It’s 4 p.m. at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame and the place is buzzing. Tuxedoed waiters gracefully move across the floor toward party guests with trays full of hors d’oeuvres and flutes of champagne. A harpist begins to play as the wedding party moves outside to have its pictures taken. Behind the scenes, a chef is artfully putting together the salad plates for 100-plus guests.
It may sound like organized chaos, but like any big production, the players all know their roles and places before the performance begins. For Danville resident Teri Menchini, owner of La Bocca Fina catering and in charge of tonight’s reception, it’s a well-orchestrated process that, even after 25 years, she still finds exciting and rewarding.
“I enjoy families and relationships, and with weddings you get that,” Menchini said. “It’s great to be a part of a couple’s wonderful day and when you work with a family planning a wedding for six months to sometimes a year-and-a-half, you become a part of that family.”
Friends, family and a future in food
For Menchini, growing up Italian in Hayward meant that she grew up cooking all the time. A typical Sunday dinner for the whole family – including great aunts and uncles – meant spending the entire day preparing the meal.“I grew up with Italian parents. My mother and grandmothers were and are amazing in the kitchen,” Menchini said. “Cooking was a part of our daily life. Entire days were spent in the gardens and kitchen. My grandfather owned a produce store in his younger years. He cooked and gardened professionally as I was growing up.”
Menchini’s grandfather was a cook at the Columbo Club in Oakland, a society for Italian-Americans, and he would sometimes take 12-year-old Teri and her brother Michael along with him.
“I spent several Saturdays a year cooking with him from 8 in the morning until midnight,” Menchini said. “It was great training for the long hours of a chef’s life.”
As well as a love for cooking, Menchini had a passion for veterinary medicine, which she studied at UC Berkeley. But after her third year, she realized that cooking school was the dream she wanted to pursue.
After almost four years of college, Menchini left to attend the California Culinary Academy for a professional degree. As part of her training program, she worked in a few restaurants, but she knew she wanted to focus on catering.
“My first wedding was at a beautiful home in Danville,” Menchini said. “Just a few years ago I was able to work with the family again for their parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. That’s the amazing joy of weddings. They bring about lifetime friendships along the way. That first wedding was over 24 years ago.”
A star is born
Menchini, along with some friends from culinary school, got together and started cooking using Teri’s family recipes, as well as inventing a few others along the way. For the first 10 years, they catered parties in her grandfather’s basement using fresh ingredients from his garden.“In 1982, when I started my catering company, my grandfather actually cooked behind the scenes with me for quite a few years,” Menchini said. “My first 10 years in business, he kept his garden growing herbs, citrus and vegetables for us to use. We were so spoiled.”
When it came time to pick a name for the company, Menchini was asking her father for suggestions, telling him she wanted something very Italian and very feminine. He threw out “La Bocca Fina” (the finicky eater) on his third try and Teri thought the name was perfect.
A full calendar
Today, Teri works with a staff of 50. She handles no more than two events per day with 12-20 people per team per event. She is the lead coordinator to ensure the event runs smoothly and she also provides personal service to the client. La Bocca Fina focuses on event design, personalized menus, seamless coordination, and stunning presentation that creatively reflects the couple’s personal style. Learn more at www.laboccafina.com.“Most people in life always achieve to grow their business,” Menchini said. “That’s never been a goal of mine. It’s important for me to enjoy the relationship and make the experience one where they want to come back and work with you again.”
Next summer, La Bocca Fina will turn 25, and Menchini has no plans to retire from the business anytime soon.
“I really enjoy being a part of this profession,” Teri said. “I have developed a great community of friends who are very talented chefs, floral designers, musicians, photographers over the years, so I am quite happy with the path I have taken.”
