Heirloom Catering owners and brothers Luther and Ryan Cutchins are making a culinary name for themselves in Chattanooga through delicious, elegant caterings and their unique cooking classes.
"We have both been in the restaurant business for a number of years," said Luther Cutchins, who is now Heirloom Catering's general manager. "We have a really cool dynamic working together. Ryan is my best friend and vice versa. The opportunity to put together our own business arose and we jumped at it."
Heirloom Catering owners and brothers Ryan and Luther Cutchins, from left, cater events and offer specialty cooking classes.The brothers opened Heirloom Catering six months ago and chose to renovate an old food court station in Eastgate Town Center to use as their commercial kitchen. They provide catering services of all kinds, in all styles and with every level of service, including arranging flower deliveries and ice sculptures for events.
The brothers said they focus on using local produce from area farms and supporting businesses in Chattanooga as much as possible. Luther Cutchins noted that they don't use unrecyclable Styrofoam.
"I love catering and I have been doing it for so many years," said Ryan Cutchins, who went to culinary school at Culinard in Birmingham, Ala., and spent several years traveling and cooking around the world, on cruise ships and in Hawaii. "There are a lot of restaurants that offer catering, but they don't do what we do. There aren't that many who are just caterers."
The Cutchins brothers also host cooking classes every Thursday night at 7 p.m. for up to eight students who must register ahead of time. Each class follows a specific theme and the brothers design a menu according to that theme, whether it is sushi, pasta or some other cooking style or technique. They give hands-on lessons on how to cook and prep food as it would be done in a restaurant kitchen.
After the meal is prepared guests can relax and enjoy the dishes, wine and each other's company. The cooking class is $95 per participant, which includes the lesson as well as wine and dinner afterward.
Ryan Cutchins said it is often a popular date-night event as well as a good teamwork exercise for business workers or a family night out.
"We don't really have a niche - we do all of it," Luther Cutchins said. "There isn't really a style we can't do and do well."