CONTACT US : (662) 259-0164
Tu Country Catering
Interested in learning more about us? We'd love to hear from you.
Tu Country Catering is family-owned and operated right here in Oxford, MS. Since our company opened in 2012, we’ve treated every customer like they were a part of our family. Other catering companies may offer sandwich platters and pre-bagged chips resold to you at three times the price, poor quality frozen foods and reheated restaurant leftovers sold as catering. We do not do that.
Hand crafted, artisinal foodstuffs for you and yours from local farms and local meat suppliers.
That's our bag and we are great at it!
Committed to helping our customers achieve their entertaining and lifestyle dreams
Lee S. Craven
Culinary Institute of America graduate
20 year restaurant veteran
Nationally and Internationally recognized
James Beard Foundation nominee
Experienced Teacher and National Speaker
Creative food and creative solutions
An attitude free chef who will work WITH you, not AROUND you, to deliver what YOU need, desire, and deserve
15 years happily married to Dr. Jacqueline Craven, coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Professional Studies, Delta State University
EXPERIENCE
Private Restaurant and Hotel Consulting
August 2007- Present
The National Food Service Management Institute Presenter and Trainer
2008-Present
University Of Mississippi-Instructor in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management
2008-2012
Morgan Freeman's Madidi , Clarksdale MS
Executive Chef
2003-2008
Peabody Hotel Memphis, TN
Sous Chef Under" Maitre' Cuisineaire de France" Jose' Guiterriez
1999-2003
McEwen's On Monroe, Memphis, TN
Roundsman
2001-2002
Melange, Memphis, TN
Sous Chef
2000-2002
EVENTS AND ACCOLADES
Co-Founder of "Mississippin'" Oxford's best beer tasting event
National School Nutrition Association Conference Presentation July 2011
Daily Mississippian 2008-2012 multiple issues
Invitation!, April 2011
Invitation!, April 2010
Oxford Eagle April 2010
Oxford Eagle 2008
Boston Globe featured travel article 2008
Here's Clarksdale 2003-2008 multiple issues
Mississippi Magazine May-June 2007
New York Times Travel 2007
El Pasro Madrid Spain 2007
Bon Appetit 2007
Delta Magazine 2007
My South, April 2007
Iron Chef Event for Junior League, Jackson MS, November 2006
Southern Living Magazine, June 2007
Delta People, 2005
Participated Chef James Beard Foundation Dinner, June 2005
60 Minutes appearance with Mike Wallace and Morgan Freeman, April 2005
MidSouth Magazine 2005
Destin Log 2005
Commercial Appeal 2005
Memphis Magazine 2005 Reader's Poll Winner- "Worth the Drive"
At Home In Memphis, May 2005
Food Network Appearance on "Inside Dish" with Rachel Ray, 2004
Recipes on Food network website
Nominated Finalist "Rising Star of American Cuisine" James Beard Foundation
2004
Showcase Dinner at James Beard Foundation House NYC August 2004
Participating Chef in Julia Child Commerative Dinner with Chef Rick Tramonto, Jean-Louis Dumonet, Philippe Boulot, Thierry Rautureau, Susan Spicer,
Nancy Silverton, 2004
Fund Raising Dinner "Chefs and Chiefs" for Chucculisa Museum Native
American Exhibit at the University of Memphis 2004
Commercial Appeal feature article August 18, 2004
Delta Business Journal September 2004
Esquire Japan November 2004
Commercial Appeal July 9, 2003
Birmingham Times July 11, 2003
MidSouth Living July/August 2003
Arkansas Times October 24, 2003
Mississippi Magazine 2003
Memphis Magazine Restaurant Guide 2002
Memphis Downtowner Magazine March 2002
CERTIFICATIONS AND INVOLVEMENTS
SERV-SAFE food safety certified and Certified To Instruct
Participated in Memphis City School Job Fairs
Culinary Judge for Memphis City Schools High School Culinary Programs
Member of University of Memphis Family and Consumer Science Advisory Board
Authored bi-weekly wine column in Clarksdale Press Register
So basically- "This ain't my first rodeo"
If you are looking for artisan quality food in your home
on a weekly schedule or a one-off house party,
I'm your man.
