When searching for a catering company for our wedding we needed someone who would respect our overall philosophy of local and seasonal foods. The company we went with was a restaurant which also had a catering operation, called Prune Restaurant. It helped that my husband had eaten there many times and knew the kind of food they served. Plenty of my friends wedding locations dictated their catering. Some venues have contracts with specific vendors and caterers. They will charge you a fee to use someone else or simply not let you. If you do have a choice make sure you do your research. If you find a company that sounds good, but you have never had their food, ask for referrals.
The girls at 100 Layer Cake and I checked in with some of our favorite foodie friends all over the country to see what the cool more boutique caterer’s were in their cities. Here is our short list by city.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Fork & Spoon Productions
Taste Catering
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Animal Restaurant
Heirloom LA
Love Catering
Pure Joy Catering
Serves You Right Catering
The Food Matters
NEW YORK/BROOKLYN
Cleaver Company
Mamma Duchess
Marcey Brownstein
Roquette Catering
Stuart & Welch
The Red Table
ATLANTA
Avalon Catering
SEATTLE
Mangetout Catering
Herban Feast
BELLINGHAM, WA
Ciao Thyme
MEMPHIS
Another Roadside Attraction Catering
VANCOUVER
Savoury Chef
Who are some of your favorites?
{photo c/o a la mode & Mel Barlow of Clever Co.}
30 comments
My favorite caterer in South Florida is “The Catering Group” http://www.tcgfl.com/
They were sooo professional, proactive and the food was amazing! Carolyn Lasser, the Catering Manager is warm, patient, and sooo helpful! We had them cater our engagement party, complete with a crepe chef and an emergency rain/cold plan that we had to utilize! When I told her our wedding vision, she came up with a list of places we should check out – she did things that I would never expect a caterer to do for us…and totally delivered on the goods. A+++++ amazing.
I can honestly say I didn’t really look for a caterer for our upcoming November wedding in South Bend, IN. One place was all I needed – Jaworski’s Market is a locker plant a few miles from my parents’ house, and they! do! barbecue! If it had been a summer wedding, we’d have totally done a hog roast – how fun would that be?
I think an amazing Seattle caterer was left off this list- Ravishing Radish! I contacted Herban Feast multiple times and they were not helpful at all. I already had my venue chosen so I wanted to hire them for off site catering and I’m not sure if they just didn’t understand what I was asking but they kept telling me I needed to change my date because their facility was booked- Even though I wasn’t interested in their facility. I got frustrated with them and looked elsewhere. I’m so glad I did- Ravishing Radish is absolutely amazing and I couldn’t be happier with our choice to use them instead.
Great post! I love how it’s been divided by city. It’s especially great for brides planning a wedding in a state other than where they live.
In the Seattle area the best hands down is Ciao Thyme Catering. They are simply unbelievable! Everything is cooked from scratch on site. They source as many ingredients from local producers and catered both my rehearsal dinner and wedding. For my wedding the salmon we served literally came out of the water the day before. They were so accommodating of my special requests and answered all of my questions. I wrote about them on my blog:
http://www.eleigh.com/blog/weddings/our-wedding-or-why-ive-been-away-a-while/
But I got their name from famous food blogger Orangette. Here’s what she said about them:
http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/08/so-we-feasted.html
I wish I could get married all over again just so I could eat with them!
This is an excellent post! Of course I had to check out the Atlanta pick and they look amazing…I can see why Avalon was chosen! Another great boutique caterer in Atlanta is Sun In My Belly.
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Food is SO important for making your wedding memorable and enjoyable – so bravo on this very useful information!
In Atlanta, I also love Sun in my Belly and I Sheri Davis Catering. Very delicious local and organic foods. Yum!
Love the food focus. My fiancee and I are all about great food and wine in our everyday lives, so why wouldn’t this be equally important as say, my dress, on our wedding day? We are thinking of using Gourmand Catering (www.gourmand-catering.com) in the Greater Sacramento Area, CA. They source their food from local farms and purveyors and only do seasonal menus!
In the bay area Trumpet Vine. The one in Berkeley, NOT the one in the central coast. Amazing, local, seasonal. Very Alice Waters slow food (it is Berkeley after all).
My husband and I are both foodies and we used Patty Long Catering in St. Louis, MO (pattylongcatering.com). We had our reception at the 9th Street Abbey, one of their event sites. It’s an old church with beautiful stained glass windows and an outside courtyard for a cocktail hour.
For the INDIANA people:
Cynthiamoriarty.com
Simple, beautiful food that is as delicious as it is wholesome. The caterer, Cynthia, is also a great person to have around during a wedding. She keeps a cool head, is great at starting conversations between strangers, and keeps a clean, well-oiled production. Her cakes are great as well!!!
Any ideas for KC metro/midwest (other than st. louis)
In Northeastern Flroida…The Perfect Pair Catering Co. They are the best! Amazing food and styling. Rachel and Mike I can’t wait for the big day, thank you so much for all of your efforts so far. We are dying for the slider bar!
I’m so glad you guys mentioned the Cleaver Company! They catered our wedding at Angel Orensanz and it was just perfect. Mary, the owner is just the most beatiful person and it shows in her food. We still go and eat at their restaurant The Green Table in Chelsea Market all the time!!!
in Baltimore: Water For Chocolate. They have an adorable cafe in Butcher’s Hill and fantastic “real” food for events. Local, seasonable, sustainable, and delicious!
i would definitely recommend our caterer Michael Woodward ~ http://mwoodwardcatering.com/ in northern california. for our wedding he created some delicious, unique dishes that were anything but “wedding food” if you know what i mean. He also comes to your house to prepare your tastings, which is a real treat!
Spice of Life Catering in Cleveland, Ohio. Local, sustainable, and meticulously styled and seasoned. They matched our palates perfectly. Jess, Ben, and Brandon have all been so wonderful!
For our wedding we used Season To Taste, based in Cambridge near Boston. They were sooooo amazing!! Seriously, one of the top meals of my life. And they were so helpful during the planning and execution phases. They use local and organic foods whenever possible and incorporated ingredients from the farm we got married on to create our menu. We really couldn’t recommend them more!
So glad everyone has loved this post. Keep spreading the love about your favorites. It is always nice to have the inside scoop on great caterers!
I have worked with Heirloom LA on many occasions and they are by far the best caterer in Los Angeles! Matt and Tara treat all their clients like family and their food is amazing, beautifully presented and truly unique. Lasagna Cupcakes…out of this world!
Charlottesville, VA, A. Pimento Catering
apimentocatering.com
Greater Philadelphia area: DiSh Catering in Frenchtown New Jersey {http://gottahavedish.com/} It was love at first taste. Michele-chef and owner- is crazy talented and down to earth, and James- executive captain- has been great through the planning process so far. I looove food, and they have worked with me to create my perfect seasonal menu. I’m going to make sure I have time to eat at my wedding!
I love Windows Catering company in Washington, DC. They epitomize elegant DC soiree’s!
In Atlanta, try the Bleu House Cafe (they do lunch and catering) – such a fun and sweet company! http://www.bleuhousecafe.com
Any ideas for a Key West wedding catering company? Tapas style menu is our thought and any help would be great!?!
Hi, I would like to add one in Northern NJ. This is very reliable and renders professional service.
Simply Delicious Catering
127 Plaza Center
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: (201) 863-7666
Website: http://www.simplydeliciouscatering.com
Email: simplydeliciousnj@gmail.com
Description: Specializing in Catering to large and small businesses in Northern NJ – Secaucus, Jersey City, Newark, Meadowlands, Lyndhurst, Rutherford, North Bergen, Hoboken, and all surrounding NJ areas.
Hours: 9am-5pm
Payment type: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX
Any ideas for Ann Arbor, MI catering?
Thanks!
Emily
Any ideas for Ann Arbor, MI catering?
Thanks!
Emily
Your site is genius and gave us so many gorgeous wedding ideas! (We even sent our photographer over here to set up a few specific photos that look like some of the magical shots you feature!) We selected fabrics and guests’ take-away gifts based upon inspirations on 100 Layer Cake. My beloved husband Anderson and I owe you a debt of gratitude. Most honorable mention goes to our phenomenal caterer GourMel in LA (gourmel.net). We met Mel at a Brentwood dinner party last year and knew we had to have her food dancing on our tongues on our perfect day.
The catering business has been experiencing a boom for a long time now. Catering services should need to get the idea of modern catering needs and demand of customers. Recently finger food have become an important part of catering business.
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