Catering to a dream

At least three Sacramento-area caterers have opened restaurants this year.

It's a trend that mystifies me. But to the outsider, the caterer's life only seems ideal -- choosing whom to serve, working only when they want, throwing one party after another.

Caterers who also have been restaurateurs reveal another side of the business when explaining why they opened restaurants: To take better advantage of a big commercial kitchen; to provide income during slow seasons; to raise their profile; to bolster their credibility in the eyes of foodies who give restaurateurs more respect than caterers; to be more diverse and adventurous in their cooking; and to provide steady work for employees they value and otherwise might lose.

That latter reason is why the principals of the catering company Refer a Chef opened the restaurant Cheffery's An American Bistro on Arden Way near Eastern Avenue in August, says Mark Dugrenier, who with Jeffery Gordy owns both neighboring businesses.

Their employees are as prompt as any in town when it comes to greeting and seating guests, soliciting orders and delivering bills.

More than the usual employee traffic flows through Cheffery's because of a curious design flaw; the pantry is off the single dining room, so servers and cooks continually skirt diners to open the pantry door to retrieve a can of this, a bottle of that.

While servers, dressed all in black, some wearing ties, were intense and nimbly cordial, they also were untutored in some of the finer points of restaurant service, such as knowing major ingredients in dishes.

In design, Cheffery's is more pragmatic than artful, but not without appointments to distract and amuse the eye. A display case of bright cakes that could be posing for Wayne Thiebaud welcomes guests just inside the door. A stately grandfather clock is stashed in one corner. Large modern paintings in pastel hues cover the cheery yellow walls. Dark wood doors gleam handsomely, and the terrazzo floor is intricate and romantic. Overhead, garish light fixtures look like panels off a Mardi Gras float. While much work has gone into dressing up a former comic-book store, the overall feel isn't cohesive, and the lingering impression is of a warehouse where the caterers store their set decorations between dates.

Mark Dugrenier is the executive chef, and three other chefs are in the kitchen: Jeffery Gordy, the inspiration behind the name Cheffery's; Jesse Hernandez, formerly of California Cafe and Bridges on the River; and Stephen Lewis, formerly of Winchester Country Club at Meadow Vista.

They oversee an extensive and varied dinner menu of contemporary American dishes, with most of the choices as familiar as spaghetti and meatballs, broiled rib-eye and Caesar salad. The selection isn't without novelty, however, including a soft-shell crab sandwich and a jambalaya based on fettuccine rather than rice.

Almost without exception, portions were large, but execution was wildly inconsistent. We gradually sensed that Cheffery's was better at handling the more conventional dishes than the more creative.

The panko-coated chicken Parmesan was deftly turned out, the meat moist and tender, its marinara wholesome and fruity, the side of spaghetti homey and al dente ($13.95).

Slabs of the signature meatloaf, rich with Italian sausage and ground beef, herbal with spinach, and punctuated with feta, was substantial without being heavy, and so flavorful it really didn't need the sweet barbecue sauce smeared on top ($12.95). Accompaniments were glistening slices of zucchini and crookneck squash, sautéed so as to not lose their color and structure, and mundane "three-cheese twice-baked potatoes" crowded into a small, firm and dry bird's nest of bland sweet-potato strings, the only letdown of the dish.

On the other hand, the soupy "seafood" jambalaya was made almost entirely with calamari, about half of which was rubbery, and its few tomatoes, peppers and onions had been wrung of most flavor and color ($15.95). The menu warns that the jambalaya will be "hot," but that apparently applies only to temperature, not spiciness.

About the writer:

• Reach The Bee's Mike Dunne at (916) 321-1143 or mdunne@sacbee.com.