Georgia Magazine - September 2017 - 54

A well-fed crew
Caterers to the stars serve up meals round-the-clock
BY H.M. CAULEY

COURTESY GOLDBUG CATERING

Snacks of fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese
and crackers help satisfy the hunger of
crew members working on the sets catered
by Fayetteville-based Goldbug Catering.

the Marvel movies, we saw 600 to
1,000 people a day and had to bring
in entire pallets of things and store
them. We usually serve food for 12
hours, including a coffee service with
Frappaccinos and hot water for tea.
People drink pitchers of water with
lemons, cucumbers and limes; in the
winter, they want hot chocolate and
soup. And they love our Rachel, a
version of a Reuben [sandwich] with
Swiss cheese, turkey, Russian dressing and sauerkraut."
Film crews around Macon go crazy for Saralyn Collins' grilled organic
chicken topped with local peaches
and goat cheese as well as her caprese chicken with local tomatoes. The
owner of Grow restaurant, Collins has
been in the food industry since 1997
and has catered concerts for the Allman Brothers and Gordon Lightfoot
and films such as "Need for Speed."
She tweaks the dine-in menu about
every two weeks, but when working with concerts and movie crews,
adapting the selection is a daily challenge.
"People have a lot more, very
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COURTESY HANNA BROTHERS

espite the glamour and celebrity
status that come with working in
the movie industry, being part of a
film crew is grueling work. From the
leading lady down to the guy who
keeps the lights on, the work is often tedious, with long days and lots
of delays.
Film executives know that one of
the best ways to keep people on the
set content during what can often be
a 15-hour day is to make sure they're
well-fed. A variety of tasty food options, from the morning breakfast buffet through to dinner entrees, is one of
the chief perks of being part of a crew.
"It's the concept that an army runs
on its stomach; that's why they hire
good food-and-beverage guys," says
David Brown, owner of Fayettevillebased Goldbug Catering. Brown has
been part of film-food companies
since he was a teenager and worked
on "Satisfaction," a 1988 movie with
Liam Neeson and a newcomer named
Julia Roberts. "Having the food there
minimizes work stoppages and keeps
people happy."
During the course of a 30-year career, Brown has taken his food on the
road, supplying the "House of Cards"
drama series production in Baltimore
and other shows up and down the East
Coast. But lately Georgia's red-hot film
industry has provided enough work
close to home, including the rebooted
"MacGyver" TV show and several of
the Marvel Studios movies. And while
that might sound glitzy, feeding a few
hundred folks throughout the day isn't
an easy assignment. Caterers are constantly challenged by special requests,
small workspaces and the need to restock supplies on a daily basis.
"You have to be a combination
of a 7-Eleven, Starbucks and a sandwich shop mushed together," Brown
says. "But every job is different. On

Chocolate-dipped strawberries are one
of the treats served up by Hanna Brothers
Film and Event Catering on the film sets the
company caters.

specific dietary restrictions these
days," she says. "The hardest thing
is when one person can't have dairy,
one can't have meat, one can have
meat but no eggs. Fortunately, someone from the venues or the films
will send a long list of what everyone wants, including for snacks. And
some requests can be very specific:
When John Tesh played here, all he
wanted was two plain, nonseasoned
chicken breasts and plain, steamed
broccoli. He was a healthy but not an
adventurous eater."
In Savannah, Starland Catering
also grew out of restaurant roots. John
Deaderick and co-owner Michael
Pritchard launched Starland Cafe 14
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