A Sharper Palate Catering Company

A Sharper Palate catered our wedding where we had a 14 person sit down plated dinner. Keenan was SO great to work with - communicative, helpful, organized and friendly. We scheduled a tasting where we were able to test the food and ask all of our questions - their team made it so easy to work with them. Our wedding meal was filet mignon and crab cakes with mushroom risotto and asparagus - and our hors d’oeuvres were grilled shrimp, chicken and waffle bites, and crostini’s with goat cheese and prosciutto. The food was AMAZING. My family was talking about it all the next day. Our chef was fantastic and the service was perfect, checking on our waters and wines constantly made making sure we had exactly what we needed. The event was held at our home and they left our kitchen spotless. They even brought along things I hadn’t asked for as backup (things like coffee and a cake cutter) and we were so grateful. I would highly recommend A Sharper Palate for your event or party, and would definitely use their services again!!

We loved A Sharper Palate! They were easy to work with and responsive, and the food was EXCELLENT. They truly helped make my wedding day the best day of my life. Highly recommended! The appetizers and entrees were [and still are as leftovers] delicious!

A Sharper Palate catered both our rehearsal dinner and our wedding reception, and we truly cannot say enough good things about the food, the beautiful setup, and the fantastic service. Kristen was a pleasure to work with in the months leading up to our wedding. We never had any doubts that we were in good hands with Kristen. She was accommodating of some dietary restrictions we had, and we felt that she completely understood our desires and our vision from the start. The food was impeccable and our guests are still talking about how delicious it was. The setup for our rehearsal dinner and our reception was absolutely beautiful as well. I highly recommend using A Sharper Palate - you absolutely will not regret it.

We recently tied the knot on 10/26/19 and after having a smaller amount of guests than anticipated we had to change our order. Jagger was great he worked with us Kadence the changes we needed the desserts were great!

We wanted our wedding guests to walk away raving about our food and we certainly accomplished that by working with A Sharper Palate. The food was truly amazing and Keenan was a true professional during the entire process. He was accommodating and thoughtful, and extremely helpful during planning. All of the staff at our wedding were also great and professional. I highly recommend working with them if you want exceptional food for your event.

We loved working with A Sharper Palate and specifically Keenan! He was so professional and responsive to any questions or concerns. They were able to pull off a beautiful set-up in a very limited amount of time. All waitstaff seemed great. The food was excellent and we got a lot of compliments on it! Honestly I felt like we were in such good hands with Keenan that I never had to worry about anything. We didn’t use a wedding planner (looking back, that was a mistake), but he was so patient in working with us! Our reception was perfect, and I know we have ASP and Keenan to thank for that!

I worked with Keenan non-stop over the past few months. My wedding went off without a hitch. My guests loved the food, and i loved that I had nothing to worry about when it came to rentals, food, and servers. They took care of it all. I highly recommend Sharper Palate! Thanks Keenan.

The Sharper Palette was a great choice for a family birthday celebration! Throughout the planning process, Keenan Angel and his staff made the planning seamless! The food and presentation received rave reviews from our guests as well as our family. Guests were asking the chef for recipes! We highly recommend this outstanding company for your event.

Leslie Stone and her team at Sharper Palate knocked it out of the park for our wedding! We put complete trust in Leslie and she executed flawlessly to provide a beautiful setup and delicious food. We had shopped around to many caterers and found that Sharper Palate had the best quality food, most professional food presentation and highly experienced catering coordinator. Leslie worked with our unique menu requests to create the perfect food pairing for our guests. The biggest obstacle surrounding our wedding was the ability to flip and setup an entire room for a 200 person wedding in less than an hour. We again looked to Leslie, who handled that difficult task with ease. Still to this day, we're not sure what magic she pulled but the room was gorgeous and Leslie completely exceeded our expectations. We were extremely happy in our decision and would highly recommend this company to anyone looking for a topnotch catering experience. Our guests are still raving about the food!

Our venue required us to choose from a list of three approved caterers, and after meeting with ASP on the Wedding Crashers Tour, they were an easy choice. Lauren was so personable and easy to work with throughout the whole process, and we loved that we were able to include my parents in our tasting. Her team incorporated some family traditions into our menu (Polish pierogis) and tweaked some of their menu items to suit our tastes. They also allowed us to provide our own alcohol, which put a lot less pressure on our budget. Looking back, the only thing I would have done differently was to develop a more solid rain plan. There were a few small things that came up last minute that I wish we had been able to address ahead of time. Otherwise, my guests were full, happy, and well-hydrated for the entirety of our event!

The ASP team was great to work with during our wedding planning process. Kristen and Kyle made our out of town planning easier by coordinating with the rental company to have samples on site when we came into town for our tasting. My fiance and I were looking to offer southern comfort food in a formal setting and ASP struck the perfect balance for us. When I told ASP we were planning on getting desserts from a few of our favorite local vendors instead of going with one of their cakes, the team could not have been more supportive. Our day of contact, Kim, was just as excited about our dessert table as I was and absolutely made my vision come to life. In addition to catering, ASP also coordinated our rentals for us including delivery, set up and breakdown arrangements which made for such a smooth process. I did have to put my foot down when we received pushback on our floor plan for plated dinner service. However, once ASP realized our vision for dinner was non-negotiable, they did a phenomenal job accommodating our guests. Overall we had a great experience with ASP and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to other couples.

I highly recommend A Sharper Palate -- the food is top notch! We used A Sharper Palate for both our wedding and rehearsal dinner, and our guests have been raving about the food since! We worked with Leslie throughout the planning process, and she was wonderful. She provided a lot of options, gave us some great input, and really helped us to put together exactly what we were envisioning for our special day. Leslie was very responsive, and worked with us to make some changes after we had guests drop out at the last minute, which was VERY much appreciated. I will also never forget that Leslie and her team ensured that we were able to have our food tasting, even though it was in the middle of a snow storm! If you want truly great food and service at your event, look no further than A Sharper Palate.

I cannot speak highly enough of the Sharper Palate team. We worked with both Kim and Kristen on our April 2017 wedding. The day was flawless! Several years earlier, Sharper Palate catered my now sister-in-law's wedding and did a tremendous job. We found that there were even more incredible than we remembered! The food was outstanding! I don't just mean outstanding for wedding food, I mean actually outstanding! We continue to get compliments on the food from our wedding guests! We found the entire team at Sharper Palate to be responsive and very professional. Kristen attended our venue walk through's and had great suggestions. She was also willing to work within the venue's requirements and be flexible to make our day perfect. Kim also went above and beyond to help us work through some issues with a difficult vendor and helped ensure that our day went off without a hitch. Sharper Palate may be a tad pricier than some of the other caterers in town but you truly get what you pay for here. We had top notch service and delicious food. It was worth every penny!

A Sharper Palate catered my wedding this past weekend! And it was absolutely PERFECT! The food was full of flavor and deliciousness. Jagger and his staff were top notch. They were always ensuring our guests were taken care of- they ensured the buffet was ALWAYS clean and full of delicious food. My wedding planner (Stage & Lily) is the one who recommended them to me and they certainly did NOT disappoint! My family and I had PLENTY of food to enjoy at home. They set up and cleaned up without any complications. Our guests were so complimentary and just raved about how delicious everything was through out the night! I highly recommend them to any future bride and grooms looking for an outstanding company to help your big day perfect!

As a local event planner in Richmond, we have a few tricks up our sleeves - and I don't mind giving it away that using A Sharper Palate is one of our caterers we keep in our back pockets for almost any event. They are creative in developing food and beverage plans for events. They listen to their clients at the tasting and want to do everything they can to ensure their clients are happy with the product they will ultimately serve their guests. They know how to staff an event properly, ensure all the things are there that they need, and communicate extremely well along the way. Everything works like clockwork at the event. Hiring a caterer is more than just food - and A Sharper Palate knows how to do it right... every single time!

A Shaper Palate catered my wedding a few weeks ago! Lauren and her team were wonderful!! We were able to have exactly what we wanted to serve: barbeque, fried chicken, a mashed potato bar, and then popcorn and an ice cream sundae bar later in the night. All of the food was INCREDIBLE!!! Several weeks later, there are still several guests (myself included) talking about the amazing fried chicken!!!! Lauren was very helpful and had a great eye for design as well as food! She helped us pick out table cloths, napkins, and dishes along with all of the wonderful food!! At the beginning of the reception, Lauren ensured that our wedding party had plenty of food and drinks while we waited to introduced. During the wedding, Lauren and her staff ensured that my husband and I ate and drank! The bartender even caught wind of what my favorite drink was and saved the last one for me! It was little details like that that made the food and drink wonderful!!! At the end of the night, my husband and I ended up with a goodie basket of all of the wonderful creations! I, without a doubt in my mind, would recommend Lauren and a Sharper Palate to help cater any event!! They were wonderful!! Thank you all so much!!

Lauren and her team from A Sharper Palate catered my daughter's wedding reception at the Science Museum of Virginia. From the first contact, throughout the planning process, and until the end of the reception, Lauren was a pleasure to work with. She helped keep us within our budget with helpful suggestions and took care of every detail of service. At the reception, we truly had no worries and could sit back and enjoy!

A Sharper Palate catered my rehearsal dinner and wedding this past weekend, and I have so many adjectives to describe them I don’t know where to start. During my planning, the top priority for me was to have an attentive, professional caterer and good food. My planner’s first recommendation was A Sharper Palate and honestly I didn’t search any further. We went to the tasting, and I was so impressed with Kristen and Jamie (and the food) that the search stopped there. Their level of professionalism was remarkable. I couldn’t have asked for better service; they were so attentive and detail oriented. We opted for a mix & mingle style reception, and our rehearsal dinner was BBQ. It was all so delicious; our guests raved about all the food! Kristen made planning so easy; she drove the process, and I was beyond pleased and surprised by all that she controlled (ordering liquor, rentals, set up, food, reception layout)! I did not have a full appreciation for all that the caterer does to facilitate a wedding and could not imagine having pulled everything together without Kristen’s involvement! Everyone warned me we would not eat on our wedding day; they were mostly correct. The staff was so attentive and was already right there to offer food & beverage. They even together a beautiful basket of food for us, including cake slices so that we could enjoy it later! Every option we chose at our tasting was just as amazing and the service was superb! A Sharper Palate set the bar for anyone else I will ever deal with in the service industry.

