THE CHEF AND OWNER
Owner, Sean McLaughlin ~ www.creativecateringbysean.com
I am excited about the opportunity to provide delicious meals - at a reasonable price - to all of the Via members and those in the community who come to the Via Center. I look forward to many wonderful lunch services.
Growing up in Louisiana, it was my job to peel the potatoes for dinner. It doesn’t sound like a big deal to many, but it took 10 lbs. of potatoes to make enough mashed potatoes for our family of fiveboys. I’ve had a love for cooking ever since. My mother and father had the same passion for cooking and most of my memories of family life began in the kitchen.
When I was 14 years old, I had to find a job to keep me out of trouble. My first job was bailing hay and you can tell by my picture that the sun and I don’t get along. Me and my Irish tan! It only took one summer to realize that. My oldest brother Joe became the GM of the local Dairy Queen and needed a night manager. At the of age 15, I became the youngest night manager in Dairy Queen history. I had a desire to stay in the food industry, because I was in the kitchen around food and I was in the air conditioning.
After Dairy Queen, I managed at Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Church’s Fried Chicken, and Waffle House. At 20 I moved into full service restaurant. In my home town, The New Orleans Cafe opened. My brother, Darry (who was also in the food industry) told me that out of all the restaurants in town, he would want to work at that restaurant. That week, I began my training at the New Orleans Cafe.
I trained with a Cajun chef for 6 months. It came naturally to me. They moved me all over the Southeast. I began working at Cuco’s, Red Lobster, Applebee’s and finally Ruby Tuesday’s.
After 17 years of restaurant work, I was ready to do something else. I began working for a caterer in Mobile, AL. We started with two employees and one delivery truck, In four short years we built it to be one of the largest catering companies on the gulf coast. In the 7 years with that company, we started a cooking show called The Creative Cooks. It aired on a local cablevision company and later became one of the best shows on CBS.
After realizing the potential of becoming a caterer on my own, I started Creative Catering.
www.creativecateringbysean.com
251.666.3131