July 2019 - STF Events & Catering

What could be more fun and exciting than gathering friends to enjoy a few cocktails and the thrill of axe throwing? Well, that’s exactly what over 100 Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce members did at the April Brewing Up Business right here in Nashville! We met at member-owned BATL, the first organization in the world to offer an urban venue for indoor axe throwing. The event was a huge success, as members mingled, made new business connections, took their turns axe throwing, and enjoyed an array of delicious appetizers and desserts provided by long-time Chamber member STF Events & Catering. Guests enjoyed an appetizer buffet with international flair: Grilled Vegetables w/ Mediterranean Oven Roasted Tomatoes; Moroccan Spiced Popcorn; Grilled Chicken Satay w/ Eleni’s Tzatziki; Italian Arancini and their signature Boozy Cupcakes-cupcakes spiked w/ a pipette of alcohol. The evening was a nice mix of familiar and new faces – a great turnout at an awesome venue.

 
STF Events & Catering co-owners and spouses Joelle Upton and Eleni Vavouris marvel at how the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce has grown and matured since our early days. Upton says she remembers years ago when Chamber events were generally limited to networking meetings. They were not nearly as well attended as meetings are now, and there seemed to be just a handful of women. Years later the Chamber membership has grown tremendously, we’ve established scholarships for educational opportunities for our members, have over 30 LGBT certified business enterprises, and influenced corporate practices and state legislation that impact the LGBT community, and have over 440 members.

Upton says their business has grown and matured over the years as well, as they’ve branched out from their successful catering company to producing a collection of salsas and marinades for folks to enjoy with their own cooking. The two women founded STF Events & Catering in 2005, but their relationship with each other goes back a few more years, and their love for food and cooking go back to early childhood. 

Upton says her grandparents shared with her their enthusiasm for locally sourced food before it was cool! They had several acres of farm land and fruit trees, and Upton spent her summers planting and picking fruits and vegetables, canning goods, and learning to cook with them with her grandparents. She carried that love for food and cooking to college where she earned a degree in Food Service Management and planned for a career in the field.  Vavouris also developed a passion for food and cooking in her early years, watching and learning from her older relatives on both sides of her family. Her father came from a large Greek family, and they all lived in a Greek community in Memphis, so her paternal grandparents taught her to prepare and enjoy the food of their shared heritage. On her mother’s side, it was the family’s Southern roots that influenced the flavors and techniques of the comfort food Vavouris learned to cook with her Maw Maw. So, while her love for food and cooking was unmistakable, Vavouris pursued a degree in Human Environmental Science and planned to enjoy cooking as a hobby. But later as she expressed frustration with her plan, a sorority sister encouraged Vavouris to pursue her passion for cooking and food and make it her career.

The two women met at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, where they were each pursuing a 3-year culinary apprenticeship. The experience was amazing, but short-lived. The hotel ended the program after their first year, and they both had to make other plans. Upton and Vavouris both decided to move to Kentucky to pursue degrees in Culinary Arts and Professional Catering from nationally recognized Sullivan University. Both knew how to cook like their grandparents, but Sullivan gave them the tools and experience to cook as classically trained chefs. With STF, their goal has always been to combine those two worlds: approachable, comforting, delicious food prepared meticulously and presented beautifully. 

In fact, clients are so taken by the unique flavors that Vavouris creates that they have repeatedly asked her for recipes. Well, a great chef never shares those recipes, but Vavouris was intrigued by the idea of enabling her clients to enjoy the flavors of her famous salsas, marinades and sauces in their own cooking at home. So, in 2017 she launched Eleni Vavouris Originals (EVO). She knew that she needed to engage a co-packer, so she could focus on the catering day-to-day, and she was as particular in choosing them as she was choosing the ingredients for her creations. After several test runs together, the team perfected 4 recipes: Original Salsa, Spicy Roja Salsa, Chipotle Peach Sauce, and Greek Marinade. This summer they also released two new flavors in their Craft Series: Smokey Bourbon Salsa & Nashville Hot Salsa.

Of course, EVO is a completely different business model than the catering business. In addition to selling the salsas and marinades through local vendors, Vavouris saw an opportunity to sell her products in larger quantities to restaurants and hotels to offer their guests. Upton and Vavouris realized that National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) certification would provide them an advantage when competing for business with these larger franchises that reserve a share of their contracts for minority-owned vendors. Former CEO Lisa Howe had been encouraging them for years to certify STF Events & Catering, but the incentive for EVO was far greater. Around the time the NFL Draft came to Nashville, they went through the process and are just awaiting a site visit to finalize their certification and compete for large contracts to propel their business ventures to the next level.

Upton says it was the decision to pursue NGLCC certification that prompted them to be more intentional about attending meetings, networking with other members, and of course catering for the recent Brewing Up Business. “I’m terrible at networking,” she says with a laugh. “I enjoy meeting new people and talking to folks, but somehow the networking label can make it feel weird and forced. But as you get older, you become more comfortable in who you are and what you do.  I know our food and service is great and I’m always happy to talk about it.” Upton and Vavouris are happy to see that Chamber meetings are now more diverse, with women and people of color and transgender people in attendance. Upton says, “I’m also really happy to see and talk to so many people doing their thing in and around the city. Certification is the next step in our EVOlution with EVO and STF. We hope we can help others navigate not only the process of being certified, but also feel welcome and relaxed at Chamber networking events.”