‘Bissel Catering finds a way to adjust during Pandemic’

‘”‘Pressure doesn’t bother Andrew Bissel as he navigates through the sixth year of his catering business. The 32-year-old Powell resident knew pressure in the kitchen when he was 17, so what he sees now is nothing. Bissel grew up just outside New Orleans. In 2005, Bissel was a 17-year-old cook at Outback Steakhouse, the first restaurant in the parish (county) to open after Hurricane Katrina hit. These were the old days, when
there was no technology.” Bissel said. “(Servers) would pile up orders in a bowl. You don’t worry about how many (orders) there are, you just put your head down and keep working.” Bissel said Outback was doing post-hurricane business at the clip of $38,000 a night, normally what would be considered an amazing Friday night’s receipts. An average pre-hurricane weeknight would pull in between $17,000 and $20,000. “That was stressful, especially for a young guy in his first job,” Bissel said. “That’s when I look at the things I deal with now and realize it’s not that bad.”‘

‘Monkey wrench’

””‘Bissel Catering, headquartered in Powell, opened for business in 2014. He followed his wife, Jessica, to her East Tennessee roots. “There’s a lot of pride that goes into having my name on the business,” Bissel said. I’m a perfectionist. Our menu is not complex. We depend a lot on customer rapport.” After starting with a corporate event lean in the early days of the business, Bissel Catering has evolved into primarily a wedding vendor. With the Great Smoky Mountains – one of the country’s top wedding venues – nearby, Bissel said the shift has been successful.
The onset of the coronavirus pandemic last March threw a monkey wrench into the operation but hardly derailed the plan. “What the pandemic did was cut down” 150-“person weddings to” 60, Bissel said. “Right away, we had some massive events cancel, and we gave back a lot of wedding deposits.” Bissel and his regular employees weathered the initial setback and came away as strong as ever.’

‘Cajun skill’

‘It doesn’t take Bissel, a hard-core LSU football fan, long to become philosophical when talking about his passion for food. “Food is the only thing in the world that touches all five senses,” he said. “That gives someone who prepares food an opportunity to make the world a better place.” That distinctive Louisiana flavor sets his food apart from others in East Tennessee. “It’s not just Cajun, it’s more of a Cajun skill, he said. “We have a Creole seasoning that we use a lot.” Chicken and sausage jambalaya is the only true Louisiana dish Bissel prepares.
Grilled chicken, pork tenderloin, redskin mashed potatoes and almond-crusted green beans – with the proper spices — are the popular offerings.
“We like the good ol” Tennessee comfort food done our way,” Bissel said. Bissel said his dream of having a catering business without the attachment of a restaurant has been a recipe for success. “When there’s a restaurant with the catering business, there are always problems in the restaurant that get priority. When a chef in a restaurant prepares a meal, he has it ready to be perfect in 10 minutes. On gameday (the day of the event) for me, I’m preparing the meal to be perfect four hours later. “There’s some pressure involved, but I don’t let it bother me.” He just thinks back to that kid in Outback.
For more information, contact Bissel at: [email protected] or 865-696-2447

– POWELL/NORWOOD Shopper news