02/20/2023
Looking for hospitable service that is DEVOTED to you like no other? Check out Devoted Catering LLC.
Owner and Chef, Darious Ceaser, is from Ville Platte, LA and is the son of Sarah (Thomas) Ceaser and Darren Ceaser. Darious shares that he inherited his love and passion for cooking from family members he observed in his youth. He can vividly recall food bringing family together and working to heal wounds caused by miscommunication, jokes that hit below the belt, and differences in perspective. During those times, rooms fell silent, not due to strife or tension but for the love of food – here is where you may have heard one relative briefly interrupt the silence to say something like, “Ain’t nobody talking…that food must be good!” Then, everyone would respond real choir-like with their ‘ummunhhh’s and laughter and maybe even share which dish they were enjoying the most. Now the food alone could not mend relationships, but it seemed to make having difficult conversations a little easier and frequently made you consider apologizing, challenged you to look at things from another’s point of view, and produced environments more conducive to constructive conversations.
Chef Ceaser credits his late maternal grandparents, Ivory Thomas Sr. and Lou Anna Thomas, and his father, Darren Ceaser, as his greatest influences. Pawpaw Ivory, as the chef calls him, was a skilled worker employed in multiple industries during his lifetime and enjoyed cooking Sunday dinner for his children and grandchildren – among his most loved dishes were Hen Sauce, Catfish and Garfish Courtboullion, and Turtle Sauce Piquante. He was the king of flavorful without overwhelming spice.
Mawmaw Lou, better known as Sis, was DEVOTED to her family and prepared family meals almost every day – It was a rarity for Ivory to not find a plate of food Sis prepared for him on the table when he walked in from work. She would place the food on the table, and he'd enter the house minutes later and sit down to a steaming plate. There were no measurements, only simple ingredients that tasted and felt like luxury, and tons of love and wisdom. Lou’s two and three-layer lemon cake headlined many holidays and gatherings. In fact, family members who couldn’t attend for various reasons were sure to call and request that a slice or two or three of lemon cake were included in their to-go plate.
Darren is a commercially licensed driver by trade but knows his way around the kitchen. One of his signature dishes is red beans and rice infused with the rich flavors of the world’s best smoked meat (sourced from local specialty meat markets in Ville Platte, LA, the smoked meat capital of the world) including smoked sausage, tasso, smoked pork neckbones, and other assorted smoked meats. On many weekend mornings and afternoons, Darren was teaching Chef Ceaser how to master the pit and perfect BBQ ribs and all the trimmings. Now, the chef is off making new traditions of his own and bringing uniquely elevated twists to the staples he once enjoyed as a kid and young man.
Chef Ceaser is a senior at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA majoring in Hospitality Management and Tourism with a concentration in Hospitality Services and a minor in Culinary Arts and will graduate this May. He has served on the university’s Columns Café staff for several years now as the team caters numerous events throughout the school year and designs interactive cooking experiences to raise funds for the department. This past summer, Chef Ceaser interned at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio for three months where he was a catering intern. He is currently an intern at Chateau Saint Denis Hotel in Natchitoches, LA.
Whether you are looking to enjoy a fine-dining experience, a casual social hour, or family gathering, have Chef Darious Ceaser cater to the customizable needs of you and your guests! His contact information is included in the flyer below.
Devoted Catering LLC. is available to cater for the following:
• Weddings
• Baby Showers
• Brunch
• Meetings
• Conferences
• Cocktail hour
• Social events
• Anniversaries
• In-home catering
Darious Ceaser
