We recently celebrated a 60th birthday and The Good Cooker cooked us a _great_ dinner for 30. We met Chuck at another catered event in the spring and loved his breakfast, so we got his card. First good sign - he was willing to work Dec. 26th, which almost no other caterer in the world will do. Chuck, however, was open to it from the get go.
As the event got closer, Chuck worked out a simple but fantastic menu - basically a Southern winter spread, with crostini, pickled shrimp and tuna tartare to start, roast pork loin and Shrimp Creole over Carolina Gold for mains, and sweet potato casserole and corn spoonbread sides. This accompanied and complimented an oyster roast a friend ran on a separate table.
The food - fantastic. It's hard to pick a favorite - but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you really should try his Shrimp Creole. But everything was just delicious. Chuck was generous with the portions, we were noshing on leftovers for a few days, like a Thanksgiving dinner.
This party, on the coldest night of the year, is still being talked about today. Chuck came out to Mount Pleasant and set up a beautiful, rustic food table, he used our cottage kitchen to stage and serve. He brought a server that really helped the evening flow, and they were both complete professionals. Our kitchen was spotless at the end of the night, and the dirty dishes were all picked up and stored for rental pick up the next day.
Earlier in the month this felt touch and go because of the restrictions on the event space, but Chuck worked with me to ensure he could meet their requirements, which opened the door for him to cater there on that day. He brainstormed the menu with me, and he recommended several bakers for the birthday cake. He even helped me figure out the rental needs for plates and service. And most of all I really appreciate that he reassured me more than a few times, as we ran into a couple of issues, that this was going to be great. And it was.
Really just a pleasant experience all around. I highly recommend the Good Cooker. read more