History

I started out cooking at the tender age of seven, working in the kitchen helping my mom. I grew up watching The Frugal Gourmet and Graham Kerr, and soon discovered that I had a natural talent for cooking. Often, I would have dinner ready for my parents when they got home from work in the evening. By the end of high school, I had really honed my skills and was competent enough to cook even the hardest of recipes. Before graduation, I entered a cooking contest for Johnson and Wales University in Norfolk, Virginia. I won a scholarship that would only begin to cover the first year and started trying to apply for loans and grants. It didn’t work out too well. I decided it was best to move onto something different. Tired of Northern Virginia, I decided to move down to Charleston, South Carolina.

This was a great move. It was a fresh place full of life and tradition and food…glorious food everywhere I looked! I soon signed on as a cook in a small eclectic café on John’s Island. I was immediately embraced by the two executive chefs, both graduates of The Culinary Institute of America. They challenged me to push the envelope of my own creativity, while teaching me classic French technique and modern style. I finally had the education that I had so longed for. Soon after this my fiancée had received an offer from Riverbanks Zoo as an aquarist (fish biologist). We took it. With much regret, I had to leave the place that had become my home…that little café still so close to my heart.

With the change of scenery I decided that I would one day want my own little café.  I had plenty of cooking expertise, but no management skills, so I started looking for a restaurant job that would give me that experience. A couple of weeks after moving to Columbia, God had handed me a position at the Atlanta Bread Company. I started out as a shift leader and soon worked my way up to being the Assistant General Manager. After several years of hearing me boast about my home cooking skills, one of my regular customers asked me to cater her Christmas party. I just looked at her in awe, then terror, when she told me the party was for 125 guests! I knew I was up to the challenge. I had two months to prepare menus, recipes, and all the details that make a perfect party. The day of the party was hectic, but I exceeded the high expectations of both myself and the host. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but the feeling was incredible. Although I thought I was doing it for me, it reminded me how cooking for others is so exciting.  I loved seeing the pleasure and smiles on the faces of those who ate the food! This party made me realize one very important thing. This is what I was meant to do. Cooking is my joy, it is my passion. It is my dream and always has been! Welcome to my life. Welcome to my dream. Let your imagination be your only limit to where your event can go. Your dream becomes your reality here and making that dream a reality is what I am here to do.

Welcome to Gourmet2Go.

~Chris Rawlings
Chef/Owner