What is the “Savory Cupcake” Craze?

Nashville, TN is filled with honkey tonk bars such as Tootsies, live music, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Ryman Auditorium. Known to most as the Music City, Nashville is becoming a city of new tastes. Nashville’s hot chicken craze has hit the nation and has been mentioned in Forbes Travel Guide. With this new craze, a lot of chefs and caterers have been trying to put a personalized spin on the recipe. Jessica Adams has a few savory and tasty variations on the soul food favorite; fried chicken.

Nashville native, Jessica Adams, is the owner of Collaboration of Excellence catering services. Based in the suburbs of Nashville, Jessica has been in business for just over 2 years. Still considering herself a newcomer to catering professionally, she embraced the challenges thrown her way as a woman entrepreneur in the big city of Nashville.

Jessica received her culinary arts training at Nashville State Community College. Known to many in the community as the “Savory Cupcake Lady,” Jessica strives to create delicious and new types of cupcakes. The savory cupcake menu has six different flavors of cupcakes: original Nashville Hot Chicken, Hot Chicken with Sweet Potato, Jambalaya with Sausage & Shrimp, Chicken & Dressing, Pulled Pork with Sweet Potato stuffed with Baked Beans, and Fried Chicken stuffed with Mac & Cheese.

Savory Cupcakes by COE, January 2017, Nashville, Tennessee.

According to Jessica, the motivation to cook and create “Comes from a deep sense of family. We have always cooked from my grandmother to my mom, even my siblings. Most of the recipes I use have some deep roots with those passed down to me from other family members.” Family means a lot to this catering chef; her aunt is a co-owner of Collaboration of Excellence.

Sherria King, Director of Education at Remington College, reflects on women in the industry and owner of Collaboration of Excellence, “It is still harder for women to break into the male dominant world of running a food business/catering. Jessica has not rushed into this business lightly. She is very conscious of what it takes to own a business, takes her time to see what the market needs, and how she can bring her talents to it.”

According to Forbes Travel, Nashville is known for its hot chicken and the annual Music City Hot Chicken Festival held every fourth of July. Keeping true to her roots, Jessica incorporated the spicy dish into her repertoire and it became a hit at catering events. But one may also find good old fashion soul food as well such as greens, cornbread, sweet potatoes, and fried chicken on her menu as well.

Hot Chicken/Sweet Potato/Greens by COE, January 2017, Nashville, Tennessee.

With a background in coordinating banquets, Jessica states, “Becoming an entrepreneur has opened a lot of doors for me and I am grateful that word of mouth advertisement still works best for small business.” While she says, it was a struggle getting the business off the ground in Nashville initially, as the years progressed there are a lot of new avenues upcoming entrepreneurs can seek out. Jessica advises anyone who wishes to pursue a business venture to study your craft and get a mentor that is succeeding in what you wish to start.

Collaboration of Excellence started out as an idea, was developed by a young Nashville woman who wished to do what she loved the most; Cook, Create, and Feed Nashvillians.