We recently connected with Patrick McCandless and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick , thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I first started the company in 2017, I was hosting small, intimate events where I invited interesting people I had met during my years as a chef across the country to be guest speakers, and I paired food & drinks to the topic of discussion (think TED Talks meets pop-up dinner). At the time, the name Rambler had a double meaning – someone “rambling” about their topic of expertise, while also roaming around the city and holding the events at different locations.

Over the years we continued to host larger events, and eventually pivoted to what the concept is now: crafting memorable, lasting experiences through both public culinary events and bespoke private events, utilizing live-fire cooking with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

Even though Rambler has evolved over time, the name still holds true today as we travel all over the country performing our unique live-fire events.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in a rural farm town in Indiana and started my culinary career at the age of 14, when a local restaurant in my hometown gave me my first job. Over the years, I deepened my curiosity for the craft and attended culinary school in Louisville, Kentucky. After graduating, I embarked on a journey of working and staging in kitchens throughout the US & Europe.

In addition to holding various chef positions at restaurants across the country, I have worked as a private chef in The Hamptons, a culinary consultant to restaurants and resorts, culinary liaison for tours and festivals, studied gastronomy in 12 countries including stints at smokehouses in Ireland and the Netherlands, and have been a guest chef at the famed James Beard House in NYC. I have also held multiple traveling chef positions performing hundreds of events working alongside Michelin starred and James Beard Awarded chefs.

After moving to Nashville in 2016, and becoming burnt out with the restaurant industry, I decided to create a concept that allowed me to be outdoors, immersed in nature, and work with my passion for live-fire cooking–while still being able to create unique meals for guests.

I felt that all the catering offerings in the area were basically the same, and I wanted to provide clients with a unique, upscale, restaurant-quality experience at their events. I built the concept to be fully mobile, allowing us to execute high-level dining experiences in remote locations without the need for additional infrastructure or resources.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like lots of others, we had to rethink our entire strategy in 2020 when COVID happened. Being in the event business during a time when people were not allowed to hold events (or even gather in groups) was rough. For a while there was nothing, and then slowly the only events that were allowed to be held in the Nashville area had to be outside. So we worked hard to be really good at it. This was the ultimate catalyst of the company becoming the concept that it is today.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

There are very few companies across the country doing what we are doing (especially no one in our area), so that really helps to set us apart from the competition and other caterers/event companies. Coming from the high-end restaurant world, I also think I bring a totally different perspective of can be done, and should be done, for culinary offerings at events & weddings.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ramblerevents.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rambler_events/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ramblerevents/

Image Credits

Wilde Company
Halterman Photography
Natalie Nicole Keeton