When clients come to Vicky Theodorou of Heirloom Catering & Event Design in Falls Church, they know they’re not going to choose from books of preset menus or motifs. They’ve heard about her via word-of-mouth, or perhaps have attended one of her highly stylized events or have seen posts online.
Take one wedding held last May (the bride discovered Heirloom on Instagram) that began with a cocktail hour on the steps of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, where whitewashed farm stands teemed with cheese, charcuterie and pickled vegetables. Dinner—which included baked halibut rolled in thyme and crispy Sichuan pork ribs, courtesy of Heirloom’s head chef, Frank Griner—was served inside the landmark building at three long estate tables. The vibe was upscale vintage. The details were paramount.
Theodorou wasn’t always on the party circuit. She left behind a digital marketing and website development consulting business in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2011 when her brother George asked her to return to the D.C. area to help expand the catering side of their family’s Alexandria-based Mediterranean restaurant chainlet, Delia’s (which she did). Looking to be more design-focused, she launched Heirloom in 2015.
“We help clients uncover their vision and a theme,” she says, be it rustic romanticism or old-school opulence. “We do custom, seasonal menus. I didn’t start this brand to do deli platters.” www.heirloomdc.com; 703-534-0938
An outdoor event by Heirloom Catering. Renee Hollingshead Photography