Excerpt from James Beard Foundation Showcase Dinner:
“The essence of Southern cooking lies in its simplicity. That, and its ability to transport you ‘home’ no matter how far from there you may wander.” That’s Madidi’s executive chef Lee Craven speaking, and he knows. A Florence, Alabama, native who traveled north for his culinary training, Craven presides over a restaurant co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman, who also left his native Mississippi as a teenager and traveled the world for decades before returning to make the Delta his permanent home some 15 years ago.
Located in Clarksdale—home of the fabled crossroads where the devil is said to lurk looking to exchange blues guitar skills for the souls of the hopeful—Madidi is named for a nature reserve in Bolivia that’s been noted for its stunning biodiversity. Freeman and his co-owner Bill Luckett, a local attorney, originally opened the place to save themselves a long drive to Memphis or Oxford when hit with the urge for fine cuisine. Now going on its fifth successful year, Madidi thrills Delta dwellers and visiting blues pilgrims alike with its upscale Southern fare, tinged with classical French and restrained Mediterranean influences.
Tim Sampson, of Memphis magazine, praised Madidi’s cuisine promising, “The food is worth the hour-and-ten minute drive through the Delta.” More recently, Jim Harris noted in the Arkansas Times, “The kitchen, under the guidance of Chef Lee Craven…obviously put much effort and attention to detail into each [dish]…Along with the exquisitely tender pen-raised duck, some of our highlights included a ravishingly rich shrimp bisque with a balsamic vinegar drizzle, cornmeal fried oysters with a brandy cream sauce, a large top-of-the-line filet of beef…Even the cole slaw that came with the fried oyster appetizer was different and delicious.”
Craven, who was the last to interview for the chef job at Madidi, beat out some of the region’s top culinary talents, no small feat for a chef who is still in his mid-20s. Before he arrived in Clarksdale, Craven spent three years at Memphis’ Chez Philippe under the direct tutelage of chef Jose Gutierrez, one of only 52 American chefs certified as a Maîtres Cuisiniers de France. Craven graduated with honors from the CIA in 2000, and has been cooking professionally since his early teenage years.
Appetizers
Pickled Oysters with Fire-Roasted Red Peppers
Crawfish Beignets
Mississippi Farm-Raised Catfish Pâté
Confiture of Rabbit with Chestnut Spoon Bread
DINNER
Delta Crispy Shrimp with Aunt Clementine Dust
Stone Crab Claw Turnover with Mississippi Lemon Butter
Coahoma County Farm-Raised Striped Bass with Hominy and Green Tomato Gravy
Three Hour–Braised Pork Cheeks à l’Orange with Stone-Ground Grits
Roasted Breast of Duck with Creamy Black-Eyed Peas, Cranberry Reduction, Truffle Essence, and Crispy Collard Greens
Nanny’s Pound Cake with Vanilla Custard, Muscadine Sorbet, and Muscato Syrup
Tu Country Catering handcrafts your meals using local products almost exclusively.
Why exclusively local?
1. To promote local business and local jobs.
2. To give you the best nutritional value for your money.
3. Because real vegetables and meats grown organically in your neighborhood are far superior in flavor to clearinghouse produce
and meats used in restaurants.
4. Eating local whenever it is possible will force us to stay in touch with the seasons and the earth. Because I grew up on a 84 acre farm this is important to me.
Tu Country Catering prepares your meals in your home.
Why do you prepare them in my home?
1. Basically the short answer is it saves us BOTH money. Since I do not have to pay for equipment, employees, rent, storage and refrigeration, etc, you don't have to pay the 200% restaurant markup and I can pass the savings on to you.
2. It allows for better quality control as I can be 100% focused on your meals.
3. A much safer and cleaner product. Restaurant sanitation, generally speaking, can be a
"Trust me, you don't want to know" type situation.
