My first suggestion to potential catering clients is to think beyond the usual, perhaps by cuisine, and begin to do your research. Serve food from India or Northern China. The Internet is a tremendous resource for viewing menu ideas.

Salmon are known as the king of fish, and are found in many places around the world. While there may be disagreements over the merits of Atlantic salmon versus Pacific salmon, and farmed versus wild, there is no contention about the flavor of this great fish, which can be prepared with virtually no limits to methods.

Two years ago I hesitated to go to a Thai restaurant because I was not sure how, or what, to order. That was a mistake.

When my niece Noel was learning to cook, she told me she wanted to roast a duck. “Is it complicated Aunt Lynnie?” she asked. I told Noel that roasting a duck takes time and can be complicated, but when the process is broken down into three easy steps, it’s not too hard!

We live in a place and time where we are accustomed to words, photos and concepts being transferred in seconds around the world. Last week I discovered that this level of technology transfer had not made it to the world of high quality butchers.

Fall is the ideal time of the year to find a wide assortment of colorful gourds. Gourds are used not only as an ingredient for soups and stews, but as serving bowls. Gourds as serving bowls are a unique, healthy and colorful way to brighten up autumn’s cold and rainy evenings.

The challenge presented to me for this first article was to select four local restaurants and give them the same vegetable, in this case, asparagus and then see how each kitchen would prepare it.