Herb (great name for a chef) Scott, whose Mt. Airy firm, Herb Scott Catering, has been one of the area’s top catering firms for 27 years (and he worked in the business for 10 years before that) is hanging up his utensils, pots and pans and other cooking paraphernalia.

Scott, 62, has cooked and catered events for countless families in Northwest Philadelphia and for major companies and schools like PECO, Germantown Friends School, Drexel University, Arcadia University, Banana Republic, Verizon and many more.

“I will do event planning,” Scott said last week, but cooking is likely out of the question, with only a few exceptions.

“I am absolutely tired of making food,” he said. “First of all, it is really difficult physically to cook for so many people, and of course, the older you get, the harder it is, but the main reason is that I just cannot find the service anymore that meets my standards.”

Scott started at the bottom in the food business. For several years he waited on tables and checked coats for his dad’s restaurant, Colony Park Inn, at Germantown Avenue and School House Lane, until the restaurant closed in 1984. The following day, Herb answered an ad from The Commissary and got a catering job. The restaurant was owned by former longtime Chestnut Hill resident Steve Poses, who helped usher in the city’s restaurant renaissance in the late 1960s.

“I think my dad, Herbert Augustus Scott, was the greatest guy in the world,” Scott said, “and Steve Poses reminded me very much of my dad. He was always warm, knowledgeable and helpful. I got the greatest education from him about every aspect of the catering business. Poses’ assistant, Don Falconio, also taught me a great deal about the ‘front of the house.’ One thing he taught me is that honest work is never demeaning. He was a vice president of the company, but at 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday he’d get down on his hands and knees to clean the floors.”

Thirty-one years ago, Scott’s dad unexpectedly died, which had a life-transforming effect upon him. “I was ashamed because I was not living the way my dad had taught me,” he said. “I got back to my religious roots. I got back to being honest and doing the right thing. As a result, I became much happier and could be of more service to people.”

In 1999, Scott went into business for himself. He moved back to Mt. Airy — at 6531 Germantown Ave. since 2006 — and began marketing his catering services. He started handing out flyers on the street and going door-to-door to hand them out. His business was then called Your Personal Chef.

“Many people in Chestnut Hill would not open their doors when they saw my face,” Herb recalled, “and many people would lock their car doors as soon as I approached them, although I was well dressed. It hurt very badly because it was so obviously racial, and I had never experienced that before. I had nothing but rejection for weeks, and I was on the verge of giving up.

“I prayed for guidance, though, and then I went home and found a call on my machine. It was from a Chestnut Hill woman who said she wanted me to cook weekly meals for her family. I was so thrilled that I began making the meals for her right away, four dinners a week for four people each.”

During the pandemic, Scott provided at-cost meals to area churches and other nonprofits like Whosoever Gospel Mission in Germantown.

In July 1998, Scott, who says the best advice he ever received was to “put God first in everything you do,” married a teacher at the Faith Tabernacle Baptist School in North Philadelphia, Laurie, who is a major asset in the business. The Scotts have three children — Lily, Royal and Ian — who worked in the business when they were needed.

“God has blessed me with such a wonderful family,” Scott said.

For more information, call 267-243-8576 or visit herbscottcatering.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.