We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Donovan Garcia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Donovan, appreciate you joining 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.
Problem solving, it all comes back to the colorful task of problem solving. Growing up in the small town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania my upbringing was focused completely around sports. Hoop group top 100 basketball athlete & Junior rank football All-American accolades translated into the thought that my future would be filled with practices & drills. Hard work & dedication became some of the strongest values instilled in me I later used as resources. The only problem I saw was that the desire to continue to prove my self through sports was slowly starting to fade away. My attempt in solving that feeling called for me to step away from the daily routine involving sports & think about life with other things i have to offer. My work on the food industry began as early as the age of 13 working in the food & beverage department of our local amusement park Dutch Wonderland. As cool as I tried to be during those times I could not deny the fact that I took so much pride in preparing great food & seeing the satisfaction in the customers faces after trying. People quickly began to point out food tasting better & experiences being more enjoyable only when I’m on duty. That type of encouragement was exactly what I needed to expand my culinary interests, being the reason I continued to work in the food industry ever since. I even worked multiple Jobs at one time just to gain multiple skill sets simultaneously.
Fast forward to 2018 I moved here to Atlanta, Ga simply looking for a change of pace & scenery. Still uncertain of exactly how I could make the impact I deeply wanted to make. Over the years my resume had grown strong enough to land me some pretty important jobs in Atlanta that began to help shape my blueprint for the company I am running today. Learning how to toss doe at pizza shops, learning true essentials for preparing Italian cuisine working for authentic Italian restaurants. Working as apart of a crew in 5 star restaurants, training for high level fast pace execution & presentation. Amongst other lessons these experiences gave me the qualifications to believe in continuing these skills under my own umbrella.
My company Everybody Eats Atlanta is one of the most unique catering companies in the world, with versatility being our strong suite. We specialize in VIP catering however that would have never have been possible without the networking & amazing service provided at my Drop & Chop Food Stand where we sell Atlanta’s now #1 soul food eggrolls offering 60 different eggroll choices.
The soul food eggroll recipes started in my grandmother Grace Culbreth’s kitchen. She in fact called them Jazzrolls back then, with each eggroll options containing a different soul food recipe inside & titled after famous jazz musician to honor them for the inspiration.
The size of my recipe portfolio became so big over the years I thought I’d be cool to bring back her soul food eggroll ideal & turn her 10 different flavors into 60!
These eggrolls became my networking strategy while setting up shop at different locations throughout Atlanta Midtown & Buckhead areas, allowing me to meet many prestigious people, business owners, & celebrities.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Hello I am Donovan Garcia but a simple Chef Don will suffice. I am a well experienced gourmet chef at the forefront of introducing 5 star soul food. I provide VIP catering services and typically deal with everything between casual & upscale dining. My company Everybody Eats Atlanta aims to be the provider for a one of a kind dining experience on a global level with outstanding reviews & I believe we’re definitely right on track.
Allow me to take to you back in time for a moment to 2020. I spent time working expanding my knowledge of meat & seafood carving & cleaning as a butcher at the neighborhood Kroger in Tucker, Ga.
Giving my self a short break from being inside the kitchen, I supplied meals to coworkers from time to time but still unclear as to if I wanted to continue to cook professionally.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed working at the meat counter temporarily & engaging with different individuals, treating each interaction as a networking opportunity still. Over the next few months I’ve met thousands of different people all in different lines of work. I was still pretty uncertain as to exactly what my next move would be.
Things didn’t really change for me until this one day I met a really cool dude named Chef Way, who took the time to show me the true longevity in the gift of cooking, & positives of entrepreneurship that outweigh any negative in my opinion.
Information like that began to weigh heavy on my mind as I pieced together the blueprint for Everybody Eats Atlanta. I really commend this guy because not only did he plant the seed, he would stop by from time to time to see how serious I was about it & if I need any help starting off in the right direction. Some things you don’t expect from a stranger which is why I want to take the time to express the level of humility I was shown.
Moving forward, the pandemic happened causing a lot of changes in the world and I was not left out of them. I saw the opportunity to go with the flow of change and started my company Everybody Eats Atlanta.
Knowing how to prepare gourmet food wasn’t the problem, finding someone to cook for was. I figured the fastest way to get people to to try a wide variety of different foods I can prepare was to reinvent my grandmothers creation & put all of my favorite meals inside of eggrolls. Beginning the era for Soul Food Eggrolls.
I quickly saw my recipes catching fire on social media. All of the top influencers in the cooking industry have attempted some of my creations & just seeing that type of influence has been the most amazing experience so far. From peach cobbler, buffalo chicken, jerk chicken, raspberry cheesecake & many other recipes, the idea of putting them inside the eggrolls started with Everybody Eats Atlanta.
The high profile support was definitely one of the most important factors in the growing the business. The fact that I was able to follow up with all of the great reviews by continuing to provide extraordinary food helped staple Everybody Eats Atlanta as a brand that people can trust with the safety of their food, as well as the pleasure of satisfaction & an enjoyable, respectable experience every time we’re hired.
The food stand has become its own entity at this point and I allow residential complexes, event gatherings, nightclubs, birthday parties & more have the ability to book & reserve the soul food eggroll food stand to provide fresh hot soul rolls on demand.
God has now blessed me with a booked schedule week after week, allowing me to do what I love in the most impressive ways possible, expressing my creativity, while encouraging those around me to do the same.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Honesty goes a long way, & I believe that is the engine for my growing clientele base.
The best part about what I have to offer is I don’t have to lie about it. There’s no catchy scheme I spend time practicing. It all starts with pure energy. I simply have to talk to people & let them know what I do. The coolest part of my job is when I watch my clients clear their plate & tell me they were able to enjoy everything I described. I am constantly told that the shock value is in the fact that my clients are surprised that they can depend on me for such great quality at all times exactly how I offer them. It’s unfortunate that’s what makes me so rare, however I’ll take pride in that truth everyday.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
I am a chef that loves to collaborate with other chefs, companies, & people in general because I’m all about creativity & that is definitely an area where the saying “ 2 minds are better than 1” is true.
No matter how many people you may have on you team. I believe the true key is to have everyone on the same page when prioritizing, or organizing a list of importance. Once that is established, communication is the glue that keeps it all together. Simply said we must remain on the same page. And if that comes first pride cannot. Ego cannot come first. The ability to listen must be sharp. The ability to produce must match. When these things are in sync there is no limit to where your team can truly go.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @EverybodyEatsAtlanta @HonchoMusicWorld
- Facebook: Everybody Eats Atlanta/ Chef Don
- Linkedin: Everybody Eats Atlanta
Image Credits
Chef Don Garcia