Struggling actors do not good caterers make (see: Party Down).

Audition Ingrid Pankonin of Oakland-based Miel Cooking for your next soiree instead.

Pankonin, a former restaurant cook and pastry chef, specializes in simply delicious Cali cuisine: passed one-bite apps like lamb meatballs with yogurt sauce, chard-wrapped chicken crepinettes, or roasted beets with pistachio tapenade. Sit-down dinners might see winter squash risotto with fried sage and pumpkin seed oil, followed by Meyer lemon and white chocolate mousse parfaits.

Her repertoire also includes delivering frozen meals for you to heat during the week, cooking classes, and helping clients start and maintain in-home herb gardens. Looks like she won the part.

Miel Cooking (707-535-6215 or mielcooking.com).

Photo: Danielle Rubi / Courtesy of Miel Cooking