Owning a bridal and tuxedo store that is open 7 days a week, we don’t get out much. One of our favorite hobbies though is (good) food so we try to enjoy some as often as possible.

We are members of Chaine des Rotisseurs which is the oldest and largest food and wine society in the world. We cherish the friends we have made and experiences from these events. Our local chapter is called Delaware Valley Chaine.

Getting together with our Chaine friends has certainly been challenging under COVID-19. The group has gotten creative and one evening, we had a Zoom wine tasting and dinner. During more informal discussions at the end of dinner, we were chatting with Chef Joseph Koye, a Delaware Valley Chaine professional member, and learned more about his catering business.

His company is called Wild Blue Creative Catering, Inc. and is located in King of Prussia, PA.

We receive a lot of requests for recommendations for caterers and restaurants from brides and grooms for their weddings, rehearsals dinners and bridal showers. We have experienced Chef Koye’s wonderful cooking at several Chaine events and we can say his flavors and execution are phenomenal.

These are especially challenging times for everyone. The restaurant and catering industries have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, making it very difficult for many to earn a living.

The spring and summer canceled most every wedding we had booked. Some couples moved their date out to 2021, some opted for the “minimony” at home with just a few guests. Some did both. Either way, our industry was hit very hard.

The autumn wedding season is typically much busier than summer, and it looks like some who chose to ride this out with their fingers crossed may just have their day… although that could easily come crashing down last minute as we experienced over the spring and summer.

If you find yourself in a ‘pickle’, Chef Koye is the one to call. Wild Blue can go full mobile operations off site with refrigerated trucks, convection ovens, fryers, portable sink units, tents, power supplies, etc. and they travel!

When we learned what Chef Koye was doing to help others, we felt compelled to feature him in one of our blogs. His creativity, generosity, and kindness struck us – especially when many were simply trying to figure out how to survive during the pandemic. He was out there making a difference.

His catering company is ready to serve your wedding or special events and has the experience and facilities to do so.

Enjoy this intimate interview we did with Chef Koye and please support your local chefs, caterers and restaurants when you can.

How did you get into the catering business?

As a Chef, I worked in many different aspects of the food service industry, restaurants and country clubs. I then moved over to the food industry giants, Nestle & Unilever, as a chef/sales consultant. After a while, the kitchen life was calling me back, but rather than a restaurant I chose catering to have more quality time with my young family versus the constant grind of a restaurant operation.

Where is your facility located and tell us a little bit about your location?

Our location is considered a commissary kitchen, which is an exceptionally large commercial kitchen without a dining room. Social distancing is no problem in this kitchen. We can and have handled events from a family of 4 to over 10,000 from our kitchen. Wild Blue can go full mobile operations off site with refrigerated trucks, convection ovens, fryers, portable sink units, tents, power supplies, etc.

What type of events do you cater?

We cater whatever the client wishes. We focused on larger events such as corporate and club outings, weddings, grand openings and events at the King of Prussia Mall. We are willing to travel for our clients, which leads to many events in unique locations at the Jersey Shore, the Chesapeake and elsewhere. For us – anything goes.

Tell us about some fun or interesting weddings that you have catered?

Some of the styles of events and meals we have created have included: food action stations as a tour of the bride & groom’s travels of the world, vegan & carnivore stations, and plated meals onto family’s heirloom china.

We’ve also created some intriguing themed events and meals: Boardwalk Empire, beer centric, wine focused, Jamaican barefoot pool party, cowboy chuckwagon BBQ, pig roasts, brunch, circus themes and many more.

Some of the most interesting have been unusual blended family menus: Kenyan/Ukrainian, Southern/French, British/Thai, Argentinian/Moroccan, Cajun/Kansas City.

Some of our catering locations have included: weddings on the beach, yacht clubs, on boats, farms, rodeo arena, armory, breweries, parks, country clubs, Boathouse Row, backyards, office buildings, historic sites, and museums.

Do you have advice for a bride and groom on devising a menu for their reception?

I always advise to have some of the foods your family loves to share with your friends. Let the menu reflect your personality. If you love fine dining or casual comfort foods, we can make it for you. I don’t want anyone feeling locked into any menu items on your special day. You like what you like. Think whether you like Coke vs Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Fanta, Fresca, Club Soda, Fresh squeezed Juice to drink.

What have you been doing during the COVID-19 lockdown?

We have been cleaning and organizing during the downtime. In addition, Wild Blue’s Team is the Culinary 911 team for many assisted living facilities in the area. We took over a facility that had many staff go down with C-19 and had to quarantine the rest for 18 days. We came in, sanitized the space, and picked up while their team recovered. We then had to lockdown and quarantine ourselves for two weeks afterwards. We understood there was a definite risk present but wanted to assist. We are still on call for other facilities.

Tell us about your “Ghost” Restaurant concept and what it involves

We have started a “Ghost” Restaurant, which is a restaurant kitchen that does takeout only, no dining room. We are working with Philadelphia area chef friends who have other restaurants that have distinct challenges of their own during the coronavirus. One that is in the works is June BYOB, from Passyunk Avenue in Philadelphia. They are a young couple. He’s the chef and she’s a sommelier. They just opened in August 2019. We are going to have them do a pop up in King of Prussia as their launching point for food, maybe even do a Chaîne event where we deliver the food and wine. We will provide cooking and heating instruction for a virtual event.

Tell us about Wild Blue Creative Catering’s collaboration with Slurp Ramen.

Slurp Ramen is a food truck where they can pull up and park outside and people can pick up or get deliveries from here at Wild Blue. We are collaborating with Chef Dru Scheidell who has a world class pedigree as well cooking at Commander’s Palace, Hotel Del Coronado, Ritz Carlton, The Fountaine Bleu and as Eric Ripert’s Chef de Cuisine.

What are your plans for this Fall and beyond?

We are adding some very special Fall comfort food to our lineup. We are adding southern comfort food to our Ghost Kitchen with BBQ from our ole Hickory BBQ pit. In addition, we are offering other autumn comfort foods such as mac & cheese, elevated meatloaf, braised beef short rib, boursin mashed potatoes, and Keto cauliflower low carb “potato” salad.

YES, PLEASE!

Chef Koye has us really excited for what he is creating and offering during these unusual times. Please support him and his staff and let him cater your special event.

With his added pick up and take out service, there are plenty of reasons to give Wild Blue Creative Catering a try.

Chef Koye and his staff can be reached for all of your wedding and special event catering needs at:

Wild Blue Creative Catering, Inc.

380 Crooked Lane, Suite 2, King of Prussia PA 19406

Telephone 610-272-7200