There are a few people in my orbit who also enjoy and understand the intricacies of creating a colorful and balanced charcuterie board. I was working on a project at the time and invited her to eat lunch with me down in the Strip. But her mission was bigger than food — it was about healing as a community.
Though that project never came to fruition, I still felt inspired by her and hoped to run into her again, which I did within a week or two at a local brewery. And now I get to have this wonderful human back in my life, if only through an exchange of emails. Indeed in making the acquaintance of all the caterers featured here, I came to understand that their missions and their passions run deeper than just food.
Blanket & Board
blanketandboard.com
Tierra Thorne began her career as a social worker but found herself compelled by the isolation of the pandemic and the tragic, racially charged events that occurred during that time — particularly the murder of George Floyd — to create a new space for health and healing. That was the fuel behind Blanket & Board’s launch four years ago.“Throughout my life and career, I've observed time and again how shared meals can serve as the perfect setting for breaking down barriers and encouraging open, heartfelt dialogues,” Thorne says.
The meals Thorne creates for her clients, and the experiences not only with food but with Thorne’s rentable double-decker bus are nothing short of inspiring. Thorne’s colorful menu is centered around sustainability and environmental impact. Each board she creates is seasonal, using locally sourced ingredients that also support area producers and farms.
Constantly looking for better ways to serve their clients, Blanket & Board will launch a new membership model and will announce the details of this new service on their Instagram page next month. Thorne and her team are also planning several pop-up events around Pittsburgh in the coming months.
In the long term, Thorne hopes to start an entrepreneurial mentorship program for middle school-aged girls and a nutrition education program for elementary-aged children.
House of Soul Catering
203 Whitaker St., Munhall. houseofsoulcateringllc.com
Kamahlai “Kay” Stewart thought it was a joke when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey’s team invited her to appear on the second season of Next Level Chef. But when she realized that it was very much real, Stewart jumped at the opportunity. And while she was thrilled to be chosen to fly to London to compete on the show, the timing wasn’t quite right. She stayed and slayed, but not for long. Stewart had just had a baby and also had a young son at home.“I learned from the experience,” says Stewart, stating that she would have liked to be in a position to give it her all.
However, her family and her business were already expanding, and she soon opened Top Tier Venues in Swissvale, a customizable events space, as a complement to House of Soul. Stewart grew up in the D.C. area, often facing food insecurity. Part of her mission with House of Soul was to feed people facing those same needs through her Bless to Feed the Needy program. Stewart’s can’t-miss soul food also fills the bellies of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the mayor’s office.
One day, Stewart hopes to franchise House of Soul, open a five-star restaurant, and become a household name.
3 Yellow Roses
236 East Jefferson St., North Side. 3yellowrosespersonalchefandcat.com
“Starting a business from scratch is tough. Starting a business from scratch in my 50s has been downright scary,” laments Robin Dolphin, the talented chef whose nutritious and colorful meals have been popping up at venues such as Trace Brewing. These collaborations, along with her entrepreneurial roots and her love of food, keep her going through tough seasons.Dolphin began working as a personal chef part-time before 2020, but the pandemic pushed her into focusing on 3 Yellow Roses full-time. Her personal chef offerings, reflected by her many years working with customers' strict dietary restrictions, have always focused on her clients’ nutritional needs, many of whom have health conditions. And she switches gears to cater large events, creating new and exciting dishes. While Dolphin’s success is purely attributed to her drive, her entrepreneurial spirit runs in her blood. Her grandfather, Bill Delaney, owned the first Black-owned car dealership in Pittsburgh. Dolphin has always been inspired by her family, including her mother and grandchildren — the inspiration behind her 3 Yellow Roses logo — and her husband, local jazz legend Dwayne Dolphin.
Dolphin’s culinary creations are truly unique, from freshly baked bread and flavored butter boards to perfectly cooked seafood, to bright island-inspired flavors, and more.
The Savor the Flavor Experience
facebook.com/people/The-Savor-the-Flavor-experience
Kenneth Strother greets new clients and old friends with a warm smile as he gets ready to cook something wonderful. Strother grew up in the Hill District and knew he wanted to become a chef while watching his great-great-grandmother create delicious meals for the whole family.
Strother considers himself an “artist” rather than a chef, blending flavors and colors inspired by soul food and Jamaican cuisine. Even as a U.S. Navy cook in the early '90s, he felt compelled to expand and grow his art. When he left the Navy, Petra International Ministries offered to help him launch his culinary vision. He started selling his creations on Smallman St. in the Strip District before finding a brick-and-mortar location in Homewood.
Strother works with his clients offering a “no ceiling” menu. “Breakfast can be all day every day, or one person can enjoy eggs and the other steak and lobster.” In August, Strother began working out of Scotty’s Market in Oakland, offering students a wide variety of fresh foods they had not, until recently, had access to.
Strother has also been offered a catering partnership between The Savor the Flavor Experience and Salem’s Market in the Hill District, returning to his roots.
Darnella Darling Delights
darnelladarlingdelightsllc.com
The first time I met Darnella Murray, she was delivering boxes of colorful cupcakes, pound cakes, and individually sliced cheesecakes to a restaurant in the Strip. It wasn’t her “delights” that caught my attention as much as her smile, which beamed with joy even under a mask. Murray, a single mom, described her launch into mom-trepreneurship as “inspiration from God,” and has since grown her business and her portfolio of unique desserts. Murray’s celebrated cupcakes even landed her a spot on The Cooking Channel’s Carnival Eats last summer, just after acquiring her food truck, the pinnacle of her growth thus far.
Delivering a smooth performance on Carnival Eats, Murray baked cupcakes on camera with candied bacon and potato chips folded into the batter and topped with buttercream, sprinkles, extra bacon and chips, and a chunk of peach cobbler cheesecake. Darnella Darling Delights offers an array of delicious treats, yet the cupcakes are her signature, often topped with cereal, hand-made animal shapes, whole cookies, edible glitter, cake pops, or gummy worms. Her catering clientele — including Magee Women’s Hospital, several local drag shows, and Barrel and Flow — are obsessed with her style.
