ve run out of planet to live on. So we take our responsibility to the environment very seriously.

Here are some of the ways we work towards sustainability:

FOOD

  • We support and purchase from local Calgary, AB food products and suppliers
  • We use organic vegetables where possible
  • 90% of the meat we purchase is from Alberta, including free-range fed chickens and turkeys
  • 25% of all produce we purchase is grown locally in the Pacific NW
  • 90% of the fruit we buy comes from North America

DISPOSABLE PRODUCTS

  • We provide biodegradable disposable cocktail and lunch plates
  • We provide “green” cutlery at client’s request
  • Since 1996, we’ve used chaffing dishes (not tinfoil) for all hot food
  • We use plastic platters, which are sanitized and reused, instead of disposable ones
  • Our food is presented on china by request

WE RECYCLE

  • All cardboard and office paper products
  • Kitchen cooking oil
  • Bottles and cans with proceeds being donated to local community groups

TRANSPORTATION

  • Straight line food delivery for “green routing” to specific downtown corporate buildings to reduce fuel consumption, minimize vehicle exhaust plus conserve gas.

MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

  • Strict maintenance programs for delivery vehicles
  • Kitchen freezers, fridges
  • Air conditioner units

We’re glad a healthier environment matters to you too. Thanks for wanting to know more about our green philosophy. We’ll keep striving to find new ways to lessen our footprint on the planet.

Careers

View all current positions below. We invite you to apply to become our team members. Please note that only qualified candidates will be contacted. Thank you for your interest!

Visit careers page

Our customers speak

Simply Elegant
4.7
Based on 107 reviews
Simply Elegant
4.9
Based on 27 reviews
Syreeta Molsberry
Syreeta Molsberry
We had the pleasure of working with the team at Simply Elegant last night for our company Christmas Party! The entire team was such a pleasure to work with. Not only professional and accommodating but the food and service was outstanding! If you are looking for a catering company this is it! I highly recommend Simply Elegant, you will not be disappointed!
Laura Darichuk
Laura Darichuk
We hosted 60 people for a graduation celebration. This group was a mix of adults, graduates and a couple little ones. The staff went above and beyond serving everyone with care and attention to their needs. The food was beyond description and many glowing reviews from the guests. Thank you for making our event a success.
Aydin Odyakmaz
Aydin Odyakmaz
Fantastic team to work with Sharon Barwick is the lady that knows how to put it all together flawlessly.
John Irwin
John Irwin
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She's very trustworthy and reliable
Amanda Bustard
Amanda Bustard
Simply elegant takes care of all your needs for any event you can think of!
Ron Stephenson
Ron Stephenson
Wonderful friendly people! Definitely recommend giving them a chance.
Bev Brodie
Bev Brodie
Jade created an atmosphere for my wedding that was pure magic! Exceeded my expectations in every way. Again and again I’d hear the comment “This is so beautiful” from guests. Thank you Jade for being creative, professional, reliable and a pleasure to work with.
Simon Francis Gabas
Simon Francis Gabas
Great food!
MyraBelle Ignalig
MyraBelle Ignalig
I cannot find the words of how thankful I am for Sharon having share her knowledge with us in the field of event planning. Sharon Barcwick was my Instructor in Wedding and Social Events Planning at Mt. Royal University and I am greatly honored to be one of her student. Her passion and dedication made her the best in what she do. I highly recommend her expertise in this industry 🙂
Jeff Mostowich
Jeff Mostowich
I had Simply Elegant cater an event for my family June 2022. They were professional, and provided excellent service, and a very tasty menu. Overall very very happy, and would not hesitate to recommend them.
Giovanna Schiavo
Giovanna Schiavo
We’ve used Simply Elegant’s services twice for our small events and it has been such a great experience. Jade and Peter and very helpful and knowledgeable, the servers and manager were awesome too!
Pam Fleming
Pam Fleming
Professional demeanor, timely responses, able to execute vision exactly as discussed, polite, friendly, hardworking, realistic market comparable pricing, quality products, a real pleasure to work with from beginning to end.
Amber Ward
Amber Ward
We just did a food tasting for our wedding. The food was amazing! Peter was an absolute pleasure! Very excited to have them cater our day!
Leanne Northwood
Leanne Northwood
We ordered Christmas dinner from Simply Elegant catering and everything about the experience was great. The ordering process was easy and they were very responsive to questions. The quality of the food and presentation exceeded our expectations. We may never cook Christmas dinner again 🙂
Sandi B
Sandi B
We had the prepared turkey Christmas dinners at home from Simply Elegant.We followed the simple heating instructions ~ only 12 minutes!The presentation, ingredients and taste were absolutely perfect! We would highly recommend for an authentic, carefully prepared turkey dinnerLovely!!!Thank you so much!
Shelina Esmail
Shelina Esmail
Ordered short rib dinner for Christmas....absolutely AMAZING!!! Tried Simply Elegant for the first time and waiting to see what the next special dinners are as it was superb!! Definitly a "get again" dinner! Thank you!
David Martenson
David Martenson
Our family Christmas dinner, catered by Simply Elegant, was excellent! It was one of the best I’ve had - in terms of quality of food and creative recipes (sorry to any family members reading this who may have cooked a Christmas dinner in the past!). Our group was small but Simply Elegant was prompt in responding to our requests. I’m not one prone to writing a gushy review, but Simply Elegant deserves one! Thank you for making our dinner special.
Kerri Jenkins
Kerri Jenkins
Simply Elegant catered my girlfriend's wedding last weekend - I can't say enough positive things about the 3 lovely ladies who went above and beyond helping out. They were a big help and were just absolutely phenomenal. The little extra touches went a long way. Highly recommend them.
Rachael Terner
Rachael Terner
Simply Elegant did a fantastic job with the florals at our gala - they were open to our outside-of-the-box ideas and make our vision a reality. They were prompt and friendly while setting up, and even picked everything up again afterwards. Thanks, Jade!
Jade Gandasubrata
Jade Gandasubrata
Some friends asked me what I thought about working at Simply Elegant. So here goes. It’s exciting with a never changing challenge coming at me every day. I get to work with people who are passionate about making others happy, whether that be through food, flowers or ensuring their special day or event is one to remember. The heart that everyone puts into our day-to-day growth is huge and I am very happy to be here.
Sharon Barwick
Sharon Barwick
I love working for Simply Elegant because of the great people I work with and their high level of professionalism. Such a pleasure to laugh everyday with my colleagues and make a difference for our clients. Its all about the "heart"!
Marc Farmer
Marc Farmer
Best Stampede ever... I was a guest at the Pacer event and have to say that the work was great.. Your name speaks for it's self..... Looking forward to see you elsewhere..
Peter Stauffer
Peter Stauffer
Great Job! thank you for your support on our project. Your services were exactly as advertised. I will certainly be using you on our next project in February.
Tracey Bell
Tracey Bell
I have worked with Simply Elegant many times and have always enjoyed the experience.They are professional, detailed oriented and just plain FUN!
Thanks Simply Elegant.
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