Takeout for Thanksgiving : Caterers Are Grateful for Families Who Defy Tradition

When Alan Greeley’s clients talk about the Big Game, they’re not referring to the Houston Oilers-Dallas Cowboys match-up at 1 p.m. They’re talking turkey, wild Alabama turkey, to be exact, served on bed of wild rice and dripping with wild mushroom gravy.

Greeley owns the Golden Truffle, a chic Costa Mesa catering service and eatery. And this Thanksgiving Day, he is helping Orange County’s well-heeled stay-at-homes enjoy a trendy Truffle dinner without stepping into the kitchen or out the front door.

The Truffle’s wild turkey takeout costs about $50 a person and comes with everything from the carrot souffle starter to the lemon tart dessert. Greeley’s more traditional feast, including roast turkey with oyster stuffing and quail egg en brioche, is available for a mere $38.50.

“We don’t have a lot of people who want to pay that kind of money,” he said. “But we do have more than we want. . . . We’re finding more people wanting to be at home with their family and friends rather than going out.”

This season there appears to be a boom in takeout Thanksgiving dinners, from the trendy to the traditional, according to caterers and food service professionals. And rather than just buying a pumpkin pie and dinner rolls at the local bakery, many families are purchasing the entire turkey dinner.

With food prices as high as they are, food service industry consultants said that it can be nearly as expensive to cook as it is to buy a ready-made dinner.

At the Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach, for example, a 24-pound turkey with all the trimmings can be had for $50. It serves eight and includes brussel sprouts, a variety of stuffings, giblet gravy, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie.

The Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles charges $98 for a 20-pound turkey and fixings, according to Marchele Kowalski, the hotel’s food and beverage coordinator. The dinner will easily feed 16 guests and is packed in special boxes that go right into the oven for reheating.

Kowalski said many of the 200 people who ordered the dinners this year were repeat customers who were pleased with past Thanksgiving dinners. For customers who preferred not to pick up their dinner at the Tiffany Ballroom, the Biltmore offered delivery service by limousine for an extra $49.

Beverly Sammut of Beverly Hills is a repeat Biltmore customer. Sammut contends that she couldn’t have prepared a meal to vie with the hotel’s “if I cooked for 3 days.”

“I don’t have an ego trip regarding cooking,” said Sammut, who reveals the chef’s true identity when her guests arrive. “I feel we all enjoy the holidays more when you are not involved in the work.”

Ronald N. Paul, president of Technomic, a Chicago food service consulting firm, said the market for takeout Thanksgiving food is “absolutely there.”

“Just think of the older single couple where the wife doesn’t want to cook,” said Paul. And, he said, busy two-income, professional couples are also more likely to buy, rather than cook, their holiday dinner. Around the Southland, caterers and restaurant owners said they were deluged with Thanksgiving orders.

“We have really increased (Thanksgiving) business over the last 3 years,” said Kathy Winters, sales manager at Jay’s Catering in Garden Grove, on Wednesday. “It’s gone up every year. We have 30 turkeys to be picked up tomorrow, some today. Our holiday menus went out the end of September; we’ve been selling from October on.”

Jay’s patrons can choose between the complete turkey package, called Thanksgiving ala Mastroianni after the firm’s owners, or the Thanksgiving Helper, a bare-bones alternative that can be augmented with the home chef’s favorite side dishes. The larger array costs $12.95 per person for a minimum of 15 diners; the more austere is $9.95 per person for a minimum of 10.

“I think people are just tired of having all the work,” Winters said. “It’s easier to have someone else bring your food to you hot. We deliver between 8 a.m. and noon. All you need to do is put it out.”

For a $5 charge, Phil’s Phresh Fish & Poultry in the Larchmont area of Los Angeles cooked customer’s turkeys in their revolving oven. Counter man Joe Chavez said he expected to sell about 30 turkeys a day during Thanksgiving week.

Renee and Scott Diamond, owners of 7th Heaven, a gourmet takeout shop in Santa Monica prepared a full, traditional Thanksgiving meal, including appetizer, main course and dessert, for $20 to $25 per person.

“We do a very special menu for Thanksgiving,” said Renee Diamond. “It’s a very big day for us.”

Diamond said she expected Thanksgiving sales to reach about $10,000, compared to about $3,000 on a normal day. People craving a Thanksgiving meal with a Greek twist, turned to Sofi Konstantinidis , owner of Sofi’s restaurant in West Los Angeles. Konstantinidis said she prepared special Greek-style yams embellished with chestnuts and pine nuts, to accompany the traditional turkey dinner. She said she expected to double her daily business with eat in and takeout customers.

Jeff Nesemeier, manager of Tony Roma’s in Beverly Hills, offered a takeout Thanksgiving dinner for $7.95 per person that included turkey, sweet or baked potatoes, dressing and pumpkin pie. He said the restaurant traditionally “does real well on it.” At the Honeybaked Ham Co. in Anaheim, manager Micky Joyce, said she was selling turkeys prepared by a man in Corona. But “Thanksgiving is not nearly as busy as Christmas for us,” Joyce said.

For people seeking takeout turkey dinners at the last minute, many turned to Gelson’s Markets. Gelson’s sold roasted turkey for $3.39 a pound, chestnut stuffing for $4.19 a pound, and gingered yam souffle for $4.29 a pound, according to spokeswoman Elise Marks.

Times staff writer Keith Bradsher contributed to this report.