About Us

CKC Good Food Event Catering has catered special events dating back to 1990. Born from the popular St. Paul restaurant, Caravan Serai, the first Afghani restaurant in the United States, we have grown in size and expansiveness of our culinary range. We are adept at flavors including Asian, Mediterranean and Mexican as well as traditional American cuisine.

Our team is more than 200 people strong and includes skilled chefs, prep staff and servers to make your event a success. Led by Chef Naj, CKC Good Food Event Catering is versatile, accommodating and professional.

Meet Our Team

Najil Bagdadi, Executive Chef

A Minneapolis native, Chef Najil Bagdadi has more than 20 years’ experience cooking diverse cultural and high-end cuisines. He has led CKC event catering since 2018, after 15 years in restaurants including Masa, D’Amico Kitchen, Victory 44 and IE, as well as 2 years with 3 Sons Signature Cuisine Catering. While at 3 Sons, he cooked for events that drew up to 1,000 people.

Chef Naj began his culinary career at age 19 at the acclaimed Minneapolis seafood restaurant Oceanaire. While there, he regularly cooked for celebrities and pro athletes, including the likes of actor Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible), comedian Dave Chappell, comedian-turned-politician Al Franken and NBA player and coach Sam Cassel. Rhames said the sea bass Chef Naj prepared was “excellent.”

The broad array of menus Chef Naj has created for CKC reflect both his professional experience as well as his North African/Middle Eastern roots, his wife’s Mexican heritage and his extensive world travel.

While he’s been cooking a lot of barbecue the past two years, his favorite cuisine to cook and eat is seafood. He says, “I’ve always been partial to seafood. It’s such a vast and diverse category, the healthiest of all the proteins and requires a delicate touch. It’s usually the last protein chefs master in their careers. I was fortunate enough to learn seafood first, starting where I did (Oceanaire).”

Nancy Close, Founder & CEO

Nancy Close’s heart and soul are in the food world, with roots that run deep. Her parents started and ran the popular Caravan Serai, one of the first Afghan restaurants in the U.S., in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood. Nancy saw from an early age how the warmth and graciousness of the Afghan culture, combined with delicious food, created a powerful experience for customers. After working in the corporate food world, she took the reins of Caravan Serai from her parents. In 1990, that restaurant launched CKC Good Food to provide corporate and event catering services in the Twin Cities.

Nancy’s passion for creating food that is both delicious and nutritious fueled the growth of her company. Today, it’s the largest woman-owned food service company in Minnesota. Nancy has been recognized with many awards for her career, including:

  • 2024 Notable Women in Agriculture, Food, and Beverage from Twin Cities Business magazine
  • 2023 Minnesota Women Business Owners Hall of Fame Inductee
  • 2020 ACG Minnesota Bold Award Nominee
  • 2014 Women in Business Honoree
  • 2013 Honorable mention – Homegrown Hero Award
  • Department of Defense – Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve