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Published on 03/30/1998 All articles from this issue

They make house calls

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writer

Business Profile

Service offers gourmet meals for those who can't - or won't - cook

Los Altos resident Lynn Faust spends long hours working from her home, yet she and her husband enjoy gourmet dinners without sacrificing any time shopping or cooking.

The same is true for Betty Bernstein, who can't stand for long periods of time because of health reasons. The 84-year-old said cooking is a problem, but she eats home-cooked meals four times a week.

Joan Brant does all the cooking in her household. When she needs a break from the kitchen, she dines on a gourmet dinner delivered to her home.

Through the Los Altos-based home delivery service called, Dinner Time! by Celia & Jaylyn Catering of Los Altos, these residents are among the folks enjoying home-cooked meals without ever having to go into their kitchens.

"It's a nice solution at the end of a busy day," Faust said. "They really put their heart and soul into it."

Bernstein said the delivery service has solved all of her cooking problems. "I feel as if someone has been in my kitchen making me a nice dinner. It really makes me feel pampered ... and I'm fussy."

Brant, who lives in Los Altos, said she orders a catered dinner about once a week. "It gives you a break from cooking. It's nice to have a meal and not have to worry about cooking it yourself or getting dressed up."

Jaylyn Marvin, a computer professional, and Celia Doucette, a sous-chef, started Celia & Jaylyn Catering of Los Altos last September at a time when Marvin was cooking for her grandmother, who was recovering from a fall. They started delivering home-cooked meals in February after friends and neighbors started asking the two to cook dinner for them, too.

Doucette said she thinks home cooking is becoming a lost tradition.

"There's a need for home cooking," Doucette said. "People are tired at the end of the day, don't like to cook or don't know how to."

Marvin said they prepare about 10 meals a night for delivery at residences and businesses in Los Altos and neighboring cities. She said they cook for a spectrum of customers including bachelors, business women, new mothers and senior citizens. Customers can order meals from a monthly menu that features one pre-cooked meal a night. Marvin said customers order home-cooked meals anywhere from one to five nights a week.

While in their kitchen last week, Doucette and Marvin prepared pork loin, vegetables, rice and fruit salad as if cooking dinner for their own families. They added personal touches to each customer's food, noting who preferred mashed potatoes instead of rice, or who liked to heat up dinner in the microwave rather than a conventional oven.

Doucette said they taste everything to make sure its good.

"We want our meals to taste like mom cooked them.".

Doucette and Marvin deliver meals from a monthly menu Monday through Friday. Single entrees cost $9.50, double entrees cost $12.50 and dessert is $2.50 extra. Delivery charges range from $1.00 to $5.00 depending on the location. All entrees are made to either be heated in the microwave or in a conventional oven.

For more information, call 494-7175.