About

Thyme with Sage is the blog of Sage Catering, a Seattle personal chef and catering company owned by Tina Ultican. Sage Catering has prepared and served food to as many as 120 people for clients including the Henry Gallery Association Board of Trustees, Artist Trust, and TriFilm Productions. Events have ranged from 50th birthdays to graduations to engagements to open houses.

After more than a decade working in restaurants in Boston, Portland and Seattle, and after completing her studies at Portland’s Western Culinary Institute in 1998, Tina founded Sage Catering in 2003. She was catering a holiday party with her friend Pat Blanchard one day when Tina pointed out a ceramic bowl and told Pat that she particularly liked its shade of sage green. Later, discussing what to name Tina’s new company, they agreed that the many meanings of the word “sage” made it a good name for her own company.

As a personal chef, Tina works for private clients on a weekly or twice-weekly basis, shopping for and preparing multiple meals in clients’ homes to feed their families throughout the week. Her clients range from individuals to families of six, and Tina is adept at creating menus that will please both adults and children. On request, she can prep food so that a family member can quickly assemble meals—or finish cooking items—throughout the week.

Sage Catering creates unique, highly personalized dining experiences based on each client’s needs and desires. Tina works closely with clients to personalize menus, and researches and experiments with recipes. She offers a variety of cooking styles, preparing dishes from other cultures while using seasonal Northwest produce as much as possible. Tina also has a talent for creating special occasion items such as wedding cakes and holiday gift baskets.

When she’s not cooking for clients, Tina enjoys running with her dogs, Ruby and Cedar; catch-and-release fly fishing; competing in marathons and triathlons; hiking throughout the Northwest; exploring Washington wine country; and steering rowing shells. And even though it’s her profession, she also enjoys preparing food for her husband and friends.