If you’ve been to a privately catered party and thought, “I wish I could buy some of that food at a store,” your wish has come true.
Cindy Krag opened her retail store, Cindy Krag Gourmet To Go, May 31st in Germantown, across the street from Cindy Krag Catering.
“I love good food,” says Krag, 64. “I love entertaining. I love wine. This shop is like a food boutique. You can get things to entertain. You can get lunch to go.”
Krag also specializes in “good homemade casserole” take-outs. “We do the pasta, ravioli, Bolognese Alfredo, homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese.” Customers purchasing casseroles leave with a free baguette made by D&R Bakery in Cordova.
And don’t forget the bread-and-butter gifts; Krag offers pottery and other gift items at her shop. “You can get a ‘happy’ for someone,” she says.
A native of Fayette County, Krag’s earliest cooking memories include watching her great-grandmother make chicken and dumplings. She jumped in and began making cakes and pies when she was 8 years old.
“I have taken cooking classes all over. I absolutely adore it. I love the presentation. I love getting it ready. I tell my clients, ‘You see it with your eyes first. And then it goes right in.’”
Krag got into catering at 30 after helping a friend open a catering business. “I helped her for a year and then decided to open my own.” Before that she worked in customer service for Maybelline and in the travel section at American Express, but she continued taking cooking classes. “I had them in Italy, Greece, Paris,” she says.
Finally, her husband told her, “I think you need to open your own business.”
Her catering customers can choose from “all kinds of food,” Krag says. “We do American, Italian, Hispanic. The only thing I don’t do is Indian.
“We do classic menus. Foods that never get dull. We might change the sauce on it.”
She served her own style of meatballs at the recent open house party for The Kent. “Years ago, you did grape jelly. Now you have to get creative to reinvent it.”
Krag, whose events include weddings, showers, and open houses, also does “move-ins” for new homeowners. “We bring food and a blanket and everything you need for that dinner for your first night in your home.”
She became co-owner of Wolf River Cafe in Rossville, Tennessee, which serves “home-cooked meals,” eight years ago. Krag provides food, but she doesn’t work in the restaurant’s kitchen. “They sell my chicken salad and pimento cheese.”
Krag was thinking about opening a retail store when she noticed the space she’s now in was about to be vacated. “I saw the girls moving out of this building. I ran over here.”
Her idea? “I think some people do not want to hire a caterer for everything. They have their own dishes they love. They just need someone to complement what they are serving. So I’m opening a gourmet shop.
“I would rather try a business and say, ‘I didn’t make it,’ instead of ‘What if I could have or should have?’”
She also wants to offer cooking classes. “I have so many brides that don’t know how to cook. We’re going to offer couples cooking classes.”
Krag, who is raising two grandchildren, has future plans. “My goal is to have a bed-and-breakfast in Italy. That would be the true goal down the road. I just got dual citizenship for Italy.”
When that happens, Krag will continue to operate her current businesses.
“I love Southern gracious food. You just can’t get any better … beef tenderloin, fried chicken. I think Southern mashed potatoes, always.” And, Krag adds, “I want people to enjoy entertaining. I want them to enjoy the graciousness of Southern life. And I’m giving you all the tools to make that happen.”
Cindy Krag Gourmet To Go is at 7511 Queens Court, #2, Germantown;
(901) 512-6600.
