Planning · Event Styling · Restaurants · Catering · Meal Delivery · Commissary Kitchen · Ghost Kitchen
Serving up local quality.
Who Are We?
The Social Event Group is a collective of enticing food experiences. Satisfy your cravings with savoury goodness from our food trucks, delightful encounters at our restaurants, unforgettable events with our catering, and healthy convenience with our meal delivery options available online.
Events Done To Perfection
We strive to make every event memorable. From private parties to corporate events and weddings, the attention of quality is undeniable and that is shown in the way we handle our clients.
Brett Liersch | Owner & Head Chef
Brett has never been far from the kitchen, sealing his fate at the impressionable age of 13 when he began working at Casey’s Restaurant as a dishwasher. After this first exposure to the inner workings of the food industry, it wasn’t long before Brett worked his way up to roles as general manager of multiple restaurants, all while managing his own catering business on the side.
Brett later traded this busy life for an even busier one when he decided to leave his day job and fire up his very first food truck, The Dirty South, in 2012. When The Salted Pig and Kreative Katering food trucks followed with equally successful curbside launches in 2014 and 2018 respectively, Brett cemented himself as one of Hamilton’s busiest nomadic restauranteurs; all without a single penny tossed his way by any outside investors or silent partners.
Many other chefs might stop there, but not Brett. On top of his food truck operations, he and his team at The Social Event Group will be opening two new restaurant ventures in Hamilton: a brick & mortar location of The Dirty South on Barton Street, and a new social eatery on Concession Street called The Daily.
With such an all-consuming schedule and never-ending hustle, someone else in Brett’s shoes might not even find the time for sleep, let alone anything else. But even when he’s pulling 80- hour weeks and running on empty, Brett always makes time for the most important meal of the day: dinner with his wife Kara and their three little girls.
Sean Keast | Operations Manager
Sean is a perfect example of everything that is great with the restaurant industry; hard working, dependable, kind, a true team player and did I mention hard working? If you enter one of the restaurants, there is a 99% chance that you will be greeted by him; I think he might actually live there.
He is no stranger to the industry as he started in the early 90’s as a bus boy at Burlington Bowl, eventually working his way up to a line cook not long after. He has been found in all aspects of the industry – back of the house, front of the house, IT, social media manager and eventually an operating partner at a successful local restaurant.
Alongside his active roles for The Social Event Group with management, hiring and catering bookings, Sean can also be found on-site and behind the counter (or food truck window) at every location, hands-on and ensuring every aspect runs like a well-oiled machine. One Google reviewer made a point to note how friendly the manager on duty treated staff – truly Sean in a nutshell! The Social Event Group is truly very lucky to have Sean oversee the day-to-day operations.
Kara Liersch | Event Manager
Kara brings her hard-earned skills and expertise to The Social Event Group, where she helps run the show with her husband Brett Liersch on top of spearheading event management, design, and social media initiatives.
Kara’s origins in the food and hospitality industries go back nearly 20 years, getting her first taste of real-world restaurant experience in front-of-house roles, serving and bartending at multiple popular chains. With clear career ambitions driving her, Kara later made moves out of the chilly corporate restaurant realm and into Hamilton’s scrappy homegrown food scene.
Though Kara’s role in the hospitality industry has changed a lot since becoming part of The Social Event Group, her love and ambition for her work hasn’t. Today, Kara primarily works behind the scenes, heading up social media management, branding, design, and caterings and bookings for events of all sizes.
Nadia Cassano | Offsite Event Planner
Nadia uses her expertise in full-service event planning as an invaluable part in The Social Event Group’s day-to-day business operations.
Nadia got her early start in the hospitality industry in 2001 at the age of 16, working in her family’s butcher shop before learning the ropes in front-of-house roles at multiple restaurants and bars. Jobs at big corporate chain restaurants followed, with Nadia eventually falling into the curbside culinary world by working closely with multiple local food truck ventures.
Today, with certification from the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC) and her own successful event planning company under her belt, Nadia’s focus in the industry has shifted significantly, now primarily focused on event management and coordination. On top of her WPIC Certificate, Nadia also holds certificates in Art Fundamentals and Advanced Advertising from Sheridan College.
Get In Touch
We’d love to hear from you
Catering & Events
kara@thesocialeventgroup.com
