Holly Reith is a caterer who started in NYC, cooking for the cast of 'SNL'. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

“John Belushi loved these,” says caterer Holly Reith, offering a plate of pecan pie bars. “He had a major sweet tooth.”

In her tchotchke-filled Tequesta kitchen, Reith, a former fashion model turned caterer-to-the-stars in disco-era New York, is serving up savory stories along with her Moroccan meatballs, chicken piccata and risotto. She’s also mourning the backyard chickens Martin County just forced her to give away, while stepping over her bouncing King Charles spaniel puppy and a sleeping corgi collapsed in a heap on the kitchen floor.

How the Jupiter High School graduate ended up cooking in New York then started a catering business in Palm Beach County is a tale of good luck and good looks.

Reith was working as a Worth Avenue lunch model in 1977 when she won a modeling contest in New York, wearing a homemade dress. During the next few years, she worked for Revlon, Oleg Cassini and Diane von Furstenburg – and was photographed by a very young Patrick Demarchelier. In old photos, she has a sleek all-American look, like a black-haired Shelley Hack.

The daughter and granddaughter of talented cooks, Reith began hosting dinner parties from her apartment kitchen.

“I used to poach salmon in my dishwasher,” she said.

A friend asked her to cater one of the regular Friday lunches at Arista Records. Founder Clive Davis, who discovered the Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, was bowled over by Reith’s blanquette de veau and caramel flan.

“That’s when I stopped modeling and starting cooking,” said Reith, scattering lemons and parsley over the chicken piccata, another of Davis’ favorite dishes.

Shortly afterward, a friendship with Bill Murray’s four brothers led to a job catering green-room meals for the early casts of Saturday Night Live.

(J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

“They asked for a lot of desserts,” Reith recalled.

After the shows, Reith hung out with cast members including Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Dan Ackroyd, Belushi and later, Eddie Murphy.

“The wrap parties went on until 6 a.m.,” said Reith.

She cooked for Candice Bergen, William Safire and even Maria Callas. She served Club Med executives exotic-theme meals tied to the company’s various resorts. By the mid-1980s, she was splitting her time between New York and Palm Beach County, when she bought a small house in Tequesta and opened a restaurant in Jupiter called The Ritz. It closed after a year, but Reith said she introduced concepts in 1985 that just recently became standard restaurant fare.

“We were so ahead of our time,” she said. “We served Itsy-Bitsy Ritz-y burgers by the six pack well before anyone had heard of sliders.”

A private chef job in Palm Beach led to a summer in Newport, where she met her husband, Jonathan Pratt, who has a landscaping company. The couple settled back in Tequesta and are raising two sons, who play football at South Fork High School in Stuart. Reith opened her business, Holly Reith Catering.

As she cracks eggs over the meatballs and puts them under her broiler to cook, Reith reluctantly parts with one of her biggest cooking secrets.

The depth of flavor in her risotto con funghi and chicken piccata is due to lemon oil, a trick she picked up in Morocco.

She makes large batches by adding lemon halves to a large glass jar of olive oil and lets it steep for weeks. The result adds a bright citrus tang to everything from fish to salad dressing.

“You can’t believe what a difference it makes,” she said.

You can reach Holly Reith Catering at (561) 746-1323.

Moroccan meatballs with cumin and fried eggs. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

MOROCCAN MEATBALLS

(Serves 4 to 6)

1 pound finely ground lamb

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

2 teaspoons cumin

1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt

Mix all the ingredients, except the oil, in a bowl. Take a spoonful and roll into a ball about the size of a large marble. Heat the oil and brown the meat on all sides. Drain meatballs.

For the sauce:

1 large onion, chopped

1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon cumin

1 teaspoon fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger

1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 medium eggs

Add all the ingredients, except eggs, to the pan. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make a thick sauce.

Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°. In a tagine or baking dish pour the meatballs and sauce; crack the eggs over the meatballs. Cover and place in oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the whites are done, but the yolks are still liquid. Serve immediately.

Chicken picatta with homemade lemon oil, risotto con funghi and mixed grilled vegetables. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

CHICKEN PICCATA

“Here is one of Clive Davis’ (Arista Records founder) favorite recipes,” says Reith.

(Serves 4)

2 pounds of chicken breasts cut into 3 to 4-ounce pieces, pounded until flat and thin

1 egg, whisked with tablespoon water (egg wash)

Combine:

1⁄2 cup flour

1⁄2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1⁄2 cup wheat germ (to give it a nutty flavor)

3⁄4 cup lemon oil (made of fermented lemons in olive oil)*

1⁄2 cup capers

1⁄2 lemon, sliced

1⁄2 cup white wine

Salt and white pepper to taste

Coat the chicken in egg wash, then dredge in flour mixture. Heat lemon oil in pan and add capers and wine. Add chicken and cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Do not overcook.

Add the lemon slices and cook for about a minute. Use lemon and capers for garnish.

* Reith makes lemon oil by adding lemon halves to a large glass jar, then covering the lemons in olive oil. She lets the lemons steep in a dark, cool place for several weeks.

Reith's pecan pie bars were a favorite of the late actor and comedian, John Belushi. (J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

PECAN PIE BARS

“John Belushi loved this dessert.”

For the bars:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1⁄2 cup sugar

1⁄8 teaspoon salt

3⁄4 cup butter cut up

Make the bar crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine ingredients with pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press the mixture into a 13-by-9-inch greased pan.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 20 minutes.)

For the topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1⁄2 cup butter

4 slightly beaten eggs

2 1⁄2 cups chopped pecans

1 tablespoon vanilla

Combine first three ingredients in a quart saucepan and bring to a gentle boil as you stir. Lower the heat. Ladle a bit of the sauce into a bowl and stir 1⁄4 of beaten eggs to temper. Add this mixture to the pan and stir. Then slowly stir in the remaining eggs. Add the pecans and vanilla and stir.

Pour mixture over crust and spread to cover. Return to oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until center doesn’t move.

Cool completely and cut into bars