Your Go-to Team for Freshly Prepared Meals

About Little Bay Gourmet

We are a group of culinary experts and chefs that create delicious, unique and nourishing meals for individuals, families and intimate gatherings. Serving Petoskey and the surrounding areas, we are here for our clients when they desire convenience or a memorable experience. We believe in consistently cooking great food and taking care of the details for our clients, bringing people together so that they can create lasting memories.

Our Team

Chef Sarah McDonnell

Chef Sarah McDonnell was born and raised in Petoskey. Growing up here, she began working in restaurants and the kitchen before enrolling in Central Michigan University’s Food Service Administration Program. While enrolled, she truly fell in love with the culinary industry and knew it would become her lifelong profession and her passion.

She then enrolled in Culinary School in Chicago, IL, where she further developed her skills as a chef, learning the intricacies and techniques of classic cuisine. She stayed in Chicago for quite some time, working and later running several restaurants. One of her most significant accomplishments during her time in Chicago was developing a wine bar concept, which she built and organized from the ground up. From brainstorming the concept to creating the menus and launching the restaurant, she took pride in knowing this was her creation.

Sarah’s cooking style is elevated midwest comfort food, and she believes that food is love. She wants to instill the love of food in everyone she cooks for and help them to create lasting memories through meals shared. She instills her love of food in everything she prepares and helps others create lasting memories through the experience they share over meals. She supports local farms and strives to cook as sustainably as possible, taking care not to be wasteful and utilizing the fresh ingredients native to our region.

In 2019, Sarah decided to move back to her hometown of Petoskey, where she purchased Parkside Deli. The following year, she expanded, starting a catering company called “Chef Sarah,” now known as Little Bay Gourmet. Today, she brings food to our communities through freshly prepared meals, private catering, cheffing, and drop-off meals, all aimed at making her customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.