Catering to whims.

MORE THAN A MOUTHFUL HAS A FLAIR FOR PARTY PLANNING THAT HAS MADE IT ONE OF THE TOP 10 CATERERS IN THE UNITED STATES

Last week, More Than A Mouthful truly lived up to its name.

It catered an elaborate holiday party for a Century City-based accounting firm, where murder mystery props sat next to the three-citrus marinated chicken. Then came the two private Thanksgiving parties catered on Thursday, and the two weddings on Saturday.

And December, one of the busiest times of the year for caterers, is beckoning.

Having a full plate during the holiday season - which means tackling five or so events every week - is one of the happy consequences of being one of L.A.'s hottest catering companies.

"You have to have a sense of humor to do this, since it sometimes looks more like a circus than a business," said company co-founder and President Barry Colman. "But people come to us for celebrations. How could I not love what we do? No one ever got into the catering business for the money. It's all about a compulsion to cook."

That compulsion has made More Than A Mouthful one of the nation's top 10 caterers, according to Lorraine Tracey, an administrator at the New York-based Culinary Institute of America. "(Their) flare for festivities makes them even better known in this industry," she said.

Marianne Weiman-Nelson, founder of Beverly Hills-based event planning firm Special Occasions Inc., Chose More Than A Mouthful to cater her own wedding this year.

"There's nothing else quite like it," she said. "The food is exceptional - they're absolutely one of the top in Los Angeles. The operations are lovely, and the men took care of us like no one else can."

The "men" are Colman, co-founder and pastry chef Fred Schwartz and "fantasy engineer" (a.k.a. operations manager) Billy Ray. They have larger-than-life personalities, infusing their events with a flare that has attracted corporate clients including SunAmerica Inc., Variety, IBM, US Trust, Exxon and Xerox.

It also is considered one of L.A.'s top wedding caterers - in part due to the partners' unofficial role of couple's counselor, parent-in-law handlers and creative visionaries.

"I remember thinking that I could actually relax and see myself laughing during the wedding with these guys at the helm," said Lisa Feldman, a federal prosecutor who hired the caterers to handle her wedding last month. "Then I had people telling me it was the loveliest wedding they have ever attended. And some of these were older women, who are wedding veterans."

More Than A Mouthful has grown steadily over its 20-year history. This year, it's expected to put on about 200 events - a cluster of those occurring during the fourth quarter, due to both a holiday rush and a frenzy of October weddings.

In October alone, the caterer fed more than 10,000 people, typically charging $80 to $120 per person. According to event coordinator Weiman-Nelson, that's relatively modest when compared to the catering company's competitors such as the Four Seasons Hotel and the Regent Beverly Wilshire, where costs can easily soar past the $250-per-head mark.

The business essentially started on a bet. During the 1970s, Colman was running a plant and floral design store in Los Angeles, and one of his clients dared him to arrange the entire party rather than just the flowers. He enlisted Schwartz, who had been Carol Burnett's personal chef for eight years (and claims to have never served her the same meal twice). The party list grew from 100 to 1,000, but after the soiree Colman walked away with eight more requests for him to put on other parties.

A business was born - almost.

Schwartz, an alumnus of the Culinary Institute, pushed Colman to get a degree there first.

"I wanted to launch a full-time business, but Fred wanted me to go to school and learn the craft first," Colman recalls. "Of course, he was right."

After getting his degree, Colman returned to L.A. and essentially picked up where he had left off. But the company truly took off when Colman discovered the Ebell Theater complex in 1987. A stunning 1927 Italian Renaissance building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Ebell is where most of the catered events take place.

"I just saw the building and knew what could be done with it," Colman said. "It's a bit of a mind-bender to think that our little endeavor has grown into a company so big."

With its current ventures running smoothly, the company is contemplating new challenges. One idea is to find another venue to host catered events, since More Than A Mouthful already has the Ebell Theater complex booked almost to capacity.

"I'm not overly concerned about where we'll go next," Colman said. "My father always told me to surround myself with talented people, treat them well, and the company will become a star. I'm proud of what we've accomplished here."

Spotlight

More Than A Mouthful

Year Founded: 1977

Core Business: Catering and event planning

Revenues in 1993: $700,000

Revenues in 1998 (projected): $1.5 million

Employees in 1993: 8 full-time, 50 part-time

Employees in 1998: 15 full-time, 100 part-time

Goal: To expand while retaining its reputation as a top caterer

Driving Force: Word-of-mouth referrals and sustained demand for catered events