EXPERIENCE AUTHENTIC, GULLAH CUISINE.
You've just found the Gullah Geechee Cuisine that thousands
across the country rave about.
Premiere Catering Company in Charleston, SC
Carolima's Lowcountry Cuisine is a food catering service specializing in Gullah Geechee catering, an authentic African American cuisine that combines African cooking techniques with local ingredients. We offer catering for every event, including: luncheons, breakfasts, and family reunions, in Charleston, SC.
Most people have indulged in Gullah Geechee cuisine without realizing it. Okra soup, seafood soups, red rice, garlic crabs, grits, and oysters are all a part of Lowcountry cooking, with an emphasis on seafood and grains. If you’re not a huge seafood fan, our catering company also makes amazing fried chicken, roast beef, mac n’ cheese, and scrumptious breakfast dishes!
Authentic, Quality Cuisine Made with Love.
We take both our food, and our business, seriously. As caterers, we are determined to serve delicious, high-quality food at your event, made perfectly for you and your guests! We consider ourselves ambassadors for Gullah Geechee food and culture, so it’s our goal to ensure you have the best possible service and love the food!
Contact us today to schedule your catering order!
how can we serve you
Full Service Catering
Elevate your events with our Gullah Geechee-inspired full-service catering. Immerse yourself in tradition and convenience, letting us handle every detail for a professionally presented and culturally rich experience.
Drop-Off Services
Savor the taste of Gullah Geechee excellence at your convenience. Our drop-off services bring carefully curated menus straight to your doorstep, ensuring culinary delight without the need for on-site staff.
Pick-Up Services
Enjoy culinary excellence on your terms. With our pick-up services, select your favorites from our diverse menu and elevate your gatherings with Gullah Geechee-inspired cuisine, ready for pick-up at your convenience.
WE ARE YOUR PARTNER IN AUTHENTIC GULLAH CUISINE.
are YOU looking for something different?
Well...You've found it!
'We be da' DYNAMIC DUO
Hey there! Sameka & 'Emma, your Gullah Geechee Chefs in the kitchen.
As sisters with a passion for cooking, we bring a unique blend of cultural heritage and culinary expertise to your dining experience. Explore our Gullah infused menus and let us elevate your next event with the rich and authentic taste of Carolima’s.
From savory delights to sweet treats, we craft culinary experiences that go beyond the ordinary. Join us on a flavorful journey that celebrates tradition, flavor, and the vibrant spirit of the Lowcountry. Can't wait to make your next event truly special!
Sameka & 'Emma
Check Out What's New In The Blog
The first day of fall has arrived, which means pumpkin spice is officially everywhere—coffee, bread, cookies, candles, and just about anything else that can be flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. Somewhere along the way, pumpkin spice became the flavor that tells America fall has arrived. But in many Black households, another flavor has been doing that for generations: sweet potato. Long before pumpkin spice became a seasonal marketing phenomenon, sweet potatoes had a place on our tables. Sweet potato pie at Thanksgiving, candied yams alongside holiday dinners, or simply sweet potatoes baked with butter, sugar, and warm spices. For many of us, the flavor isn't just associated with cooler weather. It's connected to family, holidays, Sunday dinners, and the people who taught us how those dishes were supposed to taste. A Deeper Connection to Sweet Potato Sweet potatoes have a long history in Southern cooking and became particularly significant in African American foodways. During slavery and in the generations that followed, they were an accessible, versatile crop that could be used in both savory and sweet dishes. There's an important cultural layer to that history as well. Enslaved Africans arrived in America with knowledge of West African root vegetables, including yams. African yams and American sweet potatoes aren't actually the same plant, despite the names often being used interchangeably today. But the cooking knowledge, preferences, and traditions Africans brought with them influenced how available ingredients were prepared in the American South. Over time, Black cooks made sweet potatoes their own, and dishes created from them became part of a much larger African American culinary tradition. Sweet potato pie may be one of the clearest examples. For generations of Black families, particularly in the South, it has held a place on the holiday table that pumpkin pie simply hasn't occupied in quite the same way. And that's what makes the annual pumpkin spice takeover interesting to us. Pumpkin and sweet potato work with many of the same warm fall spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla—but sweet potato carries a different kind of significance. For many Black families, there's memory attached to it. There's somebody's grandmother's pie, an auntie's recipe, a Thanksgiving table, or a family member who doesn't measure a single ingredient but somehow makes it taste exactly the same every year. Food can preserve history in ways we don't always recognize. A recipe doesn't have to be written down in a history book to tell us something about where we come from. Giving Sweet Potato Its Fall Moment At Carolima's, preserving our food traditions doesn't mean we're afraid to play with them. We can respect where a dish or ingredient comes from while still finding new ways to use it. That's part of the inspiration behind our Sweet Potato Cheesecake baked on a nut-free Chewie crust. Sweet potato brings a familiar flavor that many of us already associate with fall and the holidays, while the Chewie crust connects it to another dessert with deep Charleston roots. The result feels familiar and new at the same time—which, in many ways, is what we love about cooking. Food traditions aren't meant to become frozen in time. They survive because generations continue cooking them, talking about them, putting their own touches on them, and passing them along. We can appreciate the sweet potato pie that has been on our family's table for decades and still wonder what else we can create with the flavors we grew up loving. So, yes, fall has arrived, and pumpkin spice will probably be everywhere for the next few months. We're not mad at it. But around here, we're making a little more room for sweet potato and the history, memories, and traditions that come with it. Around here, fall tastes like sweet potato.
