Applause Catering + Events

with everything. Very professional service and the food was served hot. Everything was EXCELLENT!!! Thank you Stephanie.

ess. The tasting was setup so well and the food was SO delicious! We ended up having the tilapia and pork loin for our buffet, and we received so many compliments on the food at our reception this weekend!! The staff did such a wonderful job of setting up the tables on the day of the reception, and all of the waitstaff were so friendly. I also loved that Applause had set up a coffee, tea, and hot water station. Thank you, Stephanie, for everything!

ng even with our extremely last minute needs. The food was delicious and all of our guests are still commenting about how great the food was. They were able to provide absolutely everything we desired and really made it special. The team was professional and kind and really made our reception a great party! We were so pleased and appreciative of their hard work. They really saved the day!

wedding. Would definitely recommend to anyone getting married or hosting an event!

le but Tyler stepped in and did a great job. Overall, their food was pretty middle of the road. There were a couple things at the wedding that were disappointing. 1. We tasted the Portobello Mushroom bake at our tasting. It was BEYOND good. So good in fact that I ordered it for my dinner over chicken and steak which says a lot for me. What I ate for dinner on our wedding night was NOT what I had at our tasting... there were huge chunks of vegetables in it, the seasoning was way off, and it wasn't as smooth as it was when I first had it. I walked around and most people had generally the same concencous which was disappointing to me because I had talked it up so much. Not sure what happened here, maybe a new chef but really, really disappointing. 2. Their waitstaff was extremely young and they didn't seem to be trained very well. They were sometimes running in circles and one of them dropped items during dinner (just dishes, not a meal). Overall, middle of the road experience and really disappointing dish but if you stay away from that, the rest seemed to be loved by all.

The only thing that could be improved is the knifes to cut steak a little more easily. Still tastes great and was served quickly so it was hot. The food is fabulous and service is second to none.

y within our budget. I would highly recommend this company to other couples!

s-free event day because of her attention to detail. The best part was -- the food was great, and our guests noticed as well!

r the tasting, they sent her home with to-go boxes of everything so that I could taste everything as well. Throughout the process the accommodated all of me requests, including some very last minute changes, with no push back. The day of, the food was DELICIOUS and the service was superb. Everyone was so cordial and made the whole reception not stressful at all.

r any caterer. Their antipasto appetizer display was gorgeous and a HUGE hit! I would always suggest ordering a meal with sauces, and we would have loved just a tad more on our chicken dish as it was dry for some guests. We had the s’mores bar and they transitioned the app display to the dessert display flawlessly and without commotion. Their staff was everywhere and nowhere which is always the goal!! Overall, would definitely recommend Applause, we loved our experience.

edding guest repeatedly complimented the food and the staff. I will certainly be using Applause again for any future catering needs.

y complaint we heard at our wedding was with our dessert. Instead of cake we chose pie & gelato. Heard that some pie slices came out without any gelato and others with a just sliver of gelato. This is not something that every wedding does so can't fault them too much for the confusion. Otherwise heard nothing but compliments on the food. Highly recommend them!

one after hours to go over the final details for our wedding, and she answered any and all questions I had (and there were a lot!) with grace and patience. We definitely made the right choice when it came to using Applause!!

iscommunication between our DJ and our caterer over when a wedding game was to be played. We had hoped it would be played after dinner, but it ended up being played before dinner and so food came out later than we might have hoped. Other than that, everything was absolutely amazing! We could not have asked for a better caterer. The food was also super affordable. Would definitely recommend!

, and helpful. If I ever work on another event that needs catering, Applause will be the first place I call. I would happily refer them to anyone looking to check dinner, bartending and dessert off of their list!

ain.

astings and working around our travel schedule. He had helpful recommendations for us, both as to food and for place settings and tablecloths.

our requests. The day went perfectly. The food was amazing, even better than it was for our tasting. We could not have asked for a better team!

dding, they claimed that was what we ordered (chicken portofino). Being in catering, I would think they would know the difference between the two. I remember the breaded chicken with the gross thick sauce on it and I didn't like it at the tasting and I didn't like it at my wedding. My husband ended up sharing part of his meal with me because of the meal I was served. I'm thoroughly disappointed with Applause and won't be recommending them. Food was decent but swapping food out at the last minute was not what I was expecting from them.

