Today we’d like to introduce you to S.T. Takvoryan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us S.T. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At the age of 14, I started working at my father’s restaurants during summer break. I fell in love with the whole complexity of the culinary industry. From the moment clients walked in, how their order was taken, prepared and served. At age of 16 I went straight into culinary school. At Le Cordon Bleu, I was introduced to techniques and cuisines unparalleled from what I had picked up from our restaurant’s kitchen. Eager to experiment and apply what I had learned, I went straight back into my father’s restaurant. After two years of trial and error, I founded Kitchen X catering company. “X” symbolized collaboration. I brought different cuisines and chefs that offered variety to our clients. We supplied bartenders, wait staff, and event production, pretty much the whole nine yards for putting together an event. 8 years passed and I learned a lot from the late nights, early mornings, and unexpected curveballs. I also built my client base from Sony PlayStation, Hulu, Netflix, and even a Prince at one point. Throughout all this I had developed a special friendship with a client (who is now my best friend) that had ordered catering from us quite a few times. Years went on and she ordered from us for her family gatherings, birthdays, special events and more. One day she asked me to do a tasting for her employer who was looking for a personal chef, something that I had never done before. So I went in, with no expectations, unaware of who I was cooking for, with the single thought that all I had to do was what I was most passionate about, cook. I got bombarded with orders left and right for every meal, and by the end of the night I couldn’t feel my legs. I found out the next day that the employer would like me to trial for a week. After cooking in that house for a week I finally got to meet my new and current client, Mariah Carey.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a tough 12 years. When I started catering I didn’t even have a kitchen. I would rent restaurant kitchens, use shared kitchens, or the one I hated most, pop up kitchens. There were times where I didn’t have enough events to maintain a steady workflow and income. However, the hardest obstacle had to be dealing with the circumstances I was in and making the best of whatever kitchen I could afford at the time to continue producing quality food.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
What sets us apart from other companies is the life that we bring to the event. From the handpicked staff, to the exquisite food, and the high standards we set for ourselves. The professionalism of our production team would leave guests in awe and in little to no time we would be back again catering with different themes and menus. We got known for our constant diversity and ability to accommodate to our client’s needs. Our clients would tell us what they have in mind and we would take that idea, magnify it times 10 and just have fun with it.
What were you like growing up?
I come from a close-knit family, so growing up I was taught the importance of family value and keeping the special bond throughout. This said, I was also around an environment where we had constant family gatherings, parties, and dinners and I got to truly see how amazing it is when everyone comes together. Personality wise, I’ve always considered myself to be a creative person. Any hobbies I had as a child had to do with music, entertainment, or anything that gave me an audience. Now cooking being my passion, I like to turn a table of food into a stage for people to gather around and enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Thats_Chef_S.T
- Twitter: Iamestee_ST
- Yelp: Kitchen X Catering
- Other: SnapChat: ST_Xgroup
