Today, we’d like to introduce you to Reginald Murray.
Hi Reginald, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Started by just watching my mother, grandmother, and aunt purchase, prepare, and cook meals in the kitchen. I then started to assist them and eventually prepared meals alongside them. I then became a self-taught chef by watching cooking shows and duplicating those dishes. However, I would make them my own by adding something to the recipe.
During family cookouts, I would be responsible for the BBQ and enjoyed the responses of everyone when they ate items I prepared from the grill. I then partnered with a friend who shared the same passion for food and we started catering together. I opened a restaurant in east Atlanta from 1993-1995 and it was named Motor City Coney. The feature was hot dogs with the Detroit, Michigan-style chili and hot dogs. On the menu were also many other items.
I then started to cater again, but this time pulling my grill and doing pop-up BBQ that was already prepared with a custom buffet to serve from. Each Memorial Day, high school graduation, and any other event that the family wanted to celebrate, my BBQ was requested. I matured into preparing the entire meal, including all the sides, beverages, and desserts.
Now I watch YouTube for different types of recipes and still add something to make them my own. My youngest son graduated from Johnson & Wales University with his culinary degree and now is a chef a one of Atlanta’s Buckhead Life Group Restaurants. Cooking runs in the family.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Some of the struggles along the way were the wasting of food and time during shopping.
By specifically catering and not just popping up in hopes of selling everything, catering solved the food waste. The next hurdle was finding reliable help. Finally, the biggest hurdle was securing finances from a bank to start and grow the business.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Catering is a unique profession because it allows you to feature many items that clients may want to have at their events. It also allows you the freedom to explore many different dishes from around the world and not be boxed into a restaurant’s menu.
I specialize in BBQ brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, chicken, sausage, hamburgers, mac & cheese, collard greens, green beans w/potatoes, baked beans, peach cobbler, cinnamon bun caramel apple cobbler, blackberry cobbler, homemade ice creams, and exceptional customer service along with the unique flavor of my meats due to seasoning and the tender meats separate me from others.
Before we let you go, we’d like to ask if you have any advice for those just starting out.
Yes, perfect your craft before offering it to the public. Remember that cleanliness and food safety are imperative.
Develop a business plan and have it reviewed by a professional before presenting it to a finance person at a bank. I wish I had known about marketing, the location of the business, and how to invest to grow the business before I went in head first.
Contact Info:
- Website: fireandflavorcatering.com
- Linkedin: @reginaldemurray
Image Credits
Chef Roman Murray, Keith Jackson, Earl Cameron, and Jolanda Millen-Murray
