WILLEMSTAD – ‘Pioneer, challenged by the pandemic, the vision to continue’, that is how Gabriel ‘Boy’ Magdalena looks at his company General Catering, yesterday 50 years after he started it officially in Curaçao.

The company started on October 16, 1972, at the campus that was then in the neighborhood Schelpwijk and grew into the well-known catering service located at the corner of Fransebloemweg/Santa Rosaweg where they are serving Curaçao on a daily basis. 

“Good food, in any way, feeds the soul of our people and we are still doing good work with that,” said Boy Magdalena. 

He continued to express his gratitude for every client they had. ‘I am happy that we could have served people with a box of snacks and also that we were honored to do the catering for the great Sophia Loren and O.J. Simpson and others when they filmed the movie Fire Power here in Curaçao.  

We also served Queen Beatrix, Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez and many others. Those were our big opportunities to show our professionalism with a service that was completely on an international level. 

But Magdelnea says it wasn’t always easy. “To stay on top of things I participated annually in two catering conferences, one in The United States and one in Europe since I had to stay ahead while continuing to learn and especially read to know about the latest trends in the food world”. 

Magdalena feels that, specifically after the recent pandemic, he feels that the team stood strong, making a lot of sacrifices so that the company can continue. “And these developments were never expected, which shows that life has its sudden turns and if you are not prepared to be flexible and go with the inevitable flow, you will be destroyed”. 

Challenges

Asked what was the biggest challenge that he has met Magdalena sighs and said that he needed from the beginning of his company people to work because he could not do so alone. 

“I must say that a business depends on the employees and to give the best service possible to the much-appreciated client”.

Boy Magdalena ended by saying that he and his family, the actual work team and especially his son Gabriel who is now managing General Catering, are sincerely thanking everyone who in one way or another contributed to the success of General Catering. 

“We continue to serve Curaçao and we know that based on our experience, that we can continue no matter what problem or situation arises.” General Catering is located at the corner of Fransebloemweg/Santa Rosaweg.