About SLC

From an early age, StarLight Catering owner, Christine Barnes, took an interest in cooking… and being artistic about it. “I’ve always enjoyed the creative home-cooked meals my mother made for me after work while I was growing up, and when I was older, I worked with my late-father’s catering company and corporate cafeterias and learned the business aspect of the food business.” Christine shared.  “One of my favorite pastimes continues to be sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by good food, coffee, and conversation with family and friends who, I consider to be ‘the greatest cooks ever’.”  By bringing with her a piece of each of their talents, as well as her own, Christine never ceases to amaze those she cooks for.

In 2000, Christine began catering as a hobby to help out a few friends with small events they were planning. She realized that she truly enjoyed the work, and it was then that the idea of running her own business attracted her.

Later, after shopping around to hire vendors for her own wedding reception, she adopted her father’s vision of not accepting the ideal that ‘you need to take out a second-mortgage on your home to afford your wedding or max out your credit cards to have a fabulous event’. She felt that people deserved more for their money, such as:  food that you can taste, something more than just table linens, skirts and a vase with flowers for décor and certainly better customer service!  With that in mind, Christine officially began StarLight Catering in 2003.

By 2005, Christine was asked to move her company to the *Newly-Renovated* Christiana Memorial Hall in Christiana, Delaware.  It's at this location that she has perfected both her catering style as well as her decorating technique.  Along with her already extensive background in the catering and food service industry, Christine continues to be passionate and excited about every event she caters.  She attends food shows, stays informed about current trends and future trends, and loves to experiment with recipes just because she ‘feels like eating something that no one has ever made before.’  With her love of herbs and spices, she is known to create a great deal of her menu items with herbs you wouldn’t think of mixing - but the harmony of it tastes so good!  She enjoys her secret taste tests with the guests at each event – noticing if they use salt and pepper on the food or not – an important “tell” that each guest shows.  Sometimes she wonders why she even puts salt and pepper on the table since it’s not needed.

Today, at age 30, Christine has been married to her ‘favorite guy’ for 9 years, has an incredible son, and is grateful everyday to help others create lifelong memories.  She will never forget the wealth of knowledge her late-father taught her about the food business and being fair to people - without him, she may not ever have considered being a caterer. Without him, she might not have reached her dream!

With a smile and a look as if she’s up to something, she says, “I’m just getting started!”