HOUSTON — After 34 years of catering, Elizabeth Swift Copeland says she still loves it.
“I do,” she said. “I get a thrill every party.”
But when parties stopped during the pandemic, Copeland had to think of ways to keep her soufflé from sinking. She took the plunge and opened a business called The Fab Fête. They ship frozen gourmet soufflés that you bake at home.
“Selling the soufflés to a greater audience than just our catering customers has always been something I wanted to do,” she said. “It’s simple for anyone to prepare and serve, and so versatile.”
The soufflés started selling online and then someone tasted it at a party. Word found its way to Oprah Winfrey. She tasted the white corn and truffle flavor and chose it as a gift idea for the annual list of Oprah’s Favorite Things.
“It was so exciting,” Copeland said. “It was an email. It was just beyond.”
Oprah is quoted on OprahDaily.com as saying “Is there anything more impressive at a dinner party than a perfectly risen soufflé? This one, which serves eight and was created by a Texas caterer, takes all the hard work out of the equation, too. Oh, and no surprise here — I’m obsessed with the white corn and truffle flavor.”
Elizabeth has taken the hard work out of making a soufflé and said you can’t mess it up.
"You will not,” she said. “It is foolproof. This is a special recipe.”
The white corn and truffle soufflé is $112 and available at www.thefabfete.com and on Amazon.
If you’re in the Houston area, you can order online and choose to pick it up. It serves five to eight people as a side dish or eight to 16 at a cocktail party.
The soufflé comes in other flavors. There’s the signature cheese, the brio trio and a sampler divided into sections inspired by charcuterie board favorites.