There’s a Problem: Unreliable Catering Services

We’re here to turn things around

Partnering with Businesses in Ames, Iowa

We hear it all the time: it is stressful, time-intensive, and difficult to place catering orders.

It’s the morning of your event, and you're wondering if your catering will arrive on time with everything you ordered. Will you have to make any last-minute phone calls or run to the store like last time?

We understand how taxing it can be to plan meetings and events. That is why we provide intentional and reliable service to our customers. Our business isn’t about a transaction; it’s about a relationship. We provide premium and handcrafted pastries, fruit, coffee, sandwiches, salads, and desserts to bring your event to the next level.

Are you looking for flavorful, flakey, and tender scones? Would you like to provide fresh and flavorful salads at your meeting? Do you want to provide an eye-popping indulgent dessert bar at your event? Then we are the partner for you!

Imagine the future - because of our partnership, you are spending less time scheduling catering and more time on your to-do list. You are confident that your attendees will love their handcrafted breakfasts and lunches.

We are a licensed and insured establishment, a proud Ames Chamber Member, a Discover Ames Partner, and an Approved ISU Vendor. We have worked with many businesses in Ames, and we can’t wait to work with you too. When you partner with Schonert’s, we join your mission to provide high-quality and intentional catering services to your business.

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Our Story

Schonert’s is a corporate catering company in Ames, IA, locally owned and operated by Adam and Sophia Schonert.

The business started in the fall of 2017 when Adam was a junior at Algona High School. Adam started selling homemade pies and cheesecakes for the holidays as a way to save money for college. Before he knew it, Schonert’s Patisserie was launched, and holiday sales took off.

Adam enrolled in Iowa State University’s food science program in the fall of 2018. Adam had a passion for food science within the bakery industry. He completed bakery research and development internships at Country Maid in West Bend, IA, Newly Weds Foods in Chicago, IL, and a quality assurance internship at Barilla in Ames, IA.

Adam married his wife, Sophia, in the spring of 2020. That same year, he started his role as Bakery Educator at Rose Farmstead in Norwalk, IA, all while continuing holiday sales in Algona.

In the fall of 2021, Adam started his concurrent MBA in the Ivy College of Business. At the same time, he pivoted his business from holiday sales to offering premium and handcrafted breakfast catering. Breakfast catering grew quickly because of his local connections and the support of the Ivy College of Business. Once they entered the catering industry, they identified a big need: reliable service.

In January of 2023, Schonert’s launched its lunch menu and transitioned into an exclusive business-to-business corporate catering company to provide the time, energy, and focus their clients deserve. Adam graduated from Iowa State with his B.S. in Food Science and Master of Business Administration in May 2023 and went into business full-time.

Since then, Schonert’s has continued to grow, adding new products, increasing capacity, and growing its team, all with the goal of eliminating stress in catering through reliable, relational, and intentional service.

Fusing Two Passions

Adam combined his passions for baking and food science while at Iowa State. Watch the videos below to learn more about his Food Network-famous menus and internships!