500 Movies and Counting...

Nashville, Tenn. - June 1, 2006 - TomKats has been serving Hollywood's A-list celebrities for the last 20 years, proving good food and quality service never go out of style. From Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman to Gwyneth Paltrow, Matthew McConaughey, and Colin Farrell, TomKats has served millions, catered to countless diet trends, and also managed to single-handedly revolutionize the on-location catering business along the way.

So how did a kid from Nashville, Tennessee who knew nothing about the movie business take one truck labeled "Ricky Ricardo's Chili Express" and turn it into a multi-million dollar business? That's easy, by doing what came naturally. Tom Morales and his wife Kathie had no idea what they were in for when, following the advice of his sister, a film set designer, he requested an interview with a production company looking for on-set catering for a movie that was about to begin filming in Tennessee. Although he didn't know anything about the movie business, he did know about hospitality, and he felt this would be enough to carry him through.

That first interview started out well enough until the production company asked if he had a mobile kitchen. He quickly fibbed yes and when they asked to see it, Tom replied, "It's out working in California." Tom left that interview and promptly set out to find out just exactly what a "mobile kitchen" was and how he could get one.

Turns out finding a mobile kitchen wasn't the problem, it was actually paying for one that presented issues. Taking the $10,000 he convinced the production company to give him upfront for a deposit, a loan from his brother-in-law, and every penny he had to his name in hand, Tom headed out west to Arizona to pick up his very first mobile kitchen.

Tom drove it all the way back to Nashville with a knot in his stomach. The mobile kitchen he'd just spent his last borrowed dollars on read Ricky Ricardo's Chili Express across the outside and "looked like something you'd find on a construction site." However, a little elbow grease and 8 coats of paint later Mobile Kitchen #3 was born. TomKats used this kitchen to service their very first movie crew. At the time they had no idea how things had been done before so they just did what made the most sense to them. "Everything we had to learn, we learned on that first movie," says Morales.

And learn they did. They set up a two sided buffet line and stocked it with fresh, made from scratch food and made sure to never serve the same thing more than twice. This was quite a change from the old method which required crews to order from one window and then move to another window to get their food. The cast and crew, who were used to fried, pre-packaged foods, were being fed in about half the time it took using the old method and producers found this was saving them close to $5,000 a day in production costs. Tom Morales, without knowing it at the time, had just revolutionized the on-set catering industry.

It was more than dollars and "sense" that set TomKats apart, however. Tom and his crew brought with them a sense of true hospitality and service unlike any others before them. Tom told his staff, "learn as many names as fast as you can," and he made it a point to remember the likes and dislikes of the cast and crew. Not only was their Southern hospitality a big hit, but TomKats went to elaborate lengths to provide diversity in their approach to the food they served on set. Whether flying in fresh seafood to a remote location or, at times, a sushi chef, TomKats always went the extra mile to keep things fresh and exciting. "It's not always about being gourmet though. It's about being attentive to the set and the script, as well as the surroundings," said Jesse Goldstein, one time movie set chef, now President of TomKats Inc-Nashville.

For example, on the movie set of Autumn in New York, starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder, there was a highly emotional day filming on Roosevelt Island in an insane asylum. There were folks with severe neurological disorders and amputated limbs. TomKats responded with comfort food and the cast and crew rewarded them with a standing ovation.

TomKats, like the rest of the world, was changed by the events of September 11. They were filming in New York the day of the attacks and desperately wanted to do something. "We were 30 blocks away, and we wanted to help," explains Tom, "unfortunately, we were not on the Federal Government's approved list at the time, but that soon changed." TomKats has since developed a disaster relief catering team, Home on the Range, which, most recently, helped to feed close to 1,000 people a day in the Katrina aftermath.

In addition to TomKats movie catering and disaster relief, TomKats Inc. also owns TomKats Catering Group, an event production arm, and Saffire Restaurant (www.saffirerestaurant.com), SoBro Grill and Catering in the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum (www.sobrogrill.com), and the Loveless Cafe (www.lovelesscafe.com). All three restaurants are favorites in the Nashville community providing both a great training ground for new chefs to go on the road as well as a resting place when the chefs get tired and need a break. Tom said, "After serving as the crew leader on many of the movies we had done, and facing personal burnout, I knew if the business was to survive it would have to have a continuing supply of fresh attitudes. The restaurants serve this need as a resting/retirement place for our veterans and a recruitment/training ground for new groups. It created a circle that keeps the business alive."

TomKats has come a long way since those early days in Ricky Ricardo's Chili Truck. They have worked on over 500 productions and 2,000 concerts and still continue to raise the bar they set in the industry 20 years ago. They now have over 225 employees and have crews based out of New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. Tom still tries to visit all of the sets and make sure that all the chefs and crews maintain the same level of quality and service that he established on that very first movie set.

About TomKats:

Tom Morales and his wife Kathie started TomKats in 1986. TomKats Movie Catering revolutionized on-location catering in the film industry by offering a two-sided buffet that could serve 150 people in just 20 minutes. This raised the standard and began a new trend in on-set food service. TomKats has worked on over 500 productions and over 2,000 concerts. They prides themselves on fine service and exceptional hospitality. They now have crews in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles.