New caterer opens its kitchen doors

Janet Lagerloef remembers when her love affair with food began.

It was when she met her husband -- more than 25 years ago. She was invited to his parents' home for dinner and they served pork tenderloin with a tarragon butter sauce.

Having grown up in a family of six children, "fancy cooking" was not something she had experienced.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, I had no idea food could taste like this,'" she said.

Lagerloef had never heard of tarragon before that meal. Now she grows her own herbs -- including four different kinds of tarragon -- and runs a catering shop she recently opened at 60 Maple St. in Sugar Grove.

The Catering Gourmets, which includes Lagerloef's husband, Jerry, offers everything from chicken in a tarragon cream sauce to pulled pork sandwiches.

"I love to cook," said Lagerloef, who taught English at area schools for 20 years before opening her own business. "It's all about food with me. We're food nuts."

With about 150 cookbooks in her own library and recipes that date as far back as 30 years, Lagerloef had a lot to choose from when creating her menu.

"Everything is homemade," she said of her menu options. "Nothing comes from Sam's and gets thawed out and taken to a party. It's all done here."

She boasts of her buttermilk biscuits, which took some 20 different recipe versions to get just right.

"They've got a crusty top and they're high," said Lagerloef, who grew up in Big Rock and now lives in Sugar Grove. "I think Paula Dean would think they're cool," she said, referring to a Food Network chef and TV show host.

Her cream puffs are homemade and the chocolate in her espresso brownies came straight from Belgium -- one of the perks of having a husband who is an airline pilot. She said she brought back a "suitcase full" of dark Belgium chocolate on a recent trip there. She also insists on using real butter.

"We are very passionate cooks," she said.

She and her husband also are passionate about their onsite grilling for their parties, a service they also offer at The Catering Gourmets. Jerry Lagerloef, who works for United Airlines, will be training the shop's grillers to sear meat just so and to cook the meat to the right temperature.

"Grilling is something that we really enjoy ourselves and nothing tastes better than meat outside on the grill," Janet said.

Orders, for parties with a minimum of eight people, can be placed by calling (630) 466-9211. Menus and pricing can be viewed at the shop's Web site, www.thecateringourmets.com.