The Charlene Experience

BY MARY ANN BARTON PHOTOS BY JOI LYN PHOTO

Fifteen questions with Alexandria epicurean and design aficionado Charlene Dantzler-Henry, owner of Charlene's Kitchen, an event catering business in Alexandria, in business for 41 years.

1. You grew up in Pittsburgh — did your childhood there inspire your love for entertaining and to start your own business? If so, how?

We all say we live in Pittsburgh, but I actually am from a small town outside of there in the Fayette County area. My childhood did inspire my business. My mother made everything from scratch and was a homemaker. My father also gardened and this inspired both my love of cooking and gardening. We also had natural meats that we purchased locally.. I started making sandwiches for my cousins to sample and taste which were considered gourmet back then.

2. What brought you to Alexandria?

The quaint smallness of the community and it being outside of Washington, D.C. brought me here. It is a pretty area. I also met my husband in Washington, D.C. and we got married in the courthouse of Alexandria and decided to settle here.

3. Tell us about how you started your business.

I started by working in Georgetown at American Cafe. I worked all levels here but I was most fulfilled in the kitchen and working on the menus. Then I left and went to the Chanterelle Caterers which was down the street and it was a women-owned catering business that was run by three women. They are no longer in business, but during my time there, I did parties and worked in the kitchen. It inspired me that I could also start and run a business. Ann Amernick who was the White House Pastry Chef, Kate Jensen who started Firehook, Eric and Mark Michaels who started the Occasions Catering Company and I were all working at the same time. We all were becoming successful business entrepreneurs.

4. What are the biggest changes you've made to your business over the years?

In the 41 years of my business, I have had a storefront only for the last 18 years and that was the biggest successful change. My career started in my house and then I rented space all over the city as my business began to grow. The storefront changed everything.

5. What business advice would you give to someone just starting out?

You are not going to be successful overnight. The “microwave society” thinking will not work when you are beginning this venture. You need to be in this for the long haul. Take some classes, practice your theory, stick with it through the highs and lows and hone your craft.

6. Tell our readers what the most requested items are from your menus, especially for the spring/summer season!

We see the most requested items during the spring and summer are the salads and the galettes. Anything that is fresh with the heirloom tomatoes and baby lettuce is popular as well as the shortcakes, cobblers and tarts.

7. Is the bulk of your business weddings or?

The bulk of my business is repeat clientele that I am proud to serve. Also making quality food daily for all occasions is the bulk of my business.

8. Tell us about your operationdo you work out of your home or a commercial kitchen or? How many employees are there?

We have a storefront and in-house we have a prep person and a sous chef. When doing a catering event we have about eight independent contractors.

9. Do you follow recipes that you created? Are they family recipes or recipes you've collected over the years?

All of the above.

10. What's been your most successful event?

All of my events are successful. My clientele always keep coming back and value my work.

11. Any disasters??

The dump truck running into the store in November of 2022 was a memorable disaster. We had to shut down for five days between Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

12. What's the biggest lesson you've learned, being in business for 41 years?

The biggest lesson I learned is to always be respectful of others and consider their needs and wants. Also, to complete an order.

13. Describe The Charlene Experience!

The Charlene Experience is the top event which I created seven years ago when seeking a lot of rental companies and floral arranging and finding they were very mundane to me. I started with my love of creating and hunting and collecting various things. I decided to begin designing on my own. The custom picking of the vault materials, the food, the designing of the floral, stylizing and curating of the bar, the calligraphy, and the floor work is what creates the experience. I didn’t see any other caterers doing this. I wanted a notch up for my clients.

14. If you're throwing a party for yourself, what's on the menu?

It depends on the mood. I will always have some kind of grazing board which will have a lot of different textures, a specialty cocktail, a wine and one protein dish. I will always have an appetizer and entrée. I don’t want to be the wife that comes to my husband and asks, “What is in the fridge? We didn’t get anything tonight.”

15. Where do you find your collection of platters, plates, glassware and candleholders?

I find these all over. They could be from a retail store, dusty old garage, Salvation Army and thrift stores, high end/low end antique stores, anywhere.. It is basically when I go home to Pennsylvaia that I find many of these things. If I am going to buy anything new or a reproduction, I get those online.

Keep up with all things Charlene's Kitchen on her Instagram and Facebook pages.