A Full Plate

(Left to right) Kelli Cribb, Sarah Gore and Ndia Marlow

Sarah Gore

Take one part work ethic and a culinary arts degree from Johnson and Wales University, add the joy that happens when food brings people together, and combine it with a Southern girl who loves her hometown and has a whole lot of creativity.

Now finish with the support of family and friends, and a reputation for scrumptious food that spreads like wildfire, and you have the inevitable success of Chef Sarah Gore Events and Catering, and now Chef Sarah’s Market, both located a few miles outside of her beloved hometown, Whiteville.

After several years managing The Boundary House Restaurant in Calabash, Sarah opened her catering business in 2016, armed with three chafing dishes. It quickly grew, and in 2018, she and her father, David Gore, who serves as Board President for Supply-based Brunswick EMC, converted a section of his business warehouse into a full commercial kitchen. Business was booming — and then Covid hit.

I’m just a homegrown girl, trying to work hard, be a good person and enjoy what I’m doing.

“I was flying to Vegas for a catering convention the weekend before everything shut down and booked eight caterings on that flight,” Sarah remembers. “Then everything stopped, and I realized I had to do something. My special pimento cheese and chicken salad was popular, so I posted on Facebook that it was available for pre-order and pickup. The response was huge — so much that I had to add two commercial refrigerators.” People suggested she offer full meals for pickup. She did, the first week selling 40, the next week selling 250. “From there it just grew organically, until there was no need to pre-order.”

Chef Sarah’s Market opened in August of last year, offering everything from shrimp and grits and pulled pork to smothered chicken, meatballs marinara and crab cakes. There’s a freezer section too, with selections that are created especially to freeze well, like made-from-scratch lasagna and meatloaf.

“We have some staples, but we’re always trying new things,” Sarah says. “I have a wonderful, very talented team. We don’t cook from recipes; we cook like we cook at home for family and friends. We cook with love, and we can tell when it’s just right. We get to know our customers like family. If someone has a food allergy, we’ll make something special just for them. We love what we do, and enjoy the process.”

If all this care and expertise sounds expensive, it’s not. The family-style meals cost around $10 per person. The catering side of the business is still going gangbusters as well, with weddings, corporate events and private dinners.

“It’s the personal small town touch that means so much. I love Whiteville, it’s where my heart is, and this whole area is special, that’s why I had to try to make it work here,” Sarah says, who has trained as far away as Florence, Italy, but first fell in love with cooking thanks to her dad and grandmother (Ma-Ma). “I’m just a homegrown girl, trying to work hard, be a good person and enjoy what I’m doing. If it’s someone’s wedding, I treat it like it’s my own. It’s more than food, it’s all about the people we’re serving and their experience.”

Chef Sarah’s Market
791 Pleasant Plains Church Road, Whiteville
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

 

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Chef Sarah Gore Events & Catering
sarah@chefsarahgore.com
or 910-840-3362 Facebook.com/chefsarahgore
chefsarahgore.com