Local Chef and Caterer Brey Walton (AKA: Chef Brey) always knew she was destined to do something in the food industry. 

A 2019 graduate of Grossmont College's acclaimed culinary art school in San Diego, California, the Philadelphia native began her journey by simply offering her food to whoever was interested. 

“My dream was to open up a restaurant and I would actually go around to different businesses giving them samples of banana pudding and stuff like that,” shared Walton about her early days. 

Now the owner of Bbees Catering LLC in Fayetteville, chef Walton specializes in gourmet-style food with creations that are described as “a harmonious blend of heartwarming traditions and contemporary elegance.” However, her journey to becoming a chef wasn’t as straightforward as one would expect. “I didn’t feel like I was accomplishing anything, it wasn’t going anywhere, so then I went to dental assistant school. I changed the whole [game]. I finished that, moved here to Fayetteville and got a job as a dental assistant and that didn’t work out so, I started doing nails. I went to school to become a nail tech,” shared Walton. 

While on the hunt to find the right path for her, Walton was drawn back to the love of cooking good food in late 2022 when she was asked to cater a bridal shower which became a huge success. Following that one ‘life-changing event’ Walton soon found herself being asked to cater more and more consistently. 

"It just went full circle, because I was meant to work in food and then catering lead to so many opportunities all over the state of North Carolina and I did weddings which are my personal favorites, I love weddings,” she shared. 

That same demand led Walton to think about expanding in a sustainable way. Instead of a full-fledged restaurant as she had originally dreamed, she began to think smaller, looking for something more adaptable to her life and needs.

“Catering is really intensive, it’s a lot to cook for 100-200 people at one time, so once I got the hang of catering, I thought ‘Ok, maybe on the days that I don’t cater, I can get a food truck.’ And when I look back, I think ‘Okay, I wanted a restaurant, and this is a restaurant on wheels.’ So, it might not be an actual brick and mortar store, but honestly, I think that’s better, because I can go wherever and I can make my own schedule weekly or daily,” shared Walton.

Walton’s food truck “Gourmet Galore” officially launched on Jan. 15, 2024, at Haymount Truck Stop. A new addition to Fayetteville's food truck scene, the truck takes Walton’s love of southern comfort foods and combines them with her own unique flair. While she will continue catering, Walton shared that this new outlet for her work provides the best of both worlds.

“I‘m going to stick with my catering menu and a few other things, but I wanted to do soul food because that’s what I’m best at,” shared Walton.

With a menu featuring items such as chicken wings, mac and cheese, BBQ meatballs and fried chicken, more Chef Brey-unique offerings are available in the form of soul food egg rolls and more. “I have soul food rolls which are egg rolls with candied yams, collard greens and baked mac and cheese inside and they are deep fried and drizzled with yam sauce. I also have collard green rolls, which are just collards on the inside, and you dip them in a sweet Thai chili sauce and my baked macaroni is really creamy, everyone loves my baked macaroni,” shared Walton.

While the food truck is still new, Walton shared that her next step is to train new staff members to work for her. With one assistant on board with her already, the next goal is to hire a dishwasher and another part time position, she’s also looking to hire someone to develop a company website for her. As for her dreams of having a full-fledged restaurant operation, for now she is focused on enjoying the present and not worrying about the future. 

“After the food truck, I really don’t have anything. That’s just my focus right now. I might get into something totally different and start that as a business. I know I won’t stop here because I’m just not that type of person where I’m just content. I always have to keep doing more and leveling up,” concluded Walton.

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For information about Bbees Catering and the food truck schedule, you can follow Chef Brey on the businesses’ Facebook page @Bbees Catering and on Instagram at bbees.catering.