I remember when I was growing up, in Louisiana; it was my job to peel the potatoes for dinner. It doesn't sound like a big deal to many, but it took 10 lb. of potatoes to feed our family (five boys) mashed potatoes. I've always had a love for cooking, ever since. My mother & father had the same passion for cooking and most of my memories of family life began in the kitchen.

When I was 14 years old, I had to find a job to keep me out of trouble. So I took a job bailing hay&You can tell by my picture that the sun & me don't get along. Me & my Irish tan. It only took one summer to realize that. My oldest brother Joe became the GM of the local Dairy Queen and needed a night manager. At age 15, I became the youngest night manager in Dairy Queen history. I had a desire to stay in the food industry, because I was in the kitchen around food and I was in the air conditioning. After Dairy Queen, I managed at Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Church's Fried Chicken and Waffle House. Then I turned 20 and moved into full service. In my home town, The New Orleans Caf￩ opened. My brother, Darry (who was also in the food industry) told me that out of all the restaurants in town, he would want to work at that restaurant. That week, I began my training at the New Orleans Caf￩. I trained with a Cajun chef for 6 months. It came naturally to me. They moved me all over the Southeast, till I began working at Cuco's, Red Lobster, Applebee's and finally Ruby Tuesday's.

After 17 years of restaurant work, I was ready to do something else. I began working for a caterer in Mobile, AL. We started with 2 employees and one delivery truck and in 4 short years built it to be one of the largest catering companies on the gulf coast. In the 7 years with that company, we started a cooking show called The Creative Cooks. It aired on a local cablevision company and later became one of the best shows on CBS.
After realizing the potential of becoming a caterer on my own, I started Creative Catering. The need for a retail outlet became very apparent when my customer base started to grow. So in 2007, we opened Creative Cafes in the Mobile Public Libraries. 

Sean McLaughlin