WILLEMSTAD – What began as a vacation to Curaçao about a decade ago has turned into a new chapter for American entrepreneur Brigit Reuland-Foster, who is combining more than 20 years of experience in the food and hospitality industry with the relaxed lifestyle she and her husband found on the island.
Brigit and her husband Jason
Reuland-Foster is preparing to launch Island Grazing, a home-based business specializing in personalized charcuterie boards, grazing tables, snack boxes, individual grazing cups and other creations designed for celebrations and special occasions.
For Reuland-Foster and her husband, however, the journey to Curaçao began long before the business idea.
Brigit and Jason enjoying their new home Curaçao
“My husband and I have always planned to make a big move, and once we visited Curaçao, about 10 years ago, we fell in love with the island and its people,” she told Curaçao Chronicle.
The couple purchased a home in Curaçao in 2023 and began making plans for a future on the island. Reuland-Foster said they were attracted not only by the weather, but also by the people, culture and slower pace of life.
Moving also gave her an opportunity to rethink a career that had been part of her identity for more than two decades.
After spending more than 20 years running her family's catering business in the United States, Reuland-Foster knew she wanted something different. But leaving the demanding world of large-scale catering did not mean she wanted to leave food and hospitality behind.
“I knew I was ready to start a new adventure,” she said. “The food and hospitality business has always been a part of my life and who I am. Although I was ready for a change, I wasn't ready to give up what I love doing.”
That idea eventually became Island Grazing.
Instead of recreating the large catering operation she knew in the United States, Reuland-Foster wanted something smaller and more personal that would fit naturally into her new life in Curaçao.
“For me, Island Grazing isn't just another business,” she explained. “It represents taking everything I learned from one chapter of my life and turning it into something unique and special.”
She is not new to the concept. Reuland-Foster has created charcuterie boards and grazing tables for intimate gatherings of around 10 people as well as large events with as many as 250 guests.
What she hopes will distinguish Island Grazing is personalization.
Rather than offering the same presentation for every customer, she plans to adapt colors, ingredients and decorative elements to match individual events and themes. She also creates personalized fruit art, including carved watermelons featuring customers' names and company logos.
Curaçao itself will become part of the presentation.
Reuland-Foster plans to incorporate local products and traditional Curaçao flavors alongside familiar cheeses, cured meats, fruits and other charcuterie ingredients. Her offerings are expected to include grazing tables, boards, individual cups, snack boxes and even floating trays suited to Curaçao's outdoor and poolside lifestyle.
Starting a business in a new country inevitably requires adjustment, but Reuland-Foster said her decades in catering prepared her for the work involved.
She has also been pleasantly surprised by what she can find locally.
“I have found that the island offers such a wide variety of the products I like to use — assorted cheeses, meats, tropical fruits and other items that were not available in Chicago,” she said.
Reuland-Foster recognizes that Curaçao already has established catering companies and hospitality businesses. Her goal is not simply to reproduce what is already available, but to find a niche among customers who want something more individualized.
“I truly want to reach customers looking for a more unique and personalized experience,” she said.
For now, Island Grazing will remain deliberately small. Reuland-Foster plans to operate the business from home and allow it to grow naturally rather than immediately pursuing a large commercial operation.
Over time, she hopes to expand the menu with petite sandwiches, individual desserts, cocktail appetizers and other items that complement her grazing concepts.
For Reuland-Foster, the venture represents something larger than launching another food business. After decades in her family's catering operation in Chicago, Curaçao has given her an opportunity to take the experience she accumulated there and reshape it around the life she and her husband wanted to build.
A vacation introduced them to the island. A home purchased in 2023 made the dream more concrete. Now Island Grazing is becoming part of their new beginning in Curaçao.
And for Reuland-Foster, it allows her to start over without leaving behind the part of her old life she loved most: bringing people together through food.
