It’s Best of Thymes for Menu Planners

Looking for moments that are Maalox-free? Beep Janet Rosener.

As Orange County’s caterer with cachet--from “The Doors” movie premiere bash in Los Angeles to a lunch this week at Casa Pacifica in San Clemente--Rosener has built a reputation on taking care of business.

Take Saturday’s benefit for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. The early-bird breakfast celebrating the unveiling of a new carousel at South Coast Plaza’s Crystal Court could have been a bacon and eggs free-for-all.

But not with Rosener at the helm.

When she learned the benefit was for kids, Rosener brainstormed menu ideas with her staff for hours, she said. “We asked ourselves, ‘As children, what did we love to eat?’ ”

The answer: besides the requisite bacon and eggs, there were chocolate chip pancakes, apple-cinnamon pancakes, Belgian waffles--all dished up with syrups, honey, creme fraiche , whipped cream, strawberries, nuts, raisins, sweet butter and chocolate sprinkles.

The idea, Rosener explained, was to cook up fare that was “interactive.”

If there’s a now trend in catering for a crowd, it’s serving food that requires audience participation. “Food should be alive,” she said. “It’s when people become a part of food that they really enjoy it.”

Rosener cited a recent Thai-themed party featuring “exploded lamb.” To make the shredded meat dish fun, Rosener searched Little Saigon for rice paper and an assortment of mint.

She wound up with a hit on her hands. “People loved filling the papers and sprinkling on the condiments,” she said. “It’s a wonderful way to get the conversation flowing.”

The premiere party for “The Doors” (at the swinging Whisky nightclub on Sunset Boulevard) featured ‘60s fare that was both junk and health-themed, Rosener said.

There were chili dogs with grated sweet onion, Cheddar cheese and chopped pickles. There were french fries and ketchup. And, of course, there were patty melts with optional onions, and vegetarian sandwiches with a choice of avocado, cheese, bean sprouts and sunflower seeds. Not to mention piles of candy bars.

The cuisine will be more sedate when Ninetta Herbert welcomes the Angels of the Arts--the very exclusive for-women-only support group of the Orange County Performing Arts Center--to Casa Pacifica on Wednesday for an al fresco luncheon.

No interactive food here. But a sense of participation will be conveyed to guests when they watch the chefs prepare the main dish on an open grill. Herbert (wife of Allergan’s top gun, Gavin Herbert) and Rosener put their heads together to come up with the elegant dish--boneless breast of chicken marinated in tangerine juice, parsley and garlic puree served on wild greens with artichoke, blackberries and champagne-chive vinaigrette.)

Since the luncheon has a rose-theme (Herbert also owns Roger’s Gardens), Rosener has whipped up a dessert of homemade rose geranium ice cream garnished with edible--yes edible --sugared rose petals.

When the Professions and Finance Associates for the City of Hope stage their bash atop the Center tower parking structure on June 29, it will be Thymes (Rosener’s company) that will do the cooking.

Since the supper will be held before a showing of “Les Miserables” in Segerstrom Hall, the menu will feature French-themed items such as filet mignon sauteed with white truffle oil, garlic, and fresh herbs, and tenderloin of veal sauteed with white and rose peppercorns, vermouth and sweet butter. Guests will get to choose sauces that include a Chardonnay, a Dijon mustard, a Madeira, and a Bordelaise. (Sorry folks, the event is a sellout.)

Dessert? To die for: dark and light chocolate terrine with macadamia-nut praline; caramelized pears in puff pastry with English cream; and walnut biscotti cookies dipped in white chocolate accompanied by fresh apricot preserves.

The secret to her success? Knowing how to cook up food-from-the-soul. “There is a certain personality that food has, an integrity,” Rosener said. “We respect that. We know never to take food to a point of bad taste.”

Celebrity watch: There were stars in the audience and on stage Friday night when the Pacific Symphony presented singer Jack Jones at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Brightening up the sanguine seats in Segerstrom Hall were Nancy Sinatra (a high school chum of Jones) and Nanette Fabray, a faithful fan.

After Jones entertained the SRO crowd with ballads such as “Rainy Day” and a medley of his hits--including “Wives and Lovers” (“The feminists hate it when I sing this,” Jones said, “but I’m gonna sing it till I die.”)--Jones and his wife, Kim, joined symphony supporters for a post-concert bash underwritten by Peat Marwick at the Center Club.

An eye-catcher: The portable phone Kim carted to the party. “We have a new, 3-month-old baby,” she explained, smiling. “And this is our first night out since Nicole was born. I couldn’t stand to be out of reach.”

Kim also shared that she had buzzed down to Costa Mesa from Sherman Oaks with Nancy Sinatra and one of Nancy’s pals. “All three of us brought our phones,” she said. “And you know what? Before we got to Costa Mesa, each of us got a call!”

The Buzz: President George Bush is supposed to spend two days at the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills this week. If so, that will make the second time in a few weeks that Bush has stayed at a hotel owned by an Orange County resident.

When Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu recently, he stayed at the Four Seasons in Newport Beach--a hotel owned by billionaire Donald L. Bren.

Beverly and Robert Cohen--owners of the former John Wayne manse in Newport Beach--own the Beverly Hills hotel.