Meet Perly Gedeon-Ali of Creole Orleans Catering in West Midtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Perly Gedeon-Ali.

Perly, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started Creole Orleans Catering about one year ago. It was a dream of mine that I hesitated to embark on because like many small business owners, I feared the unknown. I’ve always been able to cook and have been in the kitchen with my mother for as long as I can remember! I cook often for my husband and my friends & family and my husband always told me, I cooked so well and that I should go into business. I can honestly say that although I cooked well, I did allow the saturated catering industry in Atlanta to shy me away from the idea so although I was nervous, I started by posting my dishes on social media (Instagram & Facebook) and hosted a small beginner cooking class. I then began plate sales from advertising online and began offering catering and private chef experiences as well as a detailed menu for the public to place orders. I also made a catering menu available for large events, such as weddings, etc.. and to my surprise, people started booking me! I would say the plate sales helped as people had an opportunity to try my food and decided that the food tasted as good as it looked! I owe a large part of my success to my amazing optimistic husband, who is also my Manager, he gave me the confidence I needed to successfully run Creole Orleans Catering today!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Catering is extremely hard and tiresome, passion or not, catering large events can take a lot out of the cook and anyone assisting. I say that to say, YES! I’ve had plenty of challenges in my business, I remember having a huge event and staying up all night to cook lots of food and fell asleep for like 30 minutes and burned everything in the oven, devastated is an understatement. There are so many other obstacles that I have encountered Catering but I thank God for having an amazing team and husband who always keeps me encouraged and support me, challenges and obstacles and all. I look forward to the future, and overcoming future obstacles to become a successful caterer!

Creole Orleans Catering – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I own and run Creole Orleans Catering. We are a catering company in Atlanta, Ga. that specializes in Caribbean and New Orleans style dishes. I am an island native and my husband is a native of New Orleans. I offer cooking classes, Plate sales, large and small event catering, and private chef experiences as well. We cook everything from scratch no matter the size of the order, I believe this is what sets us apart. We also take pride in how we clean, and prep our food, we use the Haitian method to ensure our meats are sanitized and safe to eat. We also do not cook with pork or it’s products, we are very proud of that as well. We are known for our AMAZING braised and stewed oxtails, and also our DELICIOUS Cajun Jambalaya Pasta. We cook most foods requested but we have the Caribbean and New Orleans dishes down pack! We truly enjoy feeding the people!

Do you feel like our city is a good place for businesses like yours? If someone was just starting out, would you recommend them starting out here? If not, what can our city do to improve?
Yes! I feel like Atlanta is a great place to start a catering business. I contemplated starting off in New Orleans but life brought our starting point here in Atlanta! The people in Atlanta love to eat and most meetings, meetups, or events usually always involve food. Atlanta is also a party city and people love to have parties and events, which always leaves room for caterers like myself to get booked! If someone was just starting out in Atlanta I would tell them with the right marketing, you could possibly get busy overnight so go for it!

Pricing:

• Full Cajun Jambalaya Pasta-$185.00
• Full Braised or Stewed Oxtails-$300.00

Contact Info:

• Address: Creole Orleans Catering
  West Midtown
  Atlanta, Ga 30318
• Website: www.creoleorleanscatering.com
• Phone: 4042591788
• Email: info@creoleorleanscatering.com
• Instagram: @creole_orleans_catering
• Facebook: Creole Orleans Catering

Image Credit:
Grant Smith Photography

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