Megan Hawkes, Catering & Events Manager
Meg joined Saltbox Catering in 2015, bringing to the young company a wealth of catering experience. She and Chef Ben worked together to grow the catering arm of Saltbox with the mission to share with clients the farm to table cuisine and warm hospitality of Saltbox in their private homes.
Forging close relationships with a range of vendors along with incredibly creative event planners has been an absolute pleasure for Meg though perhaps the most special part of her job has been getting to know clients and making their visions a reality. “Working with wedding clients has been especially lovely for me - I become fond of and friendly with most of our wedding couples - and it means so much to me when they send me holiday cards, visit us for a meal at the restaurant and a chat, and return years later to introduce me to their child!
When not planning events, Meg loves to escape for the weekend with her husband and daughter, often heading to Maine or New Jersey to see family, work in her garden, and spend as much time as possible at the beach during the summer.
Nathan Friend, Head Catering Chef & Head Brewer
Chef Nate began working in kitchens at 15 and while he went to college with the intention of studying architectural engineering, he quickly realized what he truly wanted to do was cook. Nate left school and found a job at a country club where, over the course of 10 years, he worked his way up from garde manger to sous chef.
While working at the Concord Country Club, Nate met Ben who was there as the guest chef. The two connected and Nate began working with Saltbox at offsite catering events. Eventually Nate was hired full time as the chef for Saltbox Catering, a position he loves as it has offered the opportunity to constantly change menus, meet a variety of people, and work in all sorts of locations (barns, beaches,& fields, he’s done it all!).
In 2020 Nate also began brewing beer for Saltbox Brewery, the microbrewery located within Saltbox Kitchen, creating beers with hops, fruit, and other ingredients from the farm.
When Nate isn’t cooking or brewing beer, you’ll probably find him at lumber yards looking for the perfect wood (he’s a crazy talented woodworker who makes gorgeous serving boards and furniture) or tending to his 500 square foot home garden and 20 chickens with his wife.