The problem of what to serve guests is being solved by Lori Fox and her staff at Chez Vous Catering.

Fox purchased Chez Vous in 1984.

"I love cooking and having dinner parties so it seemed like a logical step for me to go into the catering business. Nothing has changed over the years, I still love having parties and watching people enjoy the food," says Fox.

At the time Fox purchased the business, Chez Vous offered "take-away" dinners to their clients.

"I wanted to focus more on the full service side of catering, so we stopped doing the take-away dinners," says Fox.

But with the economic downturn, many people stopped having the larger parties.

"People still like to have dinner parties, and the menu is still the number one concern for most people. So I've decided to start doing the take-away menu again," says Fox.

After choosing a date, clients can call the staff at Chez Vous and get help with menu ideas. Once those decisions have been made, the staff of chefs at Chez Vous will prepare the items requested and the client can pick them up and take them away to be enjoyed.

"Theme parties are very popular right now. We have lots of ideas for theme parties, and we can help with the entire party or just the food. It's all up to the client and what they want," says Fox.

One of the more popular theme parties during the summer months was the tropical party.

From the menu a client may want to start with an hors d' oeuvres tray of seasonal crudités with dip or melon wrapped with proscuitto. The fresh seasonal fruit tray may be just the thing to serve guests.

"Comfort food is big right now. People are ordering a lot of our meat and potato dinners for the take-away dinners," says Fox.

Chez Vous has a large selection of beef, poultry, seafood and vegetarian meals, also. There are lamb and veal dishes available as well.

Once an entree has been chosen, Chez Vous can help with the selection of the side dishes and salads at the client's request.

With more than 30 kinds of salad, including main course salads, the possibilities are almost endless.

And for those clients who may be having coffee and dessert parties—which are especially popular around Christmas and Thanksgiving—Chez Vous has an extensive list of specialty desserts, from génoise cakes and chocolate mousse to the house special: fresh apple strudel baked by the chefs at Chez Vous.

"We can either come into the home or hall where a client has chosen to have the party and set up a full dessert bar, or we can have several desserts ready for them to pick up and take with them," says Fox.

With customer satisfaction as the mantra at Chez Vous, Fox is happiest when her clients call or write to tell her how well the party went.

"We don't do a lot of advertising—we rely on word of mouth from our clients—and business is good," says Fox.

Chez Vous has an impressive record of full-service catering. At the opening day celebration for the Tech Museum of Innovation, Chez Vous served more than 4,000 guests.

"We've done sit-down dinners, buffets and almost anything else you can imagine for some of the top Bay Area companies. But we also do a lot of weddings and smaller parties," says Fox.

Chez Vous is located at 1053 Lincoln Ave., Suite 100. For more information and a full menu list, visit www.chezvouscatering.com or call 408.277.0661.