A Georgia Caterer in New York, by Emily Kluver

No event is complete without good food.

Which is why, when it came to hosting a memorial lunch at the Joseph P. Addabbo Center, Beatrice Byrd – board member at the Addabbo Center and long-time active community member – called Chuck Cleveland.

Cleveland runs a small catering business out of his Flatbush home, but he is deeply connected to the Red Hook community through the Addabbo Center. Cleveland has frequently found himself in Red Hook as a patient, a family friend of Byrd, and – during a time of need after Hurricane Sandy – a security worker for the center, .

But most importantly, his food does not disappoint. With dishes ranging from rich Southern classics to light Spanish fare, all made with incredible attention to detail, Cleveland’s cooking caters to all kinds of palates.

History in Georgia

Cleveland recalls growing up in Georgia where “food was the biggest thing.”

Having never received formal training, he first began learning to cook by watching his grandmother in the kitchen. No one knew Cleveland was interested in cooking, but instead he learned on his own, perfecting dishes through simple trial and error.

Cleveland recalls that around age 10, he decided to try making fried chicken while his parents were out. He took pieces of poultry, covered them in flour, and heated up some oil. The result, he claims, was disastrous.

“It ended up black and disgusting. The oil was too hot and I added too much flour.”

Over time, Cleveland continued trying to perfect his cooking through trial and error. He made something, tasted it, and then made it better the next time. Slowly, his skills grew.

Despite his quick growth and natural talent, Cleveland still has to live up to his grandmother’s cooking.

“[My family] wasn’t sure [about my cooking] at first, but now it’s sort of a competition between me and my grandmother.”

Cleveland has expanded into bizarre foods and different cooking styles, testing out dishes that his grandmother would never go near. She sticks to the traditional Southern cuisine, but Cleveland will branch out to dishes from all sort of cultures, Latin to Caribbean.

His current favorites include his own take on oxtail served with rice, lobster mac and cheese, chicken wings with his own special sauce, and seared swai, a type of whitefish, served with fresh vegetables. Just thinking about his seared swai makes Cleveland light up with pride, “I’ve made it before and people are always mad there’s not more.”

However, about 10 years ago, all of this culinary success would have been unimaginable.

History of Blue Chip Catering

At the time, Cleveland was bringing his own meals to his “dead end job,” and people kept saying, “That smells good, where’d you get it?” No one, he

claims, believed that he could cook like that. For fun, Cleveland began coming to work with extra samples for people to try.

His food was a hit.

Before long, Cleveland began selling meals to people during his shift. Then, the second shift started getting jealous. He expanded his efforts. When third shift started coming around, Cleveland sat and thought to himself, “This could work.”

At first, Cleveland toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant, but that notion was quickly set aside. He explains, “If I were to open a restaurant, I wouldn’t want to be the guy out front in a suit. I want to be in the kitchen creating. I like to get dirty.”

If not a restaurant, what? Considering his skill set and interests, Cleveland decided to open a mobile catering business – catering in any state, for any occasion.

It was important to Cleveland that his company catered to the average Joe. He wanted his food to be accessible, and still today he works with people’s budgets to ensure they can get great food at a decent rate. Anyone who is unsure about hiring Cleveland to cater an event simply has to request a tasting, free of charge.

“Some people do it for the money,” Cleveland says with a smile, “For me, creating something and someone enjoying it is my repayment.”

Blue Chip Catering grew and formed over time. Five years Cleveland relocated to New York, which has kept Cleveland busy promoting and expanding his small business.

He takes off his cap, exposing short tufts of grey hair. “When I came to New York 5 years ago, I had no grey hair. Now, it is.”

Future Endeavors

Cleveland is not sure he wants to continue catering forever. He has considered a few other options – a food truck or maybe a small restaurant in his Flatbush neighborhood. After all, the men at his local barbershop have already become devoted fans of his food. They could use a good restaurant nearby.

All Cleveland knows for sure is that he wants to keep cooking. He claims, “I don’t even want to be known on a national level. I don’t care. But I do care how my food tastes.”