Carlton's Journal

Bon Appetit Y’all by Carlton

Bon Appetit Y'all by CarltonAlthough Bon Appetit Y’all by Carlton, was officially launched on 1 July 2020, many of you would be surprised to know that Bon Appetit Y’all was actually birthed on 9/15/13. Yep…almost 7 years ago. Back then however, it wasn’t called Bon Appetit Y’all. It was actually named after my mother and called ‘Hilda Brewer Brown”. Ironically enough, during that period I was also the co-owner of “Hilda’s…A Breakfast to Write Home About”, which was a breakfast brunch spot in the Irwin Street Market in the Old Forth Ward neighborhood of Atlanta GA. Read more…

Curbside Cuisines

Curbside CuisinesHey Guys I hope this finds you safe and well during these crazy times. It’s a challenging time for everyone as we face so many unknowns. As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we face challenges that are a bit different than others. Those of us in the catering and hospitality industry is particularly vulnerable and feeling the pressure as events and meetings get canceled during the pandemic. I asked myself, what I could do to help during this time. I want to be of service AND keep my business afloat. The answer I came up with is to help with the demand and need for home-delivered meals. You still have to eat and having delicious and tasty food during this time is very important. You and your loved ones have to stay healthy and fit. That being said, I’m launching a division of my company called "Curbside Cuisines". So many people are staying home and still have a desire to support their local business, so here’s a way for you to do just that. Read more…

Cheesecakes by Carlton debuts at a Fund Raiser

Cheesecakes by CarltonRecently I was honored to have been asked to participate in a fund-raiser for Lost-n- Found Youth. Lost-n-Found Youth is an Atlanta, Georgia -based organization that assists homeless LGBT youth. The organization, at the time of its 2011 founding was the "only organization actively taking Atlanta's LGBT homeless youth directly off the streets". Read more…

My Adventures at Tuck School of Business

Tuck School of BusinessI applied for, and was awarded a full scholarship to attend "Building a High-Performing Business" at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College this past November. My scholarship was due to the generosity of Tuck School of Business and Wells Fargo. Tuck is known for its distinctive educational model and the professors truly stood up to its reputation. Founded in 1900, the Tuck School was the first institution in the world to offer a master's degree in business administration. Read more…

Wedding at Crooked Oaks Farm, AL

Wedding CateringWe recently took the Occasional Occasions show on the road! We were honored to have catered a beautiful wedding in Auburn Alabama at Crooked Oaks Farm. Crooked Oaks Farm is a stunning wedding venue located just 20 minutes from Auburn, Alabama. The venue is located on a hunting preserve owned and operated by College Football Hall of Fame Coach Pat Dye. The venue was full of nostalgic memorabilia and if you were an Auburn fan, you really felt home. This was not the first time that we had catered an event out of town, but it was the first time we were in the position to bring all of our own equipment. I took many of my A-Team to the event with me. The road trip was a time for us to laugh, tell jokes and just bond. We rented a 12 passenger Sprinter and hitched a trailer on the back. The venue, a covered outdoor space, was beautiful and the weather was special ordered for that day. My team did an incredible job, starting with my Chef Freddie and his team completing and delivering all of the food. Read more…

NGLCC Conference in Tampa Florida

NGLCC ConferenceRecently I attended the NGLCC (National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) Conference in Tampa Florida. The NGLCC conference is the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ and allied business leaders in the world, and it was attended by leaders from small businesses, major corporations, and chambers of commerce from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, and beyond! The energy and inclusiveness of the event were inspiring. But out of the many things that I experienced and saw, including attending some phenomenal classes and networking events, there was one thing that truly caught my attention and blew me away. Read more…

NGLCC Conference in Tampa Florida

Recently I attended the NGLCC (National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) Conference in Tampa Florida. The NGLCC conference is the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ and allied business leaders in the world, and it was attended by leaders from small businesses, major corporations, and chambers of commerce from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, and beyond! The focus of the conference was to garner introductions of LGBTE Certified companies with the Supplier Diversity teams of major corporations. We had the unheard-of opportunity to schedule a 15-minute matchmaking face to face meetings with many of these organizations. Read more…

LGBT Veteran Entrepreneur of the year 2019!

LGBT Veteran Entrepreneur of the year 2019Recently I attended the NGLCC (National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) Conference in Tampa Florida. The NGLCC conference is the largest gathering of LGBTQ+ and allied business leaders in the world, and it was attended by leaders from small businesses, major corporations, and chambers of commerce from around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, and beyond! While in attendance, it was such an honor to have been nominated and selected as one of the LGBT Veteran Entrepreneur of the year 2019 by the NaVOBA (The National Veteran-Owned Business Association). Read more…

Cooking with Chef Carlton

Cooking with Chef CarltonThe wait is over! Cooking with Chef Carlton (6 episodes) on AIB is airing weekly, and we couldn't be more excited to see our favorite Chef in action! Will you watch with us? Here's how: You can watch via https://aibtv.com/cookingwithcarlton/ in real time! AIB is also on Comcast 295 an on ATT-Uverse 6. The show premiered on July 17th, and the shows will run through August 21st. We will be sharing the recipes from each episode on our website "cookingwithchefcarlton.com" after each episode is the premiered. Read more…

Celebrating National Pride Month

Carlton BrownAs a proud member of the LGBT Community, Occasional Occasions by Carlton takes pride in being a member of the community making a difference. We are an LGBTE Business Enterprise recognized by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in the Atlanta market. I recently had the pleasure to speak briefly at the "Rise of the Rainbow Economy", AGLCC LGBT Business Summit Expo held at the Atlanta Marriott Northeast location. Read more…

