While others may grumble away their morning, Paul Werkowitch typically starts his work day in a chipper mood.

The owner of the Chris Cakes of St. Louis catering franchise is used to getting up early to serve breakfast at various places including businesses, schools and churches.

Chris Cakes offers many different foods for gatherings at any time of day, but pancakes are the national company's claim to fame and those who work for it become expert pancake flippers.

Werkowitch said he enjoys cooking the flapjacks and flicking them to the awaiting plates of diners, all the while teasing and chatting with them.

"Pancakes are kind of what we're known for," said Werkowitch, 30, of South County. "Pancakes are the most interactive thing we do. You get a lot of smiles."

He said he learned pancake flipping, as well as the rest of the aspects of the Chris Cakes catering business, while working for the company in Kansas City. He is confident that when he flips a pancake at someone's plate, it is going to hit its mark.

"I've never had any mishaps with the pancakes," he said.

Chris Cakes of St. Louis can show up at a job with anything from burgers to spaghetti to a salad bar, whatever the client requests from its menu.

Werkowitch oversees a staff of seven, though he can add temporary help if he gets more jobs than his regular staff can handle at a time. He has owned his Fenton-based franchise for six years.

He said he is ready to roll out to a job no matter what time it is or how quickly he is needed.

"We've done emergency catering for Union Electric during ice storms," he said. "We've gone to Kentucky to feed electrical workers during a storm."

Werkowitch said he sends his crews to cater for after-prom parties and third-shift events in the middle of the night.

On a recent weekday morning, Werkowitch was behind his grill for a breakfast gig at the Two Men and a Truck moving business in Sunset Hills. The company hired Chris Cakes to provide pancakes, sausage and Tang to its workers on the day it was also giving them flu shots before they hit the streets.

Werkowitch arrived more than an hour earlier than the 7 a.m. breakfast time to set up his grill, mix his batter and get everything ready for his diners.

When the first wave of food was done, the movers lined up to get at the chow. Werkowitch worked the grill cooking 20 pancakes at a time while flipping griddlecakes to the employees.

"It's delicious," said Mario Ponch of Two Men and a Truck. "He does a good presentation. It's a nice way to start the morning."

Werkowitch kept grilling, tossing people seconds and thirds if they asked. A feature of Chris Cakes is that everything on the menu is served on an "all you can eat" basis.

"The record for the company was one guy eating 72 pancakes at one sitting in Kansas City, Kans.," he said. "Our St. Louis record is 30."

For more information, call 314-398-3827 or visit chriscakesstl.com.