Cotton Holdings Inc. founder and CEO Pete Bell (pictured above) has grown Cotton from being a local restoration company, into the second-largest disaster recovery firm in the country. In addition to the growth of the core business, Cotton has continued to bring new turnkey service lines to our clients with unique solutions. Cotton Culinary was created to provide support in one niche and quickly grew to become an integral part of the Cotton Companies.
Why did Cotton create a
Culinary Division?
Pete: When Cotton looks to grow our business, we try to identify areas of need that fit within our existing service offerings. As Cotton’s OneLodge facilities continued to expand their presence in the Texas Oil Basins, the decision to add more distinctive offerings made strategic sense. Cotton Culinary was created to better serve OneLodges’s temporary workforce housing facilities sector as they were experiencing explosive growth. The decision to control and deliver incredible food services to our clients was straightforward and somewhere we knew we could excel. From its inception as an enhancement to Cotton’s OneLodge, Cotton Culinary has grown into four separate divisions: Remote Site Food Services, Emergency Food Services (utilized during Hurricanes and Natural Disasters), Business Dining, and 5-Star Corporate and Event Catering.
In 2013 Cotton also came up the concept of Cotton Events in Katy- How did that come to fruition?
Pete: In 2013 nestled in the rolling prairies of Cotton’s World Headquarters in Katy, Texas, Cotton Events was founded to host corporate parties, client events, and to support Cotton Foundation fundraisers. Over the years, Cotton Events has transformed into an incredible rustic event and wedding venue. In addition to catering for Cotton Events’ guests, our state-of-the-art Cotton Culinary kitchen is used to support our Cotton Campus for a daily lunch program for our employees. The space also serves the dual purpose of training new chefs on food presentation and as a test kitchen for new unique recipes.
What is your favorite dish the chefs at Cotton Culinary serves?
Our experienced culinary team, led by Executive Chef Director, Wade Schindler, has some of the greatest craftsmen I have ever seen. It’s hard to name just ONE favorite dish from Cotton Culinary, but their bacon-wrapped alligator is a show-stopping appetizer from down South!
The holidays are here –
What aresome “must-haves” on your
Thanksgiving table?
When we gather around the table for every Bell Thanksgiving, our must-have dishes include cornbread stuffing, truffle mac & cheese, brussels sprouts, hot homemade yeast rolls with soft real butter, and of course a decadent Jack Daniels bread pudding to satisfy any sweet tooth!
Full disclosure… Pete Bell is also Publisher
Lara Bell’s little brother!
If you would like information on Cotton Culinary visit www.cottonculinary.com
