If you’re tired of spending Christmas in...

If you’re tired of spending Christmas in the kitchen, or bored with those six-foot submarine sandwiches at office parties, you might consider having one of the holiday meals catered. Two of the most respected caterers in the South Bay are Pat Brown Caters in Palos Verdes and New York Food in Hermosa Beach.

Pat Brown didn’t get serious about cooking until she moved to France with her husband and started taking cooking classes in Alsace. She went on to study at the renowned Cordon Bleu in Paris. Now Brown occasionally teaches cooking herself, and she must be good at it--one of her daughters, Christine, is the head chef at the highly regarded Fino.

Like all good caterers, Brown meets with hosts to get an idea of what they want. Of course, prices vary depending on what is served, but a recent dinner for $18 per person went as follows: First came four hors d’oeuvres ( bruschetta with sun-dried tomatoes, sugar snap peas with string cheese, puff pastry with top sirloin and chicken pot stickers). The main course was poached salmon in two sauces, fresh dill and Dijon mustard, accompanied by tortellini Alfredo. To follow, a cheese and fruit course, featuring Gouda, goat cheese, Brie (with pesto), and a Cheddar pate made with cream cheese, green onions, bacon, and topped with a mango chutney.

Louise Talbot and Joe Lohman opened New York Food 14 years ago as a deli. However, they soon realized most customers wanted food brought to homes or offices, so they closed the Hermosa Beach restaurant and opened a catering company. Today, with more than a dozen people working full time, New York Food offers more than 20 pages of menus.

For $6.95 per person, New York Food will prepare omelets cooked to order, with croissants, muffins, fruit or juice. Several hors d’oeuvre trays are offered, ranging from $7.95 to $16.95 a person, which include grilled chicken skewers, oysters, shrimp, carpaccio, salmon mousse, pate, and tortellini carbonara.

New York Food also runs La Venta, a lovely historic home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that is rented out for wedding receptions or other special occasions, and provides a spectacular setting.

Pat Brown Caters (310) 377-5941. New York Food (310) 376-6929.