Welcome to our blog!

Hi! I’m Trish Burton.  My sister Susan Hazelrig and I are the founders of a local business in Charlottesville, Virginia called Comfort Food…Instead of Flowers (“Comfort Food”, for short).  You might call what we do “catering” but that doesn’t really fit.  We create custom, home-cooked meals that our clients can send as gifts to those in need of comfort in lieu of flowers.  Sometimes our clients serve our Comfort Food to their own families when they just don’t have time to prepare a meal! We focus on seasonal recipes, fresh ingredients and beautiful presentation.

The purpose of the blog is to take you behind the scenes of what we do at Comfort Food.  We’ll share pictures, stories, recipes and invite you in on the debates we have in pursuit of the best Comfort Food recipes.  I promise you, with two Southern women in the kitchen (especially sisters!), there’s never a dull moment!

Lots of folks ask us how we got started.  Well, Comfort Food traces its roots to our elegant Southern mother who loved to cook and entertain.  Mother was a graceful hostess and always clever and creative in the kitchen, whether it was preparing our weekly Sunday roast or whipping up lunch with a bare fridge (ever had a pineapple, cheese and mayonnaise sandwich?? Yum, believe me.)  Mother wasn’t the only chef in our family though; Daddy took over the kitchen on Saturday mornings making a full breakfast…sausage, cheese grits, corn beef hash, pancakes.  The bottom line… for me, Susan and our brother Cal, Southern comfort food has always been a way of life.

Before we teamed up, Susan and I pursued our passion for comfort food independently.  I took after my mother, and became a casual, self-trained ”Entertainer”.   From small parties of eight to large events of 100+ people, cooking and entertaining for friends and family was my passion for 30 years.  Susan, on the other hand, made a career out of cooking.  While raising her family in California, Louisiana and Northern Virginia, Susan ran her own professional catering company and taught cooking lessons.  Like me, Susan loves entertaining for small groups and large crowds, however the lifestyle of a caterer (weekends and late nights!) was not for her long term.

We got the idea to start Comfort Food together in 2010 when a family member was very ill.  Susan and I saw firsthand that home-cooked meals brought by friends were the best and sometimes only comfort for someone who is ill or recovering.  Fast forward three years, and here we are.
I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy the blog! We love hearing from friends, family and clients so please send us feedback and ideas. Thank you for reading!

Love, Trish