La Fond Associates Catering. My last name fit perfectly - La Fond is French for a good, strong base or stock. At that time the real estate market was booming in the greater Seattle area. I specialized in providing food for Broker’s Openings, catering hors d’oeuvres for groups of anywhere from 100 to 400. I relished discovering new recipes as well as working in such a creative environment. Holding a big dinner party at your home can be a challenge, but imagine doing this: a party for 300 on bare land at the top of a mountain soon to be developed. We hauled up everything that might be needed including water for clean-up. Fortunately for me, I had already met the man I was later to marry. He was a great cook with catering experience, and most willing to prepare dinner for us at the end of that long day. I soon discovered catering can be just as intense as restaurant work, yet it offered better money and more flexible hours which was great when I had my children. What are the best things about catering? Developing your own unique style; creating amazing recipes; working in a fragrant atmosphere; sampling one’s concoctions until you find just the right blend of flavors; and preparing elaborate displays that someone else pays for. When you cater, you make food that’s a piece of art both for the eye and the palate. For a creative type like me, it doesn’t get any better than that. The down side is that much of the work must be done at the last minute. A job for 300 people might take only four days of purchasing, prepping, cooking, and layout - but they are 16 hour work days! It was during one of my crazier moments that I decided to cater my own wedding. Looking back, I would never recommend this. The problem was that my friends liked my cooking. They liked the flavors and spiciness, the bountiful variety and colorful displays. At the time, it seemed ridiculous to try to teach or pay someone else to present what I was well-known for.
Luckily, by then I had developed a working relationship with another
caterer and she backed me up. We prepped together and she set-up while I said my “I do’s.” The only downside? At the reception hall the guests spotted the food and bee-lined for plates, so we had to abandon the traditional reception line.
I N T RO D U C T I O N S AVO RY & S AC R E D
9