Caterers Duel for Nixon’s Shindig

The heat is on. Hot parties have caterers cooking up bids. At the top of the list: the weeklong July opening of the President Richard M. Nixon Library.

Who will whip up the continental breakfast for Nixon and 30 VIP guests, the Yorba Linda Leadership reception, the bash for docents, the luncheon for 3,000 Nixon fans?

Pennington of Santa Ana is a strong contender. The catering company--which made sure lobster was on the barbie for Sly Stallone last year when Elton John tossed him a birthday bash--dished up a sampling for members of the library’s grand-opening committee this week.

Five gala planners with discerning palates came to Pennington to savor its fennel sausages in puff pastry, duck tacos, grilled swordfish, veal tortellini and Chinese chicken salads. And, of course, there were desserts to ponder: wafer-thin pralines and fist-size strawberries dunked in white and dark chocolate.

“We showed them some of our best,” says Pennington’s party coordinator, Jeff Parker, who has pulled off such catering feats as a clambake on the fourth floor of a local corporate tower. “It’s going to be a big week with lots of parties. And each event requires a different menu concept. Some guests may come to every affair, so we can’t have them dining on repeats.”

In other catering coups, Thymes of Costa Mesa landed the year’s most elegant party when it won the bid for Saturday night’s gala opening of the Marbella Golf and Country Club in San Juan Capistrano. The chocolate coated dessert table include one of Thymes’ specialties: Belgian chocolate brownies.

Thymes owner Janet Rosener decided to pave a table with chocolate when she saw that the multimillion-dollar club’s floors were covered with stone. “We try to represent the client’s environment rather than shine as a company,” says Rosener, who also landed the luncheon Gavin and Ninetta Herbert will stage to honor Arnold Beckman’s 90th birthday next month. “The nicest compliment we can receive is, ‘The food is fabulous!’ not, ‘Who’s catering?’ ”

Since she founded her company three years ago, Rosener has fed the hundreds who attended billionaire Donald L. Bren’s opening of the renovated Newport Center Fashion Island; the corporate crowd that runs South Coast Plaza (at last year’s Christmas breakfast for C.J. Segerstrom & Sons), and, the day the Academy Award nominations were announced, bigwigs from Columbia-Tri Star Pictures.

Another hot date on Thymes’ culinary calendar: the two pre-concert dinners Us Magazine will stage to honor singer Billy Joel when he performs in Los Angeles next week.

What does it take to become a catering superstar? “Attention to detail and style of presentation,” says Rosener, who has commanded up to $250,000 for one of her ultra-feeds.

For example, when Rosener’s chefs whip up her taste bud-blowing brownies, they’ll use 40 pounds of chocolate, plus chocolate chips, for every batch of 80. “And they’re handmade,” Rosener emphasizes.

When the candy table top arrives at Marbella, Thymes chefs will have used 300 pounds of pricey Belgian chocolate to create it. “We go for the interesting, not the weird,” Rosener says.

Rosener’s dream is to cater the post-Academy Awards bash in 1992. Next year’s Academy Awards party will be catered by Along Came Mary, the Los Angeles caterer who will feed the stylish crowd (Lakers’ coach Pat Riley and actress Connie Sellecca, among them) who will attend the opening of Sports Club/Irvine on Saturday night.

While Rosener has her eye on L.A., Mary Miccuci, owner of Along Came Mary, has her eye on Orange County. “There’s a lot happening there,” says Miccuci, who says she catered every major movie premiere last summer. “And it’s only 40 minutes away.”

Another hot name on the tongues of party planners is Alan Greeley, owner of the Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa. Greeley landed the catering contract for the new Robert Mondavi Wine and Food Center in Costa Mesa. And just last week, he fed guests at soirees staged at the homes of Forbes 400 developers William Lyon and George Argyros.

Creating hot party fare recently won Greeley the California Seafood Challenge. His recipe for baked Santa Barbara prawns and northern pike with pomegranate and orange butter sauce beat out the creations of 700 rival chefs.

“I love to cook,” says Greeley, who last year flew to the French Riviera to cater a party for visitors to the Cannes Film Festival. “And I cook from the heart. To cook for a crowd and succeed, it has to be your passion.”