Chef Serge Krikorian and his wife, Mary, started Dinner’s Ready Catering 19 years ago. Having catered 1000s of events over the years as Dinner’s Ready, they launched Vibrant Occasions Catering, a new name that more accurately depicts the level of food and service provided at your weddings and social events. Now, corporations are enjoying the elegance of Southern Hospitality with their Our Mobile Kitchen and fans are enjoying sensational recipes on “Cooking with the Kriks” on YouTube. https://vibrantoccasionscatering.com/
FMM: You have been in the catering restaurant/catering business since 2002. This is very impressive. Tell us about your background.
I met my wife, Mary, while in college back in the 1980s. We decided to get our graduate degrees so that we could open our own business. I got my MBA, and she got her law degree. When we started looking for a business to own, the only thing we could afford was a carryout and delivery pizza business. We built that business into the top 1% in the nation for independent pizza restaurants. In the mid-1990s, while watching our son’s baseball games, one of the moms asked if we could cater a lunch for her, and we said yes, even though we had no experience in catering. Our catering business exploded to the point that we eventually shut down our pizza restaurant to focus on catering. Today, we are one of the largest catering organizations in Arkansas, specializing in weddings and large parties.
FMM: With your Southern Hospitality and penchant for developing unique recipes and sauces, you launched Vibrant Occasions Catering. Tell us more.
I was born and raised in Lebanon and traveled extensively in my youth to various countries around the world. I developed a passion for great food. When I moved to the US, I landed in Arkansas, where my wife taught me about Southern Cuisine. I then began to meld my international flavors with her Southern flavors over the years to create a fusion cuisine that our clients really love and appreciate.
FMM: How is your business a family affair?
Our business is truly a family affair as both I and my wife, Mary, work full time for the business, and all three of our sons, Matthew, Brian, and Justin, worked in the business growing up and continue to come and help when we need it. Our niece, Leah, is our Director of Sales and Marketing and is also one of our Event Producers. My Director of Food and Beverage Distribution, Michelle, has been with us for over 10 years, and her daughter, Katelyn, is our Catering Manager. All three of her sons have worked for us over the years as well. Both of my parents helped us after retiring from their primary careers, and Mary’s mom helped us when we had the pizza restaurant.
FMM: Your elegant cuisine can be seen at weddings and special events. Can you share a few memorable occasions?
I keep saying that I am going to write a book about all of the things that I have seen, heard, and had to do at weddings, but honestly, I don’t think anyone would believe half of it. There was the time that we were at an outdoor wedding, and during the ceremony, the power went off. None of the wedding party was aware because they were outside. I had my wife bring my personal generator, and we hooked it up and were able to get lights in the venue, music from the DJ, and power for the catering. No one but us, the DJ, and the venue owners knew what was going on until the bridal party was leaving and the power came back on. They thought it was just romantic lighting.
Our goal at any event is to make sure that if something goes wrong, and inevitably something will eventually go wrong, that no one is negatively impacted by it. We work with the other vendors, and they work with us to make sure that if any of us has an issue, we pull together to make sure that we resolve it before it affects our clients.
Shrimp and Grits Blackened wild-caught gulf shrimp and spicy browned butter corn relish over cheesy stone-ground grits.
FMM: What do you bring to the table that no other Chef can?
What I bring to the table that no other Chef can is the extraordinary group of men and women who work with me. I have the most amazing team of professionals who work so hard to make sure that every event we cater is as flawless as humanly possible. From our culinary team with their amazing palates who work with the freshest ingredients available to my catering staff who organize, pack, transport, set up, and serve our clients and their guests to our back of house staff who keep us all on track and moving in the same direction. I could be the greatest chef in the world, but without my team, I would not be able to produce the kind of events that we are known for.
Tell us about your popular show, “Cooking with the Kriks” on YouTube.
Cooking with the Kriks started when my middle son, Brian (who never met a camera he didn’t love), and I decided to do a cooking demonstration and put it on YouTube. Brian has a passion for making pizzas and intends to reopen our carryout and delivery pizza business with his updated take on our pizzas. The reaction we received to that first episode was so positive that we started bringing in local celebrities and asking them what dishes they would like to learn how to make and then teaching them how to make them. Things that I take for granted that everyone should know how to do, like slicing a bell pepper, are not necessarily things the general public knows, and they love to learn new cooking skills.
FMM: Community is important to you. Tell us about your local favorite guests.
It’s hard to pick a favorite guest because so many of them were friends before they came on our show. Nick Gann with Gann Family Farms has been selling me fresh-laid eggs, chickens, and beef for years for my personal use at home. Tanarah Haynie and Steven Beradesca with Tanarah Luxe Floral have been providing beautiful floral arrangements at several of the weddings we catered through the years. We work at least one wedding every weekend with Joe Snell and JoAnna Perry with Central Arkansas Entertainment. Sarah Heer with Arkie Travels did our Social Media advertising for a very long time. And we have made new friends who have graciously agreed to come on our show and learn a new recipe to cook at home.
FMM: What delicious favorites do you have lined-up for the Fall?
Right now, I have two new favorite dishes that I am really excited to roll out in the fall. The first is a Cuban Mojo, a citrus-marinated pork butt that is braised until fork-tender and served with a mojo sauce (similar to the pork in the sandwiches Jon Favreau made out of a food truck in the movie, Chef). My second new favorite is a Truffle Cream Sauce made with asiago cheese and truffle oil. It’s great with a grilled steak or spooned over cheese ravioli.
FMM: Tell us about Our Mobile Kitchen. Why is it a local favorite?
Our Mobile Kitchen has been a bucket list item for many years, so we could travel farther with our catering and prepare items onsite. When Covid hit, we did a pivot with the Kitchen to open it as a food truck. The flavors of the Kitchen are representative of my passion for fusion cuisine with menu items like Mediterranean Chicken and Beef Bulgogi.
The Kitchen also allows us to go to big corporate events and provide a Covid-safe serving style that is outside and not confined to closed indoor spaces.
The Kitchen is doing exactly what it was intended to do: it is catering weddings in locations that we would not have otherwise been able to cater. Last year, we did three weddings at private ranches, and this year, we have booked numerous weddings outside our old delivery area because we can now guarantee fresh, hot food to places that we couldn’t reach before.
FMM: Please share your social media handles.
Vibrant Occasions Catering
Facebook: Facebook.com/VibrantOccasionsCatering
Instagram:@VibrantOccasionsCatering
YouTube:Youtube.com/c/CookingwiththeKriks
Pinterest: Pinterest.com/VibrantOccasionsCatering
Our Mobile Kitchen
Facebook: Facebook.com/OurMobileKitchen
Instagram: @OurMobileKitchen
Dinner’s Ready Express Catering
Facebook: Facebook.com/DinnersReadyExpressCatering
Chef Serge Krikorian
Facebook: Facebook.com/ChefSergeKrikorian
Instagram: @ChefSergeKrikorian
Vivlio Photography:https://vivliophoto.com/
