Specialties
After 40 years we are a very reliable, personal service. Grace is your point person, start to finish. We can assist you with food, staff, equipment & decor. We can also deliver corporate lunch platters, beautifully presented, on time, to your office. Indian, Asian, African & Baltic menus are available. Email me for more details! lightenupnj@aol.com
History
Established in 1993.
After 25 years as chef & owner of Remember Basil Caterers, I started Lighten Up N.Y.
Continuing with our emphasis on international cuisines, stunning presentation, impeccable service & style at off premise events, we expanded our gaze to include organic produce, green products & offering a healthy delivered meal service. After 12 years of delivering healthy lunches to trading floors on Wall Street, 9/11 had a huge impact on us & our many clients in the towers. Shifting our gaze across the river, we became an in-house caterer at The Newark Museum doing many weddings, corporate & non profit events. Now, our clients are in downtown Jersey City, Rutgers University Newark, New York & Brooklyn. Organic when possible, delicious always!
Meet the Business Owner: Grace C.
Grace began cooking at age 6 while living in Italy, where she truly began to love food. Later, living in Saudi Arabia, she started her own catering company after attending the Cordon Bleu School. A stint at the Waldorf & as private chef for Bunny Mellon [Bunny's best friend was Jackie "O"] which taught her volume & attention to detail. In 1976 she started her own company in N.Y.C., calling it Remember Basil in honor of her grandfather, Basil Rathbone. After much success over 25 years, she started Lighten Up Caterers to focus on healthier options & provide daily lunches. She & her two sons moved to N.J. just as downtown J.C. was exploding. She is once again starting a healthy meal service, delivering locally. She also volunteers locally, teaching healthy living to seniors & is host to an organic cooperative in J.C.
Grace was also a professional dancer on Broadway, taught cooking & appeared as panelist with AWED & NOW, as well as numerous radio & TV appearances.