CPCE Spotlight: Carlton Brown

Carlton Brown

I’m extremely honored to have been selected by the National Chapter of NACE (National Association of Catering and Events) for a nationally recognized CPCE Spotlight of my company. As one of the members of NACE Atlanta Chapter, our CPCE Spotlight is where professionals share their motivation behind earning their Certified Professional in Catering and Events … Read more…

Cooking with Chef Carlton

Carlton And Chef GarvinRecently I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the highly acclaimed… Chef G. Garvin. Acclaimed chef, cookbook author and TV host Gerry Garvin (aka G. Garvin) is most widely known for his television series, Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin, which ran for seven seasons on TV One. Garvin also appeared in a Cooking Channel special, Georgia Roadtrip with G. Garvin. He is America’s most down-to-earth chef, and his claim to fame is showing everyday cooks how to keep it simple with a Southern twist. Read more…

We just catered the freakin Super Bowl LIII Ya’ll

Superbowl LIIIIt was about 2 years ago when I first heard, that as a diverse certified company, there was possibly an opportunity of being selected as a catering vendor for the Super Bowl in Atlanta for 2019. The team that coordinated this effort of vendors (Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee) were seeking diverse companies to work with. Read more…

It’s a Slam Dunk!

slamdunkSo a funny (yet incredible) thing happened. I received a call from a catering company in DC. They were in search of a local catering company in the Atlanta market that they could partner with for an ongoing project. Amongst other achievements, this company provides in-flight meals for teams like… The Washington Wizards, The Sixers, Detroit Pistons, New York Rangers, The Sox, Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and so on, and so on, Well… long story short, they asked us… Read more…

Flea Market treasures

I was recently on a trip driving to Lexington Kentucky to spend a couple of days with my business coach and some of her other clients for a “work on your business” forum. If you hadn’t driven from Atlanta to Kentucky, it is really a beautiful and breathtaking drive. I wanted to stop several times just to take some incredibly gorgeous pictures, and to take in all of Gods glory. I was about 2 hours into my 5.5-hour trip, and I started to feel a little sleepy behind the wheel, so I figured I’d stop for a few minutes just to revive myself. So ½ hour further into my drive, I saw this sign that caught my attention, and I figured that this was a good enough excuse to stop and stretch my legs. Read more…

Thanksgiving Turkey Secret

Holiday TurkeyIf you’re looking for something a little different for your Thanksgiving dinner, consider our herb roasted turkey with chardonnay gravy. It is incredible. I’ll tell you a little secret that you can use in preparing your own turkey this season. I actually discovered this method by pure accident many years ago. My parents were coming to Atlanta for Thanksgiving many years ago when I just started trying to expand my cooking skills. Read more…

MARTA coming AT YA!

Marta CarltonRecently, I was accepted to participate in an open call pitch tank for MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rural Transit Authority) for their supplier diversity program. The presentation was awesome if I must say so myself! There were 10 companies pitching to Marta. Out of the 10, Marta was tasked with selecting the top 5 out of the group to move on to the next level of presenting. Each of the top 5 companies will have their company name, logo and headshot wrapped on a MARTA bus, as well as possibly receive a contract to work with MARTA. Read more…

Outsourcing…

So recently I went on a business trip. The airfare to my destination was outrageous, and it was only a 5.5-hour drive, so I decided to rent a car for the commute. I had booked my rental through Expedia about 30 days prior. My rental pick up time at the airport was 8:00 on a Sunday morning. What could go wrong with this scenario? Well, apparently A LOT. Read more…

NaVOBA and Capital One Announce the 2018 LGBT Veteran’s Business Enterprises® of the Year

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Honorable Mention: Carlton Brown, Occasional Occasions by Carlton “NaVOBA’s Veteran’s Business Enterprises® of the Year is a prestigious honor bestowed annually to an elite selection of America’s veteran business owners working as supplier partners to NaVOBA’s Corporate Allies.” “The Veteran’s Business Enterprises® of the Year demonstrate the finest attributes crucial in leading a flourishing business; … Read more…

The importance of feedback

A week ago, I went to a local tire and maintenance shop here in Atlanta for a routine oil change. I’ve taken my vehicles to this shop for close to 10 years, for minor maintenance work, and have been very satisfied with their services overall. Over the past year, I’ve noticed a difference in the quality of their work. I had been such a regular, that they knew me by name when I would come in. It wasn’t long before I realized that the lull in customer service and quality of work only happened when the long-time manager had been assigned to another location. Read more…

Small details make all the difference

The reputation of Occasional Occasions has been built not only on great food, creative presentation and outstanding staff members, but the base of our foundation has always been customer service, customer experience and attention to detail. Fast forward. Back in the Spring, I arrived in Las Vegas for my annual catering conference (Catersource) that I have been attending over the past several years. I attend this awesome show each year to get new ideas, learn new techniques, see new trends and to learn how to run my company better. Read more…

JSI Cabinetry Grand Opening Event

JSI Grand OpeningLast week we catered an event that we had been working on since 12 August of 2017. It was a showroom grand opening for JSI Cabinetry. The making of this event was full of twist and turns and rescheduled opening dates, but it finally came to fruition, and oh did it produce grand fruit. The showroom was gorgeous, and I can understand now why the date was postponed. It was to reveal a showroom that was truly stellar. My contact there was coordinating the completion of the showroom and the event from her office in Fall River Ma. In designing the menu, we went through several menu concepts starting with a grand cocktail reception, to multiple action stations. Read more…