Brotherhood Cook Team Catering

Kirby Anderson and partners of Brotherhood Cook Team Catering, Robert Bryan and Ray Turner, are no strangers to the grill. The friends earned their grilling fame while serving up quality meats and sides during events hosted by local nonprofits in an attempt to raise money. Between discovering their love for taking part in such events and watching customers enjoy their tasty cuisine, the guys realized there was more that they could offer the community. After several years of contemplating, Brotherhood Cook Team Catering was born!

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Q: AT WHAT AGE DID YOU BEGIN COOKING?

A: “When I was a kid, I stayed with my grandma while on summer break from school. She was an amazing old-school cook…making homemade biscuits, chicken and dumplins', macaroni and cheese, butter beans, and peas – which I helped her pick from the garden and shell – and many other things. The first thing I remember learning to make is biscuits. The main lesson I learned from my grandma was that the only way to cook good food is to love doing it. Cooking truly is a labor of love. When you see people happy, smiling, and enjoying what they are eating, it makes it all worthwhile.”

Q: HOW DID YOU GET STARTED COOKING FOR EVENTS?

A: “I began planning and cooking for events and nonprofits 13 years ago. The Florence Area Literacy Council Tailgate Kick-Off was my first event, held at Palmetto Peddlers. We raised around $5,000 that day for the Literacy Council. I realized then how much I enjoyed planning and organizing events…and I never stopped. I met my cook partner that day, Robert Bryan. Never imagined we would be cooking together for events from then on.” for the last ten years and knew when I retired from Raldex Hospitality that I would pursue it. It’s funny how your timing is not always how things end up going. I did an event for the Vintage Professionals Group, a Valentine's Social, and decided that our team could prepare the food ourselves. I called the guys and they were all for it, so we cooked for more than 200 people and it went great! We had several people at that event asking if we could cook for parties and events they had going on. I would say maybe one day but right now we just do this to help raise money for nonprofits. Fast forward two days, I made the call to Robert and asked him what he thought about starting a little business and cooking for parties. He was game! I hung up the phone and started thinking of business names. Since we are all like brothers to each other, Brotherhood Cook Team Catering was born. We are truly a team…a cooking family. I love these boys and they are the brothers I never had."

Q: ARE YOU STILL WORKING AT RALDEX HOSPITALITY?

A: "Raldex Hospitality is my full-time job and my number one priority. I absolutely love my job and everything about it. I work with the best people who are also family to me. They are all very supportive of my catering business. And of course, my coworkers enjoy the benefits of good food being around all of the time as well. Plus, while doing the catering jobs, I have the opportunity to promote our five hotels –Hilton Garden Inn, (2) Hampton Inn and Suites, Holiday Inn Express, and Staybridge Suites."

Q: TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR PARTNERS.

A: “My partners are Ray Turner, who works for the Hilton Garden Inn as Community Outreach Director, and Robert Bryan, who is a retired City of Florence Police Officer. Ray and I have been friends for more than 20 years and worked together at Pepsi Cola of Florence for many years. As I mentioned, Robert and I met 13 years ago during a Literacy Council Event. He and I are the cooks, we both can make pretty much anything. That being said, we each have our roles and know what to handle and it works smoothly. Ray is our organization guy. He thrives on everything being in place, in order, and clean. He handles how we set up and how things will work the best and operate smoothly. He even stirs the pot at times.”

Q: WHAT’S ON THE BROTHERHOOD MENU?

A: “We specialize in barbecue. We can do whole hogs, Boston butts, whole chickens, wings, ribs, burgers, hotdogs, and many sides and desserts. There really isn’t anything we don’t enjoy cooking, these are just our specialties. We can also do chicken salad, potato salad, meatballs, bacon-wrapped shrimp, dips, and plenty of items for a heavy hors d'evours menu.”

Q: WILL YOU WORK WITH CUSTOMERS ON SPECIAL MENU ITEMS FOR EVENTS?

A: “Most definitely! We love when the customer asks us for special items. Some we can do and some we can’t. We won’t tell you we can unless we know it is going to be good!”

Q: WHAT IS YOUR PREFERENCE FOR SAUCES FOR YOUR BARBECUE?

A: "We have homemade sauces for both barbecue and wings and that’s what everyone prefers. Personally, I think both are as good as it gets, but I might be a little biased. The barbecue sauce is a vinegar base that brings a subtle heat and the wing sauce is sweet with a touch of heat.”

Q: WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS NEW BUSINESS VENTURE?

A: “I love seeing people happy and good food makes people happy!”

Contact Kirby & Team:

By phone: 843.687.8189

Email: brotherhoodcookteam@gmail.com

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