Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Bissel.
Hi Andrew, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m from New Orleans, and my first cooking job was at an outback steakhouse. One week after I got the job, hurricane Katrina hit. Shortly after we returned from evacuating, outback re-opened and was the only restaurant open in the entire parish (county). We were doing $40,000 worth of food in 8 hours every day. We were the busiest outback in the world.
The normal busiest one is in Vegas and is open 24/7. This was before the digital tickets, so every ticket was handwritten and dropped in a bowl for the kitchen. That was incredibly stressful and majorly overwhelming, but nothing could have been better training in how to thrive under pressure. Most caterers can’t handle the stress of doing one wedding, but we thrive on it! We have done 10 weddings in one day and got all 5-star reviews.
After being trusted with hundreds of weddings we have only received 5-star reviews on our food. We’ve only received two 3 star reviews and it was a couple that had gotten married, they started the review off by saying the food was delicious and we were on time but they thought that servers were included in the $10 per person menu. During this past month of October, we averaged 6 weddings per Saturday along with and about 15 per week. From there, I went on to work at a couple of different restaurants including Zea’s in Lafayette Louisiana. Zea’s is a 4-star restaurant and I learned a lot from them.
I met a girl from Tennessee and moved up to Knoxville. I worked for a restaurant that was also a catering company and that’s when I found my calling. The problem with most caterers is that they are a restaurant first and everyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows that there is always a problem that needs to be handled, and then catering gets put on the back burner. I wanted to start Bissel Catering to focus just on catering and never become a restaurant.
That is another part of what sets us apart from most other caterers. We also do corporate and private events, but nothing compares to the stress of wedding catering.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When Covid hit, we were one of the only caterers to return all deposits, which really hurt us at the time. I’m happy to say that every one of them eventually re-booked with us.
As you know, we’re big fans of Bissel Catering. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are a local family-owned and run business. We have perfected the menus we advertise, and the attention to detail separates us because my name is on this business and I take a lot of pride in everything we do. We love to help our community and in October 2016 we donated over a metric ton of food to Karm downtown.
We have other services that we don’t advertise because it depends on the amount of people.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Don’t stray from what got you to where you are.
Pricing:
- Base Menu $10 per person
Contact Info:
- Email: bisselcatering@gmail.com
- Website: Bisselcatering.com
- Instagram: @Bissel Catering
- Facebook: Bissel Catering
- Twitter: @BisselCatering
- Youtube: Bissel Catering Commercial
- Yelp: Bissel Catering
