Catch a Perfect Caterer – San Francisco Chronicle, April 7, 1999
We tracked down the best Bay Area companies offering affordable elegance. Once upon a time, it was unheard of for average folk to hire a caterer even for a special occasion, let alone an intimate dinner party. Caterers were for high society, with white-glove events paraded across the society columns. But times have changed. Today, hiring a caterer to cook at your home may cost no more than hosting a dinner at an upscale restaurant.
MISSION: FIND BEST BAY AREA CATERERS
For this story, we defined a caterer as doing at least 80 percent of its business off-site, working out of a commercial kitchen, and being fully licensed and insured and inspected regularly by the appropriate government agencies. We then set out to test the theory that the average person can afford a caterer.
THE SEARCH
We began our search for a caterer much like anyone would -- recommendations from friends, listings in the Yellow Pages, searches on the Internet -- gathering names until we had a list of about 50 Bay Area caterers. The goal: to ask each for a price per person for an imaginary event.
THE SCENARIO
Without telling them we were working on this story, we offered all the caterers the same scenario. We requested a sit-down dinner party for 12 guests at a home in San Francisco. The menu was to consist of three to four appetizers from 7- 8 p.m., followed by a three-course sit-down dinner with coffee service until 10:30 p.m. We asked for the price per person based solely on food and service. Some caterers asked questions we hadn't anticipated -- what was the kitchen plan, could they come by for a site visit, was there space to unload a van? All this indicates they were trying to provide the most accurate menu proposal they could based on our requests.
THE CONFESSION
After menu selections and numerous revisions, we narrowed the list to 30 caterers. It was time to spill the beans. Although many were incredulous at first, they all warmed up to the idea that we were researching a story on picking the best medium-size caterers in the Bay area. We requested a sample of each caterer's food and compensated all with the same fee.
Now came the real work of requesting prices to complete the accompanying chart. Knowing that a sit-down dinner party for 12 isn't the norm for most caterers, the asked for the price of a larger meal as well; the chart shows the price-per-person decreases with 24 guests. We also asked the average cost of a cocktail party for 50.
We wound up with prices for a three-course sit-down dinner ranging from $51.78 to $163.20 per person. Some included a service charge, others didn't. The average cocktail party for 50 people ranged from $23.62 to $96.33 per person.
THE TASTING
Satisfied with the caterer selections, we sampled and evaluated food from 23 caterers in one week -- and what a spectrum of food and presentation styles there were. We found ourselves nodding in delight and shaking our heads in disbelief.
Based on this, we bring you the best of the caterers…
Delicious! Inc.
Janet Goldberg's crew served up bite-size wild rice chicken streudel, smoked salmon pita triangles with horseradish creme fraiche and an excellent and generous portion of grilled salmon with roasted-garlic mashed potatoes and zesty caponata.
Delicious also makes many ethnic offerings, such as Asian, Latin American, Caribbean and Jewish specialties.
Most economical, Delicious! Inc. uses fresh ingredients, lovely flavor combinations, with many Jewish specialties among its ethnic offerings.
Lesli Neilson is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. She
has worked in the catering industry for several years.
