By the age of 7, Schopp dreamed of cooking. He watched “The Galloping Gourmet” and Julia Child on television. By 16, he was on the cooking path.

Schopp holds a bachelor’s of business administration in marketing/management from the University of Kentucky and an associate degree in culinary arts from Virginia Western Community College, where he is also now an instructor. With experience working in bakeries, private clubs, restaurants and the Roanoke Civic Center, Schopp opened Center Stage Catering in 2001. The company serves not only business events and upscale parties, but also provides catering services for many of the major acts that play Roanoke’s Jefferson Center. This has put him in front of a special kind of customer—musicians on tour. Numerous musical giants have appreciated Schopp’s culinary efforts, including Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney. “Have mercy … he’s an artist …,” Wynton Marsalis told his audience after eating a Schopp meal. “He made us feel right.”

Cooking with Nature
In summer, Schopp goes to camp. For the last decade he has provided the meals for Victor Wooten’s Bass/Nature Camp in Tennessee. Wooten, a five-time Grammy award-winning bassist, created the camp to build awareness in music, nature and life.

“It’s a magical place,” Schopp says. “The instructors are highly acclaimed musicians and the campers, who range in age from 16 to 70 with a variety of musical abilities, come from around the world to experience music, Eastern philosophy and even animal tracking. They try Tai Chi. They sit in the woods and meditate.” Here, participants are opened up creatively and become willing to try new things. Including the food.

Schopp does not serve typical camp fare such as a grilled-cheese sandwich and can of soup. “I don’t come with any preconceived notions of what I want to cook,” he says. “I consider the energy of each day, the temperature and the teachings. If the nature guide brings me beaver, rattlesnake or huckleberries, I cook it. I offer five to seven dishes per meal, served buffet style. If there is a guest from India, I will incorporate that into the food to pay homage to the guest’s nationality.”

Prepared to make 1,500 meals in a week, Schopp brings 2,000 lbs. of eclectic food—ingredients such as lobster tails, duck, cocoa nibs, fresh dandelion greens and bee pollen. “I try to turn the cooking inside out,” he says. “If someone is a vegan or has a restricted diet, I will serve these foods to the whole group. The carnivores can still have their meat, but I don’t want the vegan dish to feel stigmatized or added on.”

In the camp kitchen, Schopp and his staff smile, joke, listen to music and dance. “It’s full of love in the kitchen,” says Wooten, “and you taste it in the food.”

Schopp says this diverse group of individuals all glow from the camp experience. No one wants to go home. “I work hard at camp,” he says, “but it’s a growing experience for me, too. When you return to real life it can be like moving from a dark room into sunlight. The real world can be harsh and abrasive.” When Schopp emerges back into his daily routines, he carries with him some new recipes and a refreshed, thoughtful spontaneity for his catering menus.

Who Are You Cooking for?
Food tells the story of who people are, so Schopp does not require his clients to choose from a set menu. If it’s a wedding he will ask, “Who are you? How do you eat? What’s your heritage? The groom’s heritage? What do you eat when you are cold and vulnerable?” This personalization will be valued, and Schopp is confident about the reaction. “The 200 guests will then say, ‘That food was great, we’re full.’ They won’t need to swing by McDonald’s after the reception.”

Schopp has made his home in the beautiful rolling hills of the western Blue Ridge Mountains. He often travels at least one hour for his catering events, and even as far as Nashville, which can be a 10-hour trip. Schopp and his wife, Karen, settled in this remote spot to have land and peace, so that their two children could enjoy woods and streams.

In the last year, Schopp has intentionally slowed down, and his successful catering company does not accept every job. “The chemistry has to be right,” he says. “It’s no longer about the money.” Schopp feels fortunate. He has a thriving business and fulfilling work. He is married to his soul mate—he met his wife in the fifth grade, and they were born on the same day in the same year. “At home we take the time to blare jazz, light incense and tell each other we love each other.”

“If you look, beauty is in all things,” Schopp says. “Art, music and food knock down the barriers between people. Everyone needs to be nourished.”

Like any artist, Schopp wants to make a lasting memory for someone. He tells his students, “The culinary technical knowledge is vast and daunting. After 31 years, I know just a fraction, but I do know that it’s not just about putting pretty, tall food on the plate and pushing it into the dining room. It’s about the connection, opening up your awareness and taking care of the person you’re nourishing. That’s an intimate communion, which has nothing to do with social, economic or cultural boundaries. It’s about nourishing the essence of another human being.”

Lynn Schwartz, a former New York City restaurateur, is a writer and writing instructor/coach (fiction and nonfiction) based in Maryland. Visit www.writerswordhouse.com.