From start to finish Steven was amazing. He took our vision and ran with it perfectly. We wanted to recapture the meal from our first date, which was at Edo's Squid. The chef did that and more. All my guests raved about the food and the service. Not one empty drink or stomach all night long. I would recommend A Sharper Palate 100%!

I recently got married and we had A Sharper Palate cater our wedding with Q BBQ. It was so delicious and the staff went above and beyond to make our day enjoyable! We had a buffet style and a limited open bar (wine, beer, and signature cocktails) and it went seamlessly! When I met with the caterer, they had everything down to a T and coordinated so well with my wedding venue that they were a dream team of vendors working together! At the end of the night, my husband and I were so pleasantly surprised to find the sweetest gift basket with neatly packed leftovers for us to snack on and two plates of cake each (which we weren't able to eat except when we cut the cake!) It was wonderful all around and I would definitely recommend them to every bride!!

A Sharper Palate catered my wedding and it was absolute perfection. Everyone kept complimenting the food and saying "this is the BEST wedding buffet/food station meal I have ever had!", not to mention that the set up was beautiful and Kristen was AMAZING to work with while planning. She answered every question, calmed every fear, listened to what we wanted, and made it even better! All of my other vendors and the venue were so happy that I was working with them. It was a breeze! I HIGHLY recommend A Sharper Palate.

If you want an all inclusive company, A sharper palate is for you. They do everything, from food, to rentals, to helping you plan the little details. Their staff even set up my decorations for me on the day of the event. The food was amazing! They even put a basket together for my new husband and I for the night of the wedding to eat in our hotel room. I have been recommending them to everyone I know who is planning a wedding! Thank you Sharper Palate team for everything you did!!

We had a great experience with Sharper Palate. We didn't want typical wedding food. We were looking for something a little more fun and low key - which is why we started thinking about barbecue. When we first started talking with Sharper Palate we didn't realize it's owned by the same people who own Q-Barbecue in the Richmond area. Once we realized they're sister companies we just became more excited! We told Kristen what we wanted and she came up with several awesome mock menus. We were able to pick and choose items from all the menus to customize the perfect final product. She also was able to offer really fun ideas like a mac n' cheese bar which was certainly something I'd never seen at a wedding! It was great to have a tasting and test everything out and confirm just how awesome the food was going to be. During the wedding the staff was very professional and helpful. They brought the whole bridal party food while they were stuck waiting for their grand entrance at the reception, and brought my groom and I much needed beers while we had our pictures taken. Overall it was a great experience. I had multiple people compliment the food and tons of people rave about the mac n' cheese bar!

Great food and service.

I did 3 online inquiries to caterers all on the same day. Two got back to me the same day and A Sharper Palate was not one of those 2. I do not remember how long it took them to get back to me but I know I had given up on them by the time they did. The initial contact person asked me some questions about the event which I answered- including the fact that I have a seafood allergy. A few weeks later, a different person emailed me samples menus- ALL had seafood on them and none met the feel we were looking for. Apparently, she never got my info from person 1. Not only was their price the highest of the 3 caterers we looked at, their customer service was the WORST!

We had so many compliments on the food at our wedding. It was all served as discussed, was hot and tasted amazing. Guest were going back for seconds and thirds and there was still a huge amount left over to take home. I will definitely use A Sharper Palate again.

I'm sure we've all been to weddings where, let's face it...the food sucks. This was not the case, however, at my wedding. Obviously I didn't get the time I wish I could have gotten to sit down and eat (had to go mingle)...but I can tell you, from what I DID eat..It was amazing!! I've also had several people come up and tell me that certain dishes were the absolute best that they've ever had. I for one can vouch for that for the green beans and the salmon! Seriously, you won't find a better catering company for your big day!!!

Initital Meeeting/Working Relationship: Our relationship with A Sharper Palate was great from the very beginning. We worked with Courtney Neston from day 1 through our actual wedding date. She not only was consistently available for correspondence when I had questions/concerns but she kept the total cost within dollars of our requested budget. Tasting - We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting and it was a great experience to be able to meet the chef. I was concerned about having vegetarian options, but they had more than enough options to satisfy this "foodie" vegetarian. Wedding Day - Since we went with simple decorations for our wedding, the buffet that A Sharper Palate set-up really brought the room together. The food was gorgeously presented and they were able to set up the table in a way for the guests to easily make it through the assortment without delay. Our guests were definitely impressed and we heard so much about how much they loved the food AND the charismatic bartender.