When we talk about Black-owned businesses in the Lowcountry, it's important to remember the people who were doing this work long before many of us came along. The recent passing of Raleigh "Coffee" Johnson Jr., affectionately known as Mr. Coffee , gave us a reason to reflect on that legacy and on a place that has been part of Mount Pleasant's Black community for generations: H&R Sweet Shop . H&R Sweet Shop was established in 1945 and named for Mr. Coffee's parents, Harriet and Raleigh "Pat" Johnson Sr. Located on what was then Common Street and is now Royall Avenue, H&R grew into one of Mount Pleasant's longstanding restaurants and neighborhood gathering places. Mr. Coffee grew up in that legacy and worked at H&R for as long as many in the community could remember. After his father's passing, he took over the business and continued what his parents had started. But when people remember Mr. Coffee, they don't only talk about the restaurant. Historian and author Damon L. Fordham , in reflecting on Mr. Coffee's passing, remembered him as a man of dignity who genuinely cared about his community—and who was always sharp. This was a man who would put on a suit and tie just to walk to the store, with a head of hair Fordham joked could "put James Brown to shame." One of Fordham's memories says even more about Mr. Coffee's character. Although Mr. Coffee had known him since he was a boy, he continued to address Fordham as "Professor." When Fordham told him that wasn't necessary, Mr. Coffee's response was simple: "You earned it." That was the end of the discussion. There's something about that small exchange that tells you a lot about a person. Respect mattered. And for generations, H&R mattered too. The Sweet Shop became a place where people could eat, gather, talk, and simply be part of the community. Mr. Coffee helped carry that forward, feeding generations while continuing a Black-owned family business that began more than 80 years ago. For us at Carolima's, that kind of longevity puts things into perspective. We're a Black-owned, family-run food business rooted in the Lowcountry, but we are certainly not the first. Before Carolima's, there were families like the Johnsons. There were Black restaurant owners, caterers, cooks, farmers, fishermen, and entrepreneurs building businesses and serving their communities, often during times when the opportunities available to them looked very different from the opportunities we have today. We are standing on their shoulders. As business owners, it's easy to spend most of our time looking forward—the next event, the next client, the next opportunity. But it's just as important to look back and recognize the people who helped create the path we're walking today. As Carolima's approaches 15 years in business, we can look at a place like H&R and appreciate what it means for a Black-owned family business to endure for generations. We can share Gullah Geechee and Lowcountry food traditions today because people before us kept cooking them, serving them, and creating spaces where those traditions could live. Mr. Coffee was part of carrying that legacy forward. Fordham ended his remembrance by thanking Mr. Coffee for feeding several generations, for his business skills, and for being a role model to young people. We think that's a legacy worth recognizing. So today, we honor Mr. Coffee, the Johnson family, and H&R Sweet Shop—not simply for the years they've been in business, but for what those years represent. Rest well, Mr. Coffee. Thank you for feeding generations and helping leave a path for those of us coming behind you.
Whether you've been following Carolima's for years or you're just discovering us, we thought it was time for a proper introduction. Carolima's Lowcountry Cuisine is a family-owned catering company specializing in authentic Gullah Geechee and Lowcountry cuisine and elevated dining experiences. For nearly 15 years, we've had the privilege of sharing our food, culture, and hospitality throughout Charleston and beyond. But Carolima's didn't become what it is today overnight. Where It All Began Carolima's was founded in 2011 by Sameka Jenkins , who began catering while working full-time as a commercial loan processor. What started with catering eventually expanded into a restaurant, giving Carolima's a home and an opportunity to introduce even more people to the food Sameka grew up eating. At the same time, her sister Emma Cromedy was establishing herself in Charlotte's culinary scene. Emma founded SouthernCakeQueen in 2008 and later launched Charlotte's first mobile dessert bakery . Her baking career also took her to television, where she competed on Cooking Channel's Sugar Showdown. When Emma returned home to Charleston in 2017, the sisters eventually combined their talents and businesses. Two separate entrepreneurial journeys came together, and Carolima's began its next chapter. Who We Are Today Carolima's has continued to evolve. Today, we're a full-service catering company providing full-service and drop-off catering for weddings, corporate events, social gatherings, and celebrations of all sizes. We also offer made-from-scratch desserts and immersive culinary experiences that allow us to share more of the history and culture behind our food. While the business has expanded, the foundation of our menus remains the same: Gullah Geechee and Lowcountry cuisine. Charleston red rice, Hoppin' John, collard greens, okra, seafood, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and Charleston Chewies are more than menu selections to us. They're connected to the food traditions of our families and the Lowcountry we call home. That's an important part of what makes Carolima's different. We're not simply serving Southern food. We're sharing cuisine rooted in a culture that has helped shape Charleston's culinary identity for generations. We believe those traditions deserve to be preserved, celebrated, and shared. How Far We've Come Over the years, Carolima's has been fortunate to experience opportunities we couldn't have imagined when the first catering orders went out in 2011. We've participated in Charleston Wine + Food , become an approved caterer at the South Carolina Aquarium , and served clients and guests at events throughout the Lowcountry and beyond. One of our proudest moments was sharing our food and family story on a Food Network series that went on to win an Emmy Award . Experiences like these have allowed Carolima's to introduce Gullah Geechee and Lowcountry cuisine to audiences far beyond our own community. But recognition has never been the reason we do what we do. At its core, Carolima's has always been about food, family, culture, and hospitality . We want the food to be memorable, but we also want you to remember how you felt. Whether we're serving an intimate gathering or hundreds of guests, our goal is to make people feel welcomed, cared for, and a little like they're part of our family. That's the Carolima's experience. Nearly 15 years later, we've evolved, we've grown, and we've learned a lot along the way. But we're still rooted in the same culture, recipes, and hospitality that started it all. So, if you're new here, welcome to Carolima's. And if you've been with us for years, thank you for continuing to make room for us at your table. We're Carolima's Lowcountry Cuisine—Gullah Geechee roots, Lowcountry flavor, and hospitality that feels like family.
