Rising Stars: Meet Ava Bardsley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Bardsley.

Hi Ava, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Both my husband (Josh Halper) and I have been in the restaurant industry our whole lives and both are very passionate about what we do. We both began our careers in Los Angeles, Ca. My husband’s early work consisted of being the food and beverage director for the Malibu Beach Inn Hotel, earning his Advanced Sommelier certification, while I worked in fine-dining establishments like Tom Colicchio’s Craft restaurant and Micheal Voltaggio’s Ink.

From there we were offered an opportunity to move to Hawaii, where my husband would be the Director of Operations for Peter Merrimans fine-dining restaurant, while I worked as a chef at the Mana Launi Resort Hotel. Eventually, we became homesick and decided to move back to the mainland where we landed in Tennessee where my husband began to consult restaurant groups and I worked private chafing and events.

We have now opened our own business where we have combined our attention to detail, passion for cuisine, libations, and wines, to Tennessee where we hope to offer people a truly unique hospitality experience.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Any new start-up always has its sets of obstacles but luckily everything has been running smoothly. It has been challenging however to get some of our clients accustomed to experiencing different flavors than what they are used to.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Meraki a Tailored Table predicates itself on a truly personalized food experience. We offer high-end global/seasonal cuisine, spirits that can be tailored to meet the needs of every individual we partner with.

We are the only catering firm in the state that has an Advanced Sommelier/Fine Dining Chef working in tandem to curate your visions. We offer wine dinners, private Chef experiences, drop-off catering, event catering, meal prep, cakes, pastries, batched cocktails, restaurant consulting, and more. We have partnered with a few restaurants in the state and supply them with gourmet pastries, desserts, and savory items.

Our unique restaurant background gives us the opportunity to support our community by supplying high-end artisan products.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We work with our clients to create menus, products, events based on their budgets, and visions.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.meraki-table.com
• Instagram: @meraki_tailoredtable