82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 30, 1993
Merriedibles Create Gour
GAY N. BROWNLEE
Somerset Co. Correspondent
CHAMPION (Somerset Co.)
In the two years since its begin
ning, Merriedibles Gourmet
Foods and Catering, owned by
Mary Putman, has become recog
nized as a unique catering service
in the area, serving from two to
500 persons.
Putman is without doubt a gen
ius with foods, shunning written
recipes, yet guided by her own
keen palate in adding herbs,
spices, and seasonings as she
cooks. “I like playing in the kitch
en and being creative,” she said. “I
don’t follow recipes from other
sources, but just for ideas, because
I have this mental block about fol
lowing recipes,” she said. “In the
cooking end there’s no recipe at
all.”
The Pittsburgh native, who at
tended college at the University of
California at Berkeley prior to her
career as a professional chef, says
she saw a need for a gourmet cat
erer in the area. “It was a new con
cept for this area,” she said, “but
not in the city. People now have
access to a professional chef,” she
added, “they can have in their
home the type of cuisine normally
found in a four-star restaurant.”
Ingredients for the exotic dishes
made by Merriedibles are of ex
ceptional quality. Artificial foods
and flavorings will never find a
home among the many imported
products shelved in the Merried
iblcs’ immaculate stainless steel
kitchens.
Yes, the foods are more expen
sive, so expect a greater outlay of
cash for Merriedibles Catering.
But Putman says “I want people to
know it’s because of the ingredi
ents, not because I go to the Baha
mas each vmr ”
Putman says straight-away that
Mcmedibles is not for everyone.
“We tend to stay away from what
is considered standard fare,” she
says. If a potential customer wants
just a ham and potatoes type of
menu, a recommendation may fol
low to contact a more appropriate
caterer.
She is determined to be focused
on the sector of society she wants
to serve. It isn’t easy to recom
mend that a customer look else
where without risking being label
ed as a snob, but it’s necessary.
Doing otherwise would ultimately
be unfair to both parlies and a
waste of time.
A cursory glance over the pages
listing both hot and cold hors
Although she'dldn’t make the Merrledlbles* outside sign,
owner Mary Putman did design it. The year-round caterer
offers only the finest gourmet foods.
d’oeuvres, light buffet, luncheon
and seated dinner party menus, re
veals lavish seafood dishes. The
exotic menus include chicken,
veal, comish game hens, pork
loin, beef and lamb. Fresh vegeta
bles build fabulous Merriediblcs
salads.
The lavish dessert page taunts
the chocolate lover with items like
a while chocolate cheese cake
with bittersweet sauce. Or, how
about chocolate mocha mousse
tart, chocolate hazelnut truffle
tone or milk chocolate peanut tur
tle tart? The list continues to fea
ture caramel, gingerbreads, rasp
berries, blueberries, pumpkin and
other desserts.
Despite her flair with foods and
a growing roster of regular clients,
Putman says she loves to eat piz
za. When someone cooks for her
or takes her out, she says she’s
thrilled. Even if they only give her
a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,
she finds the gesture very special.
By the day’s end she said, she is
tired of tasting different foods.
For about 10 years Putman
worked as an executive chef, over
seeing food preparations in some
fine restaurants. In Stahlstown it
was at The Brass Duck. The Cafe
Nola in Philadelphia specialized
in Cajun or Creole cooking, but at
Philadelphia’s Copa 11, she said
the specialty was Caribbean cui
sine. At Mancuso’s in Palm
Springs, Cal., it was northern Ital
ian cuisine.
One of her early catering ad
ventures say Putman and her staff
serving at the Carnegie Museum
of Natural History in Pittsburgh.
The theme was “Night On The
Nile,” so the Merriedibles team
served exotic Egyptian dishes they
had prepared, after intense study
and research on the part of their
employer.
Something most people don’t
realize is how a full-fledged cater
ing service operates. Putman,
whose hair is a mass of short black
curls, with white wisps over one
brow, says that most folks will
probably use a caterer once during
their life and that’s for a wedding
reception. They don’t understand
the flexibility, she said. A caterer
is for any occasion, be it simple or
grand.
“Sometimes we just deliver the
food because the hostess has her
own staff,” said Putman. But Mcr
ncdiblcs handles formal sit-down
dinner parties, if desired, from the
preparation, to serving, to clean
up. “Basically, all you have to do
Mary Putman, left, owner and operator of Merriedibles, Champion, along with her
number one baker, Shirley Ohler, display some fabulous desserts that are ready for
commercial sale.
is take your shower and get
ready,” she says.
Some hostesses buy the total
Merriedibles serving package be
cause it allows them to devote all
their attention to their guests.
Others don’t want to be bothered
with the mess of cleaning up later.
Three or four consultations with
the hostess ensure the success of
her party. They have discussed at
length the chosen menu in which
Putman allows no repetition.
‘When you work with food a lot,”
she said, “you have a real feel for
it.” So every dish on the menu will
complement its fellows in texture,
flavor, and color.
If Merriedibles’ staff is serving,
then Putman is given a prior tour
of the house by the hostess. They
will discuss layout of rooms, sil
verware, and china, well in ad
vance of the party.
“We do some real personalized
service,” said Putman whose ob
jective is to satisfy her customer.
Public relations are as much a
part of Putman’s work as planning
and actually cooking. A new cus
tomer who is planning a parly
needs to feel comfortable. Often
she is nervous, afraid of a glitch or
that her guests will be disappoint
ed.
The elite society in one area
community has hostesses who are
strongly competitive with their
dinner parties. In fact they are thus
judged. But Putman says confi
dently, “There’s rarely an instance
where I’m thrown.”
A comprehensive file for each
client keeps Putman organized.
She saves any comments for fu
ture reference so when she again
serves them, she already knows
their likes and dislikes.
With* clean, expressive jaw
lines and brown eyes that sparkle
with intelligence and humor, Put
man admits unabashedly, to a hab
it of regularly murmuring to her
self. Doing so helps her to concen
trate on the job at hand, even if her
staff is listening.
“Some people think our food is
strange, 1 ’ grins Putman, adding
that she’s never prepared’a meat
loaf or fried chicken in her life and
never deep-fat fries any foods. Ne
vertheless, she enjoys going to her
parents’ home at least once a week
for her mom’s homecooking.
“We target people with dispos
able income,” said Putman.
“We’re not for everybody in terms
of food or expense. It’s tricky to
explain that to a new customer,”
he said.
Food With A Flair
HHV
J*
Merriedibles owner, Mary Putman, is at her desk In the
catering shop at the Country Commons, Champion.
Merriedibles is also a regular
upplier of baked goods and des
erts to a number of area restau
ants and markets.
Additionally, Merriedibles of
ers professional and personal
;onsulting services for all food
■ervice needs, holiday gifts and
certificates, gourmet picnic bask
ets, culinary classes, entrees to go,
Inc pastries and exceptional des
ierts.
So, while wild mushroom cros
,ini or smoked salmon tartarc with
■ye blinis aren’t the fare for every
tppetite, these are the things that
wmesiead
t/l/ctes
;ei Merriedibjes apart and that
:ontribulcd to a 1992 business
growth rate of 50 percent over the
previous year.
Putman thinks she can survive
for a while before computerizing
the business, perhaps another
year. And if she ever decides to
give out a recipe (it’s unheard of at
Mcrriedibles), it will only be in
the cookbook that an editor friend
is begging her to create. It’s not a
bad life for the girl who debated
whether or not she should attend
law school after she had majored
in journalism and political science
in college.