BY SUSAN HART HELLMAN           

     Today’s caterers are full-service businesses, ready to help couples create memories that will last a lifetime.  They prepare the most delicious foods, combining the best of international cuisine with the comforting flavors of home to satisfy our eclectic cultural backgrounds.  To find out just how creative our local caterers are, we asked them to share what most inspires their creativity and what they would ideally serve at their own wedding reception. So sit back, now, and savor the results. 
     Maili, owner of Maili Productions, Inc. says it would be difficult to plan her own reception dinner.  “It is almost impossible for me to choose only a few foods because I love food so much,” she said.  Her remedy would be to have small plates so that everyone could taste all of her favorite foods.  “We would probably have six or seven different hors d’oeuvres and ahi tuna tartar would definitely be on that list.  The salad would have to be with  Arugula because I’m addicted to it and need to eat it every day. Then I think we’d sit down to a succession of small plates that everyone at each table would share.  I’d have to have filet grilled over oak.  They would be mini filets so that everyone could just have a few bites.  I’d also have some kind of braised fennel, either grilled or served with fish.”
     But Maili says the most important must for her own wedding menu would be a cheese course served just after the main portion of the meal.  “I could personally live on cheese, fruit, and bread, and I’m crazy about all the new artisan cheeses in California,” she adds. “It’s important to plan a meal where the tastes in each course complement each other.  There is a balance to strike between rich and light, acid and sweet, salty and sour.  When you can balance all of those elements, you have the perfect menu.” 
Marc, owner of Rincon Beach Club and Catering, Inc., says that, for his own “fantasy menu,” he would have an extended cocktail party. There would be no formal seating, and hors d’oeuvres would be served for two hours, followed by dessert.  He would have them passed in stages.  For stage one, parmesan crostini with warmed Brie and fresh California pesto, grilled shrimp on sugar cane skewers with coconut marinade and mango-papaya Mojo.  For stage two, pot-stickers with turkey, cilantro and Hoisin sauce, and gravlax on garlic pumpernickel rounds with herb cream cheese. 
Stage three would consist of blackened chicken on sugar cane skewers with wasabi cream, and grilled mini lamb chops with mint Mojo.
     There would also be hors d’oeuvre stations:  an Asian station with hand-rolled Maki sushi served with wasabi;  a seafood station with chilled crab claws and King crab legs; the carving station would include corn-fed Iowa prime tenderloin with Rincon Texas pepper and herb rub; for the pasta station, sweet potato raviolinis with Portobella mushroom cream sauce. And last, but never least, a dessert station featuring fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a martini glass with crème Auglaize and a dark chocolate cigarette; and, of course, the legendary Rincon Chocolate Chip Brownies. 
      Concerning the ideal dinner he would serve at his own wedding, John Savage, owner of Creative Services Catering, says “I have always envisioned my wedding as being outside and preferably at the beach.” His ideal reception dinner would reflect the scenery. “For hors d’oeuvres,  I would start with BBQ lemongrass shrimp skewers with cucumbers and dusted with chili powder; prosciutto- and roasted vegetable-stuffed mushrooms topped with Manchego cheese; and eggplant and summer squash empanadas with roasted garlic aioli.”  He might also add a platter of tropical fruit. That’s just for starters!
For the next course, John said, “A salad of spring greens with roasted pine nuts, quince cubes, sweet Spanish onions topped with shredded Manchego cheese and a sherry vinaigrette dressing. The main entrées would start with a grilled sea bass with a lemon beurre blanc. Following the salad, a filet medallion with roasted oyster mushrooms in a veal stock reduction with vegetable risotto, flavored with Peneng curry and coconut milk.”
     Lynette La Mere, owner of Pure Joy Catering, says that she would have stations for her own reception dinner.  “I love stations; I would definitely go with stations for the cocktail hour, for their potential wow factor.  The options are endless and the format gets guests up and keeps the event moving.”  Providing an example of some of her favorites, Lynette discussed a reception she planned for her own company last week. “We had a champagne and caviar station; a chef was there, with a big smile, making Russian blinis with smoked salmon, caviar, crème fraîche and chives with a variety of luscious champagnes to try. That’s a treat!”
     There was a seafood and Chardonnay station. “Beautiful grilled fresh fish and green lip mussels laid out on a hot bed of sliced blood oranges,” Lynette says.  “We had little demi-plates of Asian slaw with Mai Fun shrimp cocoons.  They were beautiful.  The food was fresh and interesting and it coupled well with the wines.  The whole eating affair was very memorable.”
     Whatever your dream may be, regardless of your style of cuisine, the diversity of each of these dream menus shows how a creative caterer can design a fabulous meal for you and your guests.