We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chef Q Buggs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Chef Q, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Ice Spices. I never thought about being a private chef until Covid-19 hit us when most of us really had no choice. We had to figure out ways to generate the income we were missing. Restaurants were closing. Our favorite restaurants were closing. Personal Chefs were the new restaurants, I was a mobile restaurant. I was the new favorite restaurant. I am the new favorite chef

After struggling to hold onto my job, I was finally laid off. I bought a car the next day. I needed a bigger vehicle…to transport my restaurant lol. My biggest issue was space and time for loading. Between seasonings and spices, pots and pans, and dinnerware (plates, napkins, cloths, silverware and etc), there was barely enough space for the food. (I forgot the food one time, but that’s another story for a later date.) I would have so much anxiety about forgetting things. I would hope and pray then pray again that I didn’t forget to pack any of my Mise en Place, spices and seasonings in particular. I did, of course. (Have you ever had food without seasoning, without a taste? I did that too one time, but again that’s another story for a later date) So, I decided to come up with a spice line. I’ve talked about making spices for a while. I went from carrying almost 20 seasonings to 3. I came up with a line catered to the basic food groups like meats, fishes, and vegetables. Land. Sea. and Ground. It took a few months to come up with the recipes. All I knew is the “Sea” had to be pretty on the seafood and the I need to be able to use these on everything…and now I can. Land is for meats. Sea is for seafoods, and Ground is for vegetables. Land Spice has a flavorful and bold taste. Sea Spice has blackening effect but not really spicy. Ground has a lighter zestier flavor with herbs. All spices are light on the salt.

My regular clients refer me. I have folks that order from me for their restaurants and folks that order from me for their own personal households. There are also folks that refer me to their friends and families.

I came up with my 24K Gold Wing Sauce because I felt hot wings needed a spin. They are so common. The original plans consisted of the new wing flavor for football season. Whomp Whomp. The women actually order the gold wings more than the men. They order them for their girls gatherings, princess parties for the kids, and get-togethers.

I love it! I am grateful. As much as I dreamed of these things, I really never envisioned this. I always bring samples of my seasonings and spices with me on my private dinners. I want to get the word out. I want people to experience great tastes without developing health issues due to excess salt. I want people to experience Me. I want people to experience Land. Ground. and Sea.

Chef Q, 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 originally got into cooking via non-profit. I was a thief. I stole. I felt like food and serving was my “punishment.” I stopped stealing and started giving back. I got into trouble and kicked out of college. 1 year later, after jail, I was feeding the homeless and learning how to cook at the same time. I met various celebrity chefs in Atlanta, at non-profits because they wanted go give back. I loved it and I hated it, but ultimately I felt like I would be “punished” more if I didn’t stick with it. I grew to love it. I later learned cooking was “in me.” My great grandmother, Granny, whom I love and miss dearly, owned a restaurant in Kentucky. I remember going home for the summer, Flint, Michigan. The absolute best food ever. I wish I could cook for Granny. The name, Infinite Catering Events, was chosen because of the infinite lengths we go through or would go through to please people. Infinite. “Limitless,” is our motto.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Superb customer service and presentation has helped to build my reputation. I always push for reviews. Coworkers from previous kitchens and restaurants has helped build my reputation. Some of the homeless population in Atlanta still calls me Chef. I love it. I love that feeling. I worked at three non-profits in Georgia. At two of those I actually taught culinary classes. I think that’s why most my clients are businesses in within the city. Get you some professional friends too, they always reach out for their employers functions and gatherings that require catering.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Customer service sells. Internal customer service is just as important as external customer service. Take care of your employees and staff. Pay people what they are worth plus a $1. I pay people like I would pay myself. It wasn’t always like that but I had to sit back one day and watch my staff. They multi-tasked, they did extra, they did things I didn’t ask them to do, and most importantly they finished strong. That’s important to me, following through and finishing strong. So I upped my pay per hour/per event. My staff excites me. I am very picky when it comes to hiring. My expectations are high.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.infinitecateringevents.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/infinitecateringevents
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/infinitecateringevents
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/infinitecateringevents
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/infinitecateringevents