And Here's Lilly "In the Press"

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Simi Valley Enterprise Entrepreneur
For Reagan, Clinton or Royalty, Simi woman knows right menu

By Krystn Shrieve- Staff Writer

Simi Valley- Lilliana Wilkerson was a stay at home mom when she began moonlighting as a restaurant reviewer, never realizing it would inspire her to go back to school, start a business and serve world leaders.

When friends started asking for dining-out tips, the Simi Valley resident realized she had found a niche and decided to open And Here’s Lilly, an event-management and catering company that has served royalty, prime ministers, U.S. presidents and other heads of state.

Because she liked going to restaurants and wrote about them, she said friends started calling her and asking her where to go for dinner on a wedding anniversary or other special occasion.

“I realized I had an affinity for food, so I decided to go into the food industry,” said Wilkerson, who moved to Simi in 1971. “It has been a dream come true.”

She founded the business in 1987 and named it with the Johnny Carson introduction in mind. Wilkerson and her daughter, Charmaine, orchestrate events ranging from small luncheons to gatherings that draw thousands.

The mother-daughter duo planned the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum and both inaugural balls for President Bill Clinton.

A typical meal might include winter soup made of acorn squash and Cornish hens stuffed with wild rice, served on angel hair pasta with Marsala mushroom sauce, and a dessert of strawberries in a crepe sprinkled with grand Marnier.

When Mikhail Gorbachev was premier of what was then the Soviet Union, the Wilkersons hired a separate chef just to prepare his favorite dessert of Bananas Foster. He had to be whisked away after finishing his entrée and never tasted the bananas, flambéed with a caramel sauce, but the Wilkersons never regret their attention to detail. That is what they are known for.

And Here’s Lilly recently was named Business of the Year by the Latin Business Association in Los Angeles.

Charmaine Wilkerson, a Simi Valley High School alumna who now lives in Long Beach, said she and her mother work well together.

“The expertise I’ve gained working with my mother couldn’t have been equaled by any other education,” she said. “We really get along well, She’s knowledgeable about the food industry, and I can make sure we keep up with technology. She has the wisdom. I have the ideas and visions of the future.”

Recently the two planned parties of all sizes for 13 of the state delegations at last week’s Democratic Convention.

Again the attention to detail was apparent. When delegates from Kansas the Sunflower State sat down at dinner, for example, sunflowers dominated the centerpieces.

James Wilkerson, who has been married to Lilliana since 1956, said he was proud of his wife and daughter. He said they have always been extremely close and complement each other well.

“It’s gratifying to see what they’ve been able to accomplish,” he said. “They have such talent, and they are well respected. Together they make a good team.

“Charmaine is more technically adapted to the world of computers, and she minored in math, so she is able to handle the books. Lilliana is great for public relations, and she’s a perfectionist, which is part of the reason she’s been so successful.”

Lilliana Wilkerson already had a master’s degree in education from the university in her native Guatemala when she decided to go back to school in 1980.

She attended Moorpark College for two years, then transferred to California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, where she got a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management in 1985.

She started her new career planning events in the executive dinning rooms of large corporations, such as Arco, a company that eventually hired her and later funded her effort to start her own business.

“At one point, I remember thinking I should just start my own company,” Lilliana said. “I had the chefs, the waiters and the equipment. I also had a powerful client. That’s how my company was born.”

When her daughter joined the business 10 years ago, the Wilkersons began expanding their services- eventually to catering almost anywhere.

The younger Wilkerson aims to expand the business beyond Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Although she wouldn’t divulge details, she said she also is developing a product she hopes to market to restaurants and fast-food chains.

“Without her, I cannot function,” Lilliana Wilkerson, said. “One day she will take over and I know it will be in good hands.”