Claudia Taylor

A fearless young chef at age 17, Claudia Lasky began her career catering intimate dinners for her Malibu neighbors. Burgess Merideth was her mentor, offering lessons in wine and food pairing, and giving Claudia the confidence to try her hand at many different styles of cuisines. Claudia’s first company, “Bebe Gourmet” was born, out of a little home kitchen on Malibu Road. Soon, parties for many of Burgess’ aficionado friends followed- Carroll O’Conner, Robert Towne, Julie Payne, Armand Assante, …great fun, but then it was on was on to New York to study theatre.

Returning to Malibu four years later, Claudia’s love for food had only broadened and travels to Europe had opened her palette. She produced two plays in Santa Monica, but her phone was still ringing with requests for catering, so she started “Absolutely the Best Caterers;” a baby shower for Michelle Pheiffer thrown by the Zucker Bros., a new years bash for producer Art Linson, Dennis Hopper cocktail parties, holiday parties for writer/director Frank Pierson, Don Simpson’s Xmas party in Aspen… mountain-top weddings, gala bash’s the Natural History Museum - the calls kept coming in.

Claudia merged her company with a friend who was opening a kitchen at a new photo studio in Culver City called Smashbox, and FOOD INC was born. FOOD INC’s services broadened to include full event coordination and design- large scale events like the Voodoo Lounge party for the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson’s end of tour party, U2’s POP tour party the Sports Arena, President Clinton’s Saxophone Club, and numerous functions for charity, fashion, and film productions in the Smashbox Studios.

Claudia split with her partner in ‘97, and loyal clients like Cirque du Soleil took her all over country to premiere their shows, Gary Oldman’s party was written up in In Style. FOOD INC has done many corporate functions for Herman Miller, Santa Monica Museum of Art’s gala homecoming at Bergamot Station, the Pasadena Art Alliance, and the list goes on. 

FOOD INC is known for listening to it’s clients, and reflecting their personal style with authentic art props, fabricated elements, and dramatic design. While Claudia no longer personally cooks for events, she designs menus with her roster of well-known chefs and tailors each menu to her client’s needs and budget. 

Married to Rob Taylor for 9 years, with two beautiful girls , Ella , 3, and Hannah Ray, 8, Claudia runs FOOD INC from her Malibu office, and takes on events across the country.