Newspaper Page Text
BUSINESS
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CHAM I*JOM
April 14- 20, 2016 » Page 21A
Walter Scott started a catering company after getting many compliments on his cooking. The menu for lunch prepared for a downtown Decatur company includes fried
chicken, cole slaw and baked beans. Photos by Travis Hudgons
Catering company brings Chicago flavors to DeKalb
by Kathy Mitchell
After many co-workers
at Georgia State University,
Walter Scott’s former place
of employment, commented
on how much they enjoyed
his cooking, the Tucker resi
dent decided to treat them to
lunch, preparing each dish
himself. The gesture led to
Scott’s first catering job and
ultimately to a new career.
“He has always loved
to cook and he loves see
ing people enjoy the food
he prepares. People kept
saying, ‘You should do this
for a living,”’ said Scott’s
wife and business partner
Sonya Scott, who helped
launch Taste of Chicago a
few weeks ago. The cater
ing company’s name reflects
Walter Scott’s upbringing on
the south side of Chicago.
The Scotts were again
encouraged that Walter had
potential as a professional
chef following a chili cook
off. “We didn’t stay until the
end, because we ran out
of chili,” Sonya recalled. “I
checked the website the
next day and saw that we
had placed eighth among
the 32 entries. That’s not
bad considering it was our
first time.” More reassuring
than the official ranking, she
said, were comments from
people at the cook off who
asked what he did that made
his chili so tasty.
“At first, we were just
opening booths at fairs and
festivals, but those are sea
sonal,” Sonya observed.
“We decided that we needed
to start a catering service to
be in business year-round.”
She said her husband
has no formal training as a
chef, but a combination of
natural talent and skills he
learned from his mother led
to a growing demand for his
cuisine. The Scotts say they
are now prepared to cater
private or business functions
for up to 150 people.
“I can cook following a
recipe, but he never needs
a recipe. He has excellent
instincts and the results
are always wonderful,” said
Sonya, who explained that
her husband and their son
Jourdan Scott do the cook
ing while she handles other
aspects of the business. She
primarily helps with book
keeping and marketing.
“Taking something you
love to do and turning it into
a business requires acquir
ing and applying business
skills,” Sonya said, adding
that she and her husband
work together on such mat
ters as purchasing and pric
ing. “Together we figure out
the right prices for items.
You don’t want to charge so
much that people are turned
away by your prices, but you
want to charge enough to
be profitable. I’m planning to
take some business classes
so I can help my husband
even more.
“I love networking and
mingling with potential cli
ents. That’s my strength,”
she said. A nurse who
worked 30 years for the
DeKalb County Board of
Health, Sonya also has ex
pertise in the safe handling
of food.
“We do a lot of fairs
and festivals and the food
safety rules vary a lot.
Sometimes no one from the
health department shows
up and other times there are
people saying, ‘Oh, no, you
can’t open up until you’ve
done this, this and this.’At
the Georgia Wing Festival
held in Albany in March,
we had to buy a tarp and a
hand washing station to be
in compliance with health
regulations. The next time,
however, we’ll be prepared.
It’s all part of the learning
experience,” Sonya said.
At an outdoor food
venue in Selma, Ala., cre
ated in conjunction with the
commemoration of the 1965
Voters’ Rights March, there
were other lessons learned,
according to Sonya. “I no
ticed one of the other ven
dors who didn’t even have
prices listed; he just had
food on display and people
were lined up to buy it. I
learned that people are very
visual. They want to see
what they’re getting. They
care about prices, but they
also care about what they’re
getting for their money.”
Another lesson from
the Selma experience is
the value of establishing a
unique brand. “You want to
stand out. You don’t want to
offer what everybody else
is offering. A lady came to
our stand in Selma and or
dered a plate of rib tips. She
said, ‘I haven’t had rib tips
like this since I left Chicago
and these remind me of the
ones I had in Chicago. My
husband told her he was
from Chicago. The next day
she came back and bought
seven more rib tip plates,”
Sonya recalled.
In addition to barbecued
rib tips, Taste of Chicago
lists among its specialties
Polish sausages, grilled pork
chops with onions, pizza
puffs and Chicago dogs.
Walter Scott also makes
cakes, cobblers, banana
pudding and other desserts
as part of his catering ser
vice.
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