A household name in the local kosher and non-kosher catering field for generations, Louis Bluefeld passed away on Sunday, Jan. 4.
The Baltimore native, who lived for more than four decades in Boca Raton, Florida, was 104.
“For almost half a century, Bluefeld dominated the kosher catering business in Baltimore as no other kosher catering business has done before or since,” wrote Gilbert Sandler in his 2000 book “Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album” (Johns Hopkins University Press).
Started by the family’s Russian-born matriarch Bessie Bluefeld in 1937 in East Baltimore’s old Workmen’s Circle Hall, the catering business was taken over four years later after her sudden death by her sons, Louis, Milton and Philip, and her daughter-in-law, Edith.
During their four decades of running the business, Bluefeld Catering was well known in Baltimore and beyond. Bluefeld catered life-cycle, political, social and charitable gatherings at its Blue Crest and Blue Crest North halls in Northwest Baltimore and at other venues, as well as serving meals from the Baltimore-Washington corridor to New York City and Florida.
Bluefeld was the first catering outfit to kasher the White House kitchen and served Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in the nation’s capital at the time of the announcement of the Camp David Peace Accords in 1978. They also catered President Richard Nixon’s inaugural ball and events for members of Congress.
The family sold the business in 1984.
“Good food is good food, but the idea was ours was not just food — it was also an event,” Bluefeld told The Union Democrat in 2021. “Food is a very important part of a wedding, but it’s only one part. The music is also very important. The flowers are important. The clothes, the gowns are also important. … All the little things that no one ever thought about, we made sure to think about.”
In 1937, Lou and Edith Bluefeld first met as teenagers. Mr. Bluefeld belonged to the Criterion Club, an athletic organization that held a get-together at the old Howard House Hotel on North Howard Street, and they both showed up with dates. He wound up getting her phone number that evening and calling her two nights later.
The Bluefelds got married on Feb. 23, 1941. Mr. Bluefeld served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, and the couple spent three years apart during the conflict.
The Bluefelds were married for 83 years. In 2021, Mr. Bluefeld was asked by NBC’s Palm Beach affiliate WPTV about the secret to their union.
“I was the boss. I was totally the boss. She told me that,” he said. “In reality, she was the boss, and I didn’t realize. … Our blessing is we have each other.”
Lou Bluefeld is survived by his children, Barry Bluefeld, and Bette Lynn Steiner; and his grandchildren, Amy (Brad) McLane, and Linda (Mike) Steiner.
In February of 2024, he was predeceased by his wife, Edith Bluefeld (nee Seidel). He was also predeceased by his siblings, David Bluefeld, Dora Goldberg, Morris Bluefeld, Philip Bluefeld, Frieda Cohen and Milton Bluefeld; his parents, Bessie and Charles Bluefeld; and his son-in-law, William Steiner.
Services will be held on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 10:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. Interment will be at Beth El Memorial Park, 9633 Liberty Road in Randallstown.
Contributions in his memory may be sent to Rabbi Steven Schwartz Discretionary Fund at Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21208.
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