Fielding Customers
Jean-Claude Guerin has been an avid soccer fan since his childhood in France. But his love for the sport may have peaked last month when the team representing his native country won the World Cup.
“I could not believe it happened in my lifetime,” said Guerin, owner of At Your Service catering firm located inside Oxnard’s Residence Inn by Marriott at River Ridge. “And that was the night we had soccer teams from Argentina and Guatemala in [the hotel]. It cost me two cases of champagne.”
Giving away bottles of champagne to visiting soccer players only makes sense to Guerin. As At Your Service begins its second year, it seems soccer players are making up a significant part of the catering company’s business.
“There is an international soccer championship in Southern California, at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, and a lot of the teams come up here to practice,” Guerin said.
“The city college of Oxnard has a perfect soccer field for them, and a company from Los Angeles brings the teams to the hotel. We have no bar, no restaurant, no dancing--no temptations.”
But a man’s got to eat.
The hungry soccer players, Guerin said, depend in large part on his in-house catering service to satisfy their appetites.
“Four more teams may be coming back around the 24th or 25th of August,” Guerin said. “They train here, are bused down to Memorial Coliseum and return late at night. Sometimes we feed them after midnight.”
Guerin, the former food and beverage director at Capistrano’s Restaurant at Oxnard’s Mandalay Beach Resort, said even without the athletes, his first year as an independent caterer was a considerable success.
“The highlight of the year was my lack of days off,” he said. “I’m going on seven years now in this area, and people know that I won’t serve anything I won’t eat.”
At Your Service has had its share of weddings, bar mitzvahs and corporate events (it hosted a Kinko’s gathering last week), and has gone on the road to the Strawberry Festival.
“It’s been a very interesting year,” Guerin said. “It’s something I always wanted to do--owning my own business. It’s an American dream when you immigrate.”
Planning Ahead: Wine Lovers bar and shop in Ventura will offer 10 Syrahs for tasting during the “Belly of Shiraz” evening of Persian wine and food Aug. 13.
Wine Lovers owner Lisa Hicks will present the beverage of the evening accompanied by servings of stuffed grape leaves and hummus. Belly dancers will perform during the wining and dining.
The wine bar is at 1067 E. Thompson Blvd. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $25 per person.
On Aug. 28, Hicks will collaborate with Louis Ludwig, executive chef at Ventura’s Pierpoint Inn, to present a tropical-themed dinner at Ojai’s Palmdorosa Ranch. Wines from the Joseph Phelps Winery of the Napa Valley will be featured.
Helping to set the tone for the evening, the site will be adorned with tiki huts, torches, tropical flowers and palm trees. African drumming will provide the background music. Cost is $120 per person. Dinner is at 7 p.m.
For reservations for either Wine Lovers event, call (805) 652-1810.
