Local chef chooses to follow his dreams, opens catering company

When we were younger, we all had a “dream job” that we wanted to have for ourselves at some point in our adult lives. Some have gone on to actually find a career in their chosen line of work while others find themselves in not-so-ideal jobs or careers, and totally giving up on ever obtaining those “dream job” positions. 

Through the ups and downs, and the twists and turns of life, one local man has set out to create his dream job. Driven by his love and passion for cooking, Christopher Moore, owner of Chef Chris Catering, LLC, has made the leap into being an entrepreneur. 

Chef Chris Catering offers affordable fine dining fare, including lobster, steak, vegan, and fish dishes. (Photo: Chef Chris Catering)Born in Detroit, Moore moved to the city of Port Huron back in 2015.

“My wife is the reason I moved to Port Huron. She knew about Port Huron and I said, Well, I’ll think about it. We had just met and I wanted to have something going for myself, but she didn't care about any of that, and here we are,” says Moore. 

While employed at a local restaurant last year, Moore made the decision to take his passion for cooking and apply it to establishing his own business. It’s from that decision that Chef Chris Catering was born.

“What motivated me the most was to really create my own (thing), to be my own boss. When you work in kitchens, you can spend so much time there that it can begin to turn your passion into something you don't want it to be,” Moore says.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurants struggled and shuttered due to the coronavirus and its related restrictions and shutdowns.

“I actually took what I knew from working — doing weddings, pretty much anything in the kitchen — and I turned that into Chef Chris Catering. I went to go get all the equipment I needed, I was grabbing books and reading up on certain things, and I was just like, Okay, I think I can do it,” Moore says. 

“What motivated me the most was to really create my own (thing), to be my own boss,” Moore says. (Photo: Chef Chris Catering)The pandemic, although a major obstacle for many, still gave birth to many other new business owners who decided to take a leap and fill the void of those now closed businesses. 

“I noticed a lot of people pretty much grabbing food trucks and going on their own, just out of nowhere — like after last summer. Like today, I was driving and I’m seeing trucks left and right. There's definitely a lot of potential in Port Huron,” says Moore.

Aside from his affordable fine dining-style catering, which consists of whatever clients can imagine, such as lobster, steak, vegan and fish dishes, Chef Chris Catering also offers meal prep services for those who want to have healthy meals ready-to-go, saving customers time and a messy clean-up.
 
“I try to give it my all. Later on we might branch off into some (food) trucks, but even with the trucks, I want it to be where you can get that fine dining cuisine,” Moore says.

“I want to do something different.”