Kosher Elegance

Undoubtedly, there are easier ways to make a living than catering and easier ways of catering than the way Blueberry Hill Catering Company does it.  Still, working within the confines of keeping kosher and within the strict guidelines of various venues – and doing it with flair – gives the mother-son ownership team of Beverley and Trevor Schefz a great deal of satisfaction.

Beverley Schefz has been in the food service industry for the past 32 years, combining cooking and catering. The Blueberry Hill Catering Company was founded in 1996.  Now Beverley and Trevor are on top of the latest food trends and eager to come up with new and different ways of presenting the food and showing that kosher food can be interesting.  Most of Blueberry Hill’s items are hand-made “from scratch” and passed down for generations.
At one recent event the mashed potatoes were shaped like a pear, complete with a leaf.  At another event the platters of sushi were sitting on top of a fish tank.  Strawberries are cut to look like tulips and watermelons to look like boats.
As Beverley Schefz explained, “We deal with many of the same people at major Jewish events, so we have to keep coming up with new and exciting things.  We enjoy what we do – providing a great meal and doing it creatively.”
Blueberry Hill works with event planners, photographers and other vendors to coordinate events.  The company helps people to find event staffing, rentals, props and other items.  The catering service includes setting up the kitchen, along with a mashgiach to make sure the kitchen is kashered and the rules of kashrut are followed.  The caterers understand the requirements of kashrut and know they will have to explain why some things can’t be done or why the meat is so expensive.  In the end they will come up with a kosher, high-quality event that is different and unique – and they will give it the kind of effort that has enhanced their reputation over the years.
Schefz has toyed around with the idea of getting a facility in which to hold events, but she concluded that “people get tired of going to the same place all the time.”  Instead, the South African native explained, “it suits us perfectly to go to the St. Regis Hotel or the Nixon Library, where we can set up our own kitchen and accommodate hundreds of people”
Blueberry Hill is the only Orange County kosher caterer to be able to use the Nixon Library for events.  “It’s challenging to live by the Nixon Library’s rules, as well as kashrut,” Schefz said.  “The Library has very high-end caterers and is selective as to who is allowed to come in there.  We have to move furniture, shlepping tables and chairs.”
She added, “It’s well worth the effort.  The place is beautiful and spotless.  There are beautiful rooms and gardens. It’s a well-run and organized facility with great security.  It’s nice to work there.”
Blueberry Hill is selective too, finding unusual ingredients, presenting them in an unusual way and doing it with minimal stress for the person or organization giving the party or event.  “We’re easygoing,” Schefz said.  “We work with people and try to be accommodating, so that people enjoy their own events, and the guests remember them.”

For more information, contact Blueberry Hill at (562) 981-8300.
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda includes the Presidential library and final resting place of Richard M. Nixon, the 37th President of the United States and his wife, Patricia. Jointly operated between the National Archives and Records Administration and the Richard Nixon Foundation, the 9-acre site incorporates the National Historic Landmarked Richard Nixon Birthplace where Nixon was born in 1913 and spent his childhood.
The museum, housed in a 52,000-square-foot building, offers a narrative of Nixon’s life and career.  Behind the museum is the birthplace, built by Nixon’s father and restored to appear as it was in 1910.
The Nixon Library compound also contains the Loker Center and Annenberg Court, a 38,000-square-foot wing with a special exhibit room and an exact replica of the East Room of the White House that is used as an event space.  The East Room can be rented for events such as weddings.