Sometimes in life, we choose the journey, and sometimes the journey chooses us. Pam Malcontento can look back and see that her journey into the catering world is one she was destined for. She and her husband, Kris, were already enjoying incredible success with their consumer products company, The Whiskey Hound, specializing in Bourbon Beer BBQ sauces and curated spices when they were consistently met with opportunities to expand beyond sauces and spices and jump feet-first into the catering arena. What began as a special request to create charcuterie boards for an event quickly grew until Pam eventually found herself in her own commercial kitchen in Nashville creating specialty foods for clients and events all over Music City and its surrounding areas. And soon, Whiskey Hound Catering was born. Confident in her skills and with an unrivaled work ethic, Pam chose to lean into this exciting new journey in front of her, allowing Whiskey Hound Catering to take on a delicious life of its own.
The foundation of Pam’s culinary curiosities begins as far back as she can remember. She details, “I’ve always liked to play with food. When I was 12, I would come home from school and cook, and I remember making crepes and just sort of experimenting. I worked my way through high school and then through college working at restaurants…One of the restaurants I worked at sent me through a culinary program, and then when I graduated college, I went into food science.” Her experience and education in the food industry launched her into a career working with quality and food safety for Fortune 500 companies. After several years, she realized it was time to get back to the basics and return to her passion for kitchen creations. “I pulled things out of my past and as I left my corporate career, this was so amazing to be able to do something that I’ve always loved…but do it in a different place, in a different way,” Pam says.
Whiskey Hound Catering specializes in innovative, high quality, hot and cold appetizers, charcuterie boards, and the wildly popular whiskey-infused sweets and dessert trays. Their hand-crafted, made-from-scratch delicacies truly set them apart from the average catering company. Whiskey Hound Catering reaches beyond simply providing food; the goal is to elevate the moment and deepen an experience with visual and mouth-watering creations. Pam notes, “Our idea is really to not just provide people with food for an event, a meeting, a gathering, but to help people create a vibe and a theme with the food.” She further explains, “I think the thing that I’m most excited about is attempting to offer some things to people that maybe they haven’t had or haven’t had in a while…I’m working on new things all the time.” A few of Whiskey Hound’s newest, tasty victuals include their savory, stout-braised short rib hummus cups, their bacon-wrapped chicken skewers, or the sweet dark chocolate, rye whiskey balls. Clients can enjoy hand-crafted hors d'oeuvres, packed with rich flavors like whiskey reductions and special marinades. And Whiskey Hound Catering is prepared to take requests and curate a culinary experience specifically designed for their clients’ guests and events.
Pam is looking forward to growing Whiskey Hound Catering in Mt. Juliet as she recognizes the area’s incredible growth in recent years. While she loves catering to the downtown areas of Nashville, Pam is excited to also meet the needs of people and businesses close to home. She credits joining the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce for the ability to thrive in making connections within the community that have helped Whiskey Hound establish itself as a go-to caterer right here in our city. “I’m really interested in building things organically and just becoming as immersed as possible in the community,” Pam says. Whiskey Hound Catering was built from experience and passion. Not only do they create recipes for the palate, but they’ve created a recipe for success. We’re just glad to be a part of the journey.
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