Full Service Catering!
From a small family get-together to a 400-person black-tie affair, we are experienced in providing great food and great service. Market fresh menus offer convenient trays of appetizers, buffet or dinner service options, dessert, and hosted bar service.
Bread Garden Events Catering is based in Iowa City, IA, and offers wedding catering services.
31+ years in business
Speaks English
Large team (21+ members)
Details
Cuisine
American
BBQ
Italian
Seafood
Specialty
Dietary Options
Dairy Free
Gluten Free
Halal
Nut Free
Organic
Sugar Free
Vegan
Vegetarian
Food & Catering
Buffet
Catering Clean Up
Catering Delivery & Setup
Chef Stations
Family Style