my vision was an he made it better! We did a really cool seafood station, a grilled cheese station with had several different kinds of grilled cheese and a pasta station that everyone loved. If I could do it again, I wouldn't change a thing.

about a tasting. We attended their tasting event at Bridgewater Place where we got to taste lots of their food offerings and meet various vendors from the area (we met our DJ there!). They had a full dinner service so we could see how their staff operates and they had plated and buffet options on display to show attendees what their food looks like in various forms. My (now) husband LOVED the Applause Chicken Portofino, while I loved the Classic London Broil. Seriously, my husband loved that chicken so much that he pitched it to every single one of our guests before they sent their response cards back. Since we wanted to give our guests choices, we did the split plate option which gave us up to 4 choices, so we had chicken, beef, fish, and vegetarian options. We had the roasted potato trio and green beans amandine for our sides. Throughout the wedding planning process, Kyle was great over email and answered my many, many questions, including things like, "will you put salt and pepper shakers on each table?" (yes) or "can you do this random napkin fold I saw on Pinterest?" (they could). Kyle answered every question and always did so in a friendly way. We had two guests with intense food allergies and Applause staff made sure that they wouldn't have any problems on the day of the wedding (and they didn't, so good job!). Applause provided all our linens (napkins in our wedding color and crisp, white tablecloths), tableware, and even provided our cake cutting materials, because I thought it was silly to pay $40 to buy one for myself and then never use it again. They even included a late night coffee bar and waived our cake cutting fee as part of our catering package. All our food was hot and delicious on the day of the wedding. My bridesmaids nearly licked their plates. We were all very happy with our dinners and Applause timed everything well. We had a waiter assigned only to the head table and he made bar runs for us if any of us wanted something to drink (which was great, because getting around tables in my dress was a challenge). The day-of catering manager also checked with me throughout the night to make sure everything was to my satisfaction, which I appreciated. We had a great experience with Applause and if we did it all over, we would happily hire them again.

fall 2015 wedding and found Applause Catering on the list of approved vendors for my venue. After reviewing their website, my fiance and I decided to schedule an appointment and a tasting at their facilities. Following the instructions on their website, I submitted a request for a tasting, along with the information that was requested...and waited... Having not received a response after 2 days, I submitted a new request...and waited... After 2 more days of waiting and not getting any responses, I called the number found on the website. Unfortunately, it is a fully automated system with no general contact to speak with, so I selected the extension of the first person listed as a sales and catering specialist and left a detailed message...and waited... That evening, I received an email in response to my first two requests telling me that "he thought the chef would be out (on my requested date) with his children and would get back with me" but would like to schedule an appointment anyway. He also stated in the email that he would get back with me right away to let me know if the chef was or was not going to be available. As both my fiance and I are from out of town, it's imperative that we are very efficient with our appointments and would not schedule one to hear his sales pitch without having a tasting as well. I called the number on his email immediately- literally, in the time it took for the email to come in, for me to read it, and subsequently dial the number, 5 minutes may have elapsed- and had no answer. I then responded to his email with very detailed information about my travel plans and the requirements for my appointment....and waited... The next morning, I received a call from a different person, but unfortunately was away from my phone and missed the call. I called back right away (perhaps 15 minutes had elapsed since the message was left), but again, no answer. I left a message requesting a call back right away...and waited...in fact, I have not heard back from either people whatsoever. If this company values new business, they certainly don't show it. The communication-or rather, lack thereof- is simply appalling. If it is this difficult to so something that should be so simple as to schedule appointment, how is it going to be to work with them to ensure my needs are met for my wedding? If they can't handle a simple task of returning a phone call or email in a timely manner, then how can I trust that they are going to properly do their jobs? I can't, and they have lost my business as a result. So disappointing. UPDATE: I ultimately received an email communication stating they could not accommodate any tasting requests on the date I requested but they "still wanted my business". There were no suggestions of when their chef might make an appearance for a tasting for alternate dates.

ts arrive, etc. Thankfully, the Event Coordinator, Stephanie, was incredibly helpful and she was even willing to meet with me two weeks before the wedding when I finally moved back to Grand Rapids. Cannot recommend this company enough!