Trying to convince skeptics that being a talented chef and operating sustainably were not mutually exclusive was fatiguing. So Steve Short, executive chef and co-owner of Atlasta Catering & Event Concepts, just gave up.

On the persuasion part, anyway.

“Sometimes, those two concepts compete with each other. (They think) ‘Can you do them both?’” Steve said of the environmentally-forward business model he and his wife and business partner Kristine Short put into motion about 14 years ago.

“So I just stopped talking about it. We just did great events, great food … . Everything we did, we did for ourselves because it was the right thing to do.”

A nearly seven-year process resulted in the Shorts’ Atlasta Catering operating its facilities around Arizona through a sophisticated zero landfill system, which they also implement in their onsite kitchens.

It also brought a new and welcome persona to the Phoenix catering company Steve’s father started in 1979. Steve, the COO, and Kristine, the CEO, purchased the business 25 years ago, the same year they got married.

In 2009, the Shorts were on vacation in California, decompressing amid the recession that had taken its toll on their former restaurants. They were thinking about how to adjust to a new economic food world. Steve made a connection with a candidate for a master's degree at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. He told Kristine about the new shift the company would take and that he just hired his new director of sustainability

“At the time, I didn’t even really know what that meant,” Steve said.

Back then, most didn’t either. It was a challenging time for the hospitality industry in Phoenix and the last thing on everyone’s mind was overhauling a business model to accommodate an unfamiliar practice. The Shorts were an exception.

“The pain of recession reshaped the business,” Steve said. “We grooved our philosophies to where we wanted to be.”

How Atlasta diverts waste from landfills

The effort resulted in Atlasta achieving zero-landfill status, which by definition means that only an extremely small percentage of what’s left over goes to a landfill, Kristine said.

All post-use items from its four kitchens throughout the Valley and onsite event kitchens are taken to its headquarters where they are sorted, cleaned and prepared for delivery to their respective end locations that do not include a landfill. This includes Waste Not, which provides food that would otherwise have gone to waste to those in need. Over the past 13 years, Atlasta has donated more than one million pounds — equivalent to 600,000 meals — of fresh food to the Scottsdale non-profit, Kristine said.

Three local farms receive food product for their not-for-slaughter animals, and Atlasta supplies food waste to a worm farm that makes compost as well as to a traditional composter.

Every team member is trained in the company’s unique separation system, which is based on single-method sorting versus co-mingling.

Atlasta does seven or eight events a day, Steve said. Each week, a mere 300 pounds of trash, or as the Shorts call it “loss,” gets tossed. That's a fraction of what would happen without their system.

Clients run the gamut from large organizations holding corporate events to elite businesses needing a caterer for a small board meeting to individuals hosting a wedding or holiday party.

When the Shorts purchased Atlasta, the catering company generated $687,000 a year, Steve said. Today, it does $10 million.

'They always go above and beyond'

Much of Atlasta’s business is generated by word of mouth from repeat clients, many who yearn for a quality food experience that comes from a kitchen built on site.

“They are looking for something that is going to taste good, cooked at their location and served by highly trained staff,” Kristine said. “Many have high expectations they know only we can deliver.”

Atlasta has exceeded Paige Lewis’ expectations when catering her son’s wedding and her annual company Christmas party where she entertains 200 guests with passed hors d'oeuvres, food stations and two bars.

After the success of her first party seven years ago, Lewis said it was a no-brainer to go with Atlasta again.

“I just have to have the house clean and they just make it perfect,” said Lewis, who owns Phoenix-based interior design firm Paige Lewis Designs. “When the party’s over, it’s like it never happened. Everything is cleaned up and perfect in every way. I’ll never switch.”

The sustainability aspect is a bonus, from the use of bamboo plates, glass instead of plastic and reusable silverware — along with the donated leftover food.

“That definitely means a lot to me … . It’s a remarkable thing,” Lewis said.

Last December, rain threatened to put a damper on her holiday party. Lewis was freaking out. Steve came to her home that morning to map out an indoor strategy and assured the party would go on without a hitch. It did.

“They always go above and beyond,” Lewis said.

Couple met while at Thunderbird High School

Steve was 6 when he became a regular at his dad’s professional kitchen, as his father babysat.

“If I wanted to see my dad, that’s where I had to go,” Steve recalled.

As a teenager, he started working for the family business. That’s also when he met Kristine. They were both 15 years old, and students at Thunderbird High School. Did they know they had met their life partner in business and love?

“I knew before he did. It took him a while to come around,” Kristine said with a chuckle.

Steve went to culinary school and Kristine went to college. She worked as a banquet server for Atlasta and after graduation worked for the business full time.

The Shorts still live in the same neighborhood where they met, and so do their parents. The office is a four-minute drive from their home.

Steve works with his chefs on menus and recipes while Kristine handles the financial side.

“I love what we do. I love that I get to work with her every day. She helped our business grow well past our dreams,” Steve said. “I don’t know what it’s like not to work with her. She’s my best friend, someone I love … . It's great.”

Today, their sustainable catering company runs on all cylinders in an industry with a reputation for waste as part of its routine. At first, Steve wasn’t keen on making it known. But eventually, word leaked out and customers requested sustainable dinners. Now, Steve isn’t shy about spreading the word.

“We never tried to market it. But now I believe in marketing it because I want to inspire people to do it,” Steve said.

And the chance to be earth-focused while helping to create memories brings its own rewards.

“We get to create opportunities and events for people to enjoy each other. And then we get to hear about how happy they were the next day,” Kristine said. “We bring people together over food. Not everyone can get those tangible results.”

What: Atlasta Catering & Event Concepts

Where: 10021 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix

Employees: 12

Factoid: The U.S. catering market is worth $10.8 billion, according to IBISWorld.

Details: 602-242-8185, atlastacatering.com

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix's Atlasta Catering & Event Concepts aims for zero-waste events