“There wasn’t a time that my grandmother wasn’t cooking,” said Dylan Wicher, 35, owner of the Stellar Supper Club in Raleigh, NC, and a chef at the local Convention Center. “She was either preparing to cook, going to the grocery store, putting food away, or tending to her vegetable and herb garden. It was food all day long.” Affectionally called “Mudgie,” Wicher’s grandmother inspired him to become a chef after spending his summers with her along the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
Today, Wicher runs the Stellar Supper Club, a private chef and catering service in North Carolina, serving Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham, and surrounding areas. He specializes in southern comfort food and employs a staff of eight cooks and chefs, including his partner, Anna, who creates the pastries and desserts.
The Silver Lining in the Cloud
“During the pandemic, most of the culinary team at the convention center were laid off, so I was forced to either find a job I wasn’t really interested in, or start my own thing,” he said. His “own thing” was the Stellar Supper Club, and it paid the bills until Wicher reclaimed his full-time job as a chef at the convention center. When asked about his busy schedule, he said, “Stellar Supper Club is my side business, so I can work as little or as much as I want.”
With his energetic, charismatic, and hard-working style, Wicher also competes in BBQ contests with his team called Swine Worship and is preparing to participate in the 41st Annual East Carolina University Pigskin Pig-out in April in Greenville, NC.
What do you love most about your business?
“It doesn’t feel like work! I love what I do, and I also like the fact it gives me financial freedom; the ability to make a little extra money on the side.”
What’s the most interesting/oddest/coolest thing to happen in your business?
“Being able to exist. Our first year, we did five private events, but it paid my bills. Now, I can do 10 events in one month or take a month off. We love making connections and booking jobs in places we want to visit, like Savannah, GA, for example, and make a mini vacation out of it.”
What was the biggest business challenge you overcame?
“Keeping my business running for five long years!” When asked what his secret was, he said, “We just never gave up.”
What Cambro products help to make your business work?
“Cambro and I have been together for a really long time,” he wittily said. “I’ve been in this industry for 20 years, so I’ve seen every Cambro that exists, and haven’t really used an alternative. It’s always been there for me. I remember bobbing for potatoes out of a five-gallon Cambro as one of my first hazing rituals when I first started in this industry.”
Wicher loves the Poly Food Storage Boxes, which he nicknamed “coffins,” for their shape, and his staff has since adopted the term. He also uses Cambro’s 22 qt CamSquares and 12 qt CamRounds, along with Cam GoBoxes for transporting traditional food pans.
“They [GoBoxes] are really nice. I like how durable and versatile they are and they actually hold heat.”
Author: Cynthia Connally is the Digital Communications Manager at Cambro.
