Ask Wade and Virginia Avondoglio about their family's business, Perona Farms in Andover, N.J., and you'll hear a story that begins in 1917. That's when Wade's great-grandfather Emil Perona turned his home into a boardinghouse to cover the costs of feed for the cattle on his 260-acre dairy farm. A tradition of good food, hospitality and conversation was born, which continues today as the fourth generation operates a family business that now includes a large banquet facility and smokehouse for the world's number one-rated smoked Atlantic salmon.

Perona Farms is nestled in the scenic countryside, overlooking a lake and island that guests can access from a small bridge. No longer a farmhouse, the restaurant now resembles a southern European hacienda, with three banquet rooms, an elegant spiral staircase, patio, courtyard, gazebo and lounge. After operating as a restaurant for many years, the facility today caters almost exclusively to weddings and other receptions, offering brunch on Sundays as the only remaining a la carte meal that is open to the public. On a typical Saturday, the facility will host four weddings--two at a time--with separated kitchens, banquet rooms and outdoor areas ensuring that one bride never sees the other on her special day.

The salmon operation came about almost accidentally as brother Kirk, a chef, started smoking his own salmon because he couldn't find any that he liked. One weekend, when hosting a famous chef from Washington, D.C., for a weekend of woodcock hunting, Wade served Kirk's salmon for lunch. The chef, Jean-Louis Palladin of the Watergate Hotel, tasted the salmon and immediately requested that 20 sides be delivered to him the following week. Advertised only through word-of-mouth among chefs, the Perona Farms salmon was soon rated best in the world by Cook's Illustrated and Food & Wine magazines. What had started in a small L.L. Bean smokehouse that Kirk used to prepare only enough salmon for the Perona Farms restaurant has since grown to a 6,000-square-foot smokehouse processing five tons of salmon each week.

Today, the salmon operation accounts for 40 percent of Perona Farms' business, while weddings and catering are 60 percent. The demands have far exceeded what "Mother Perona" could accommodate with her home-cooked meals. Fortunately, the family has grown along with the business. Wade Avondoglio serves as president, overseeing the facility operations such as buying, kitchen scheduling and other business management functions. Brother Mark serves as general manager of the restaurant and salmon operation, while brother Kirk runs the day-to-day salmon operation and serves as a chef. Sister Tracey books parties and schedules wait staff, and Wade's wife, Virginia, serves as bookkeeper. "We all have our own distinct areas of expertise, and we don't step on each other's feet," Wade says. "We have weekly family meetings to address problems, concerns and future plans."

Wade says that the Perona Farms "family" extends well beyond the descendants of Emil Perona. More than 100 employees are part of a tight-knit extended family. Every day, they put out a staff lunch that is well known as "family meal" among friends and neighbors.

"Everyone in the community knows we serve family meal at 11 a.m. A lot of people eating the family meal don't even work here. Friends stop in because they know they'll see us here. It's our big meal of the day," Wade explains. "Our electrician might show up, our neighbors. We never know how many to cook for."

This family atmosphere also led to the creation of a major fundraising event at Perona Farms. One Saturday about 20 years ago, the weather forecast called for two feet of snow. Reservations were being canceled. As the cooks prepared for the evening meal, they decided to prepare a game dinner for staff and any guests who might show up. They pulled out game birds they had shot during the year and prepared a great feast that was eaten in the kitchen. It was so enjoyable, they decided to make it an annual event. The second year, a few friends and family were invited, and 40 people gathered. The next year, it grew to 90 people.

The following year, when Maureen Avondoglio, Wade's mother, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), they decided to charge for the meal and donate the proceeds to MS research. The event sold out right away at $75 a head. In the years since, the event has grown and Perona Farms has raised more than $250,000 for MS and other causes. The annual game dinner is now enjoyed by 200 people, who still sit in the kitchen, at $400 per person. The 40-course meal features such delicacies as pickled venison hearts, antelope salami, alligator gumbo, pheasant legs, goose Reuben, roast of elk and raccoon turnovers.

"A Washington Post reporter once spent four days with us prior to the dinner to see the prep-work involved, and wrote a five-page article. Chefs fly in from all over the country to help us with it. We use what has been donated or shot locally. One guy came back from Colorado and said he was sending an elk to us via FedEx for the game dinner," Wade says. "Last year, we sent out invitations on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and by Monday at 11 a.m., we were sold out."

Perona Farms has come a long way since its boarding house roots. Wade remembers helping his great-grandfather pick field stones to build walls while his great-grandmother mixed the cement. "I think they'd be proud of us that we've carried on the tradition and expanded the way we have," he says. "I learned a lot from them, from my grandparents, parents and other employees here. My brothers and sisters, we learn something every day."

Wade and Virginia's three children have grown up around the business and are often there to pitch in wherever needed. But so far, none want to make a career of it. Erica, a University of Delaware sophomore, is studying political science and English with hopes of attending law school. Dane, a college freshman, wants to be a surgeon. Jay is still in high school and hasn't yet decided. "They see how hard we work, and think there has to be an easier life!"