We recently connected with Carl Leatherberry Jr and have shared our conversation below.

Carl , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

It’s kind of weird but at the same time funny, I say that because I was working at a nursing home in Hannibal Missouri at the time in dietary, there was a resident there I can’t recall the name, but one day in the start of my employment I had made some soup, simple vegetables and a “stock. Hoping they would like it ,but not expecting what would happening after serving it. This particularly resident was well known for his out spoken opinions on all the food that was cooked in there kitchen shouted out ” NOW THIS IS SOUP, AND NOT THAT DIRTY DISH WATTER YALL WAS SERVING US ” LOL. I laugh so hard inside I could have past out. But at that moment something came over me , I can do this”. My passion for cooking started at a young age,but I was so into music I never though about taking cooking serious, especially far as my own business until this moment ,lol. After that I started getting so many other comments on the dishes I was preparing and a note from the director’s saying that there were more residents eating in the dining room then they ever had in years, and they would look forward to leaving there rooms to come sit and eat with each other. That made me feel so good inside, I guess you can say I sovle a big problem with a unique approach all at ones.. This moment made me feel that it will be worth the effort to keep bringing joy to people with good food and hospitality. So when I returned to Michigan I started a catering company called Chef Carl’s Gourmet Experience, inspired by this event, family and friends who always through I had what it takes to achieve becoming a chef and bring my love and passion to the table. How exciting is that to have people believe in your skill no matter what they might be.

Carl , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born in St.Louis Mo, Where I developed my love of cooking. My grandmother and aunty were my biggest inspirations, being some of the best cooks the state of Missouri had to offer. I use to call her “my ganny” lol. “Ganny ganny ” that”s what she would hear every morning at 6 am sharp,I remember this story like yesterday. The fruit and nuts truck would come down the ally way at 6 am on time every morning, and he had some of the best pineapples in the world to me, so I would beg my ganny” to buy me one every single morning. At times she would say she don”t have the money but always seem to find somes coins somewhere because she just knew I would cry, I remember the truck driver will give her free pineapples for me, just so I wouldn”t cry lol, funny now that I think back, but they were so good. My grandmother started teaching me how to make casserole pot pies , fresh made dough, pull chicken with mirepoix, peas, and a creamy roux, I always think of that dish as a fresh begining with a beutiful ending. she also taught me how to make fresh breads and pastas, my first dinner I made for her was a spaghetti sandwish, I thought I was the man when she said she like it. Working as a maid for an Italian family for over 30+ years she was taught how to cook foods in there culture, by the mother of that family, and my grandmother would recreate them to fit a soul food type of feel for her big family,that where my love for Italian food began. Also having a big family on my mother side My aunty Liz taught me how to make some of the best St.Louis style ribs you could ever have in your life with a special BBQ sauce that’s now a family secrect. Learning from these two ladies sparked my passion for cooking absolutely. That”s what I provide for my customers love and true to life passion on every plate or dish that shows my craft,giving my clients a southern type of hospitality with a upsale gourmet twist. Loving the business by loving what I do, I think that what makes people love you. Provide the best service possible every single day, every single dish as if it was the first , the last dish should go out the same as the first and everything in between. Maybe that’s what sets me apart from others I really care. And it makes me proud, that I was able to become a chef and entrepreneur before the lost of my wife, grandmother and daughter,, they where so proud of me and pushed me to be great, not just at cooking but with life itself, I thank Yahweh everyday for putting them in my life to make me who I am today. I want the reader’s, ( followers, fans ) to know if I can stay focused so can you, I will be the one to tell you,every business just as life has obstacles,good times,and bad times but it’s the love and the passion that you have for whatsoever it is your” good at or with,that makes your work great. I will continue to bring excellent, warmth, and fondness to every dish ,every client, or every person that dine with Chef Carl .

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Actually, that’s a good question because cooking was just a side hustle, I was using what my grandmother taught me, a good way for me to make extra money. I spent a lot of my time on music, writing, recording, doing shows looking for a record deal, and landing one, but as I said ” life’s goodtime and bad times same as business. But the passion kept burning inside of me to become a Chef, then one night I had a dream, of me cooking on a bbq grill and I remembered how that grill look when woke , I remember laying there and telling my wife about this dream I had, she instantly told me to get some paper and to draw what I remembered about the grill so that’s what I did, and drew a picture of a trailer grill on wheels. Later that day I called a good friend of mine I use to grill with as a side hustle, and asked if his friend can build this grill I dreamed about. True enough he did,and, built it almost exactly like the picture. Believing in myself I took that grill and found a location, at a near by grocery store where me , my wife , and daughter sold bbq to the locals. I can still feel those scorching hot days being around the grill, and my wife and daughter sweating to make that money. And it payed off, I took the money we made to pay my way though culinary school. Dorsey college culinary academy were I met Chef Matthew Schellig ,who harnessed my skill to put me in the restaurant business ,ready to go”. Also helping me become a member of the ACF ( American Culinary Federation ). From there I studied with some of the best in Michigan. Proud to have learned ,worked with, and know dearly the Tonon family , now currently with Prime Concepts Stoli Liti at (Aurora Italiana). Just to name a few. Hard work and dedication , you heard that a lot, I believe it start with “will and determination never count youself out, milestones are achieved through obstacles,Set”.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

,,Yes, working with my wife and my baby , remembering those hot summer days looking at them, set up everything with me , sitting there waiting on customers, mad at the heat (and me probably)lol, I can’t forget. All for me to make it though scool .That”s why I decided to change Chef Carl’s Gourmet Experience to DeCara Serai’s LLC, after my late daughter. They believed in me more then I could myself at times, also some really close friends who don”t play when it comes down to eating my foods. This is why I stay relentless (praise Yahshua), and if it be apart of his purpose my company will breathe. To the readers stay focused on your endeavors you and only you live your life try to do the best at just “that”. I would like to say thanks to Canvas Rebels editorial staff Chris Martinez and Voyage Michigan for the opportunity to feature in there magazines. Blessed.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: 1ChefCarl & Smokey Pit BBQ

Image Credits
Stoli Liti, Chef Lucas, Chef Giuseppe