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What's a trained chef and lover of all things culinary who's decided she wants out of the kitchen to do? "I knew I loved the industry, but I wasn't sure how I would fit in or where I would go next," said Linda Kavanagh, owner of MaxExposure. "I kept thinking, 'Who can I call to take the next step?'"
Her question was answered by fate. At the Guggenheim Museum, at the end of the final event for which she was serving as catering director for a company called Cuisine de France, Kavanagh sat down for a cocktail and noticed a man she had seen at many events, several times before. They began chatting.
After explaining her predicament, Gary Stromberg, owner of The Blackbird Group, a publicity firm in Westport, said, "You would be good at what I do." Almost immediately, Kavanagh took a job with Blackbird and let Stromberg show her the ropes. "Here was a stranger, willing to teach me, and it was amazing. I loved it." But the connection between public relations and the culinary world was yet to come.
"After I had been on board for awhile, the opportunity arose in 1996 for the firm to promote the opening of the Motown Cafe in Manhattan. Without any particular restaurant knowledge, they turned to me. 'Alright, kid, here's your chance to shine. Don't blow it.' Under Gary's supervision, I handled the publicity for the entire thing. It was a smash. Aha! I found it." Soon afterwards, Kavanagh decided to branch out on her own and create a P.R. firm specializing in the food industry. The rest is history.
Her precipitous first client was Barcelona in South Norwalk. Today, the restaurant has six locations and MaxExposure handles publicity for all of them. Her bragging list of well over 100 is a veritable who's who of the Fairfield County culinary world and beyond. Aside from restaurants from Greenwich to Hartford, she represents Morton's Steakhouse, Ghirardelli Chocolate company, cb5 Restaurant Group, Rizutto's Wood-Fired Kitchen and Bar, chef and cookbook author Rafael Palomino and many more.
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