Who We Are

Kathy Mayer is the founder and President of CBK Catering & Events. Kathy oversees all aspects of the company, ensuring attention to detail and meticulous service standards shine through to each dish and event. Kathy founded CBK in 2010, leveraging her depth of hospitality and entertaining experience.

Kathy was first introduced to the catering and hospitality business as a server while in college, then later as Assistant Catering Manager for a local boutique hotel. Kathy also managed a full-service restaurant after college.

Kathy and her husband Tom founded Hospitality Consulting Services in Tampa, FL in 1993. HCS served leading hotels around the globe with technology and communication solutions. In 2000, they opened and designed the Holiday Inn Nassau, Bahamas—a flagship location. The hotel featured full-service operations overlooking Nassau Harbor.

Over the last decade, Kathy has built CBK to be a leading hospitality provider in the Tampa Bay Area. Serving private, corporate, and social functions, CBK has secured a loyal clientele. Seeing CBK’s growth has been especially exciting for Kathy, as she began the business executing events from the kitchen to clean up. Her most notable accomplishments include becoming a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), securing an exclusive food service contract with The University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine + Heart Institute & CAMLS facility, and becoming an approved NFL Business Connect Vendor for Super Bowl LV.

Chase Mayer is the Director of Marketing and Business Development for CBK Catering & Events. He is responsible for all new business, local partnerships, and marketing efforts including advertising, web, and print materials. Chase attended Florida State University, graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Entrepreneurship.

Chase has always had a drive for business and entrepreneurship, starting his career at age eight by founding the “Bacteria Fighters,” a local garbage receptacle cleaning business, which would later matriculate into a commercial car detailing and pressure cleaning company landing various corporate contracts all while under the age of eighteen.

He worked in the Community Relations department for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers first as an intern and later on the gameday and event operations team. During college, he helped to propose and develop a catering department for a well-respected restaurant, eventually providing services for many of Florida State’s renowned athletic programs, the College of Business, state government officials at the Capitol Building, and other local businesses.

Chase has been with CBK from the very beginning, starting by working events, driving trucks, doing dishes, and other not-so-glorious tasks. He later would lead a complete rebranding campaign for CBK, which involved changing the business name from Catering By Kathy to CBK Catering & Events, developing a new website, logo, and marketing materials which helped to elevate the company’s presence in the Tampa Bay Area. CBK has come a long way since the founding, and Chase looks forward to developing the company into one of the most prominent hospitality firms in the Tampa Bay Area.

Gina Rausch is the Director of Operations for CBK Catering & Events. She manages all day-to-day operations, assists with menu design and execution, and the hiring and training of new staff.

Gina is a graduate of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management. While pursuing her degree, she worked for Hillstone Restaurant Group where she was trained in a rigorous program learning top service and guest standards. She also earned a Level I Sommelier Certification with the Court of Masters. Upon graduating, Gina returned to Tampa to work for CBK and help take the family company to the next level.

To continue her career development, Gina later took a position as Catering Manager with The Sodexo Group, working at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. She executed important events such as the annual week-long conference for the Board of Directors and the private holiday party for the CEO. With her time spent with Sodexo, she helped build Mayo Clinic’s catering revenue by over 50%.

With CBK, Gina enjoys growing the team and developing the company culture. She looks forward to helping take the company to new heights for many years to come.

Debbie Mastronardi is the Director of Finance at CBK Catering & Events where she handles all of the human resources and accounting responsibilities for the company.

Debbie is a graduate of the University of Illinois where she pursued a degree in Business Administration. Throughout her college years, she sought opportunities that aligned with her interests in travel and hospitality. Debbie worked with the University’s dining service as well as front-of-house for one of the largest boutique hotels in the area. Both positions provided her the foundation for the industry that she would later pursue.

Less than five years after graduation, Debbie collaborated with Kathy Mayer to open their own travel agency in Tampa, Florida. This successful partnership yielded years of company growth. In addition to unmatched customer service, Debbie was responsible for managing the financials, mitigating risk to the business, and cultivating vendor relationships among other duties.

Opportunity then presented itself in the Chicago market for Debbie to step into a Controller role where her business acumen was leveraged in the skilled trades industry. After nearly 30 years, Debbie pursued the opportunity to reunite with her former business partner, Kathy Mayer.
Debbie, motivated by the established success and mission of CBK, wanted to be involved to further their growth opportunities. Similar to the travel agency, Debbie believed in their quality product and in the meticulous service that they offered. The combination of CBK’s financial success coupled with the group’s camaraderie is what Debbie loves about being part of this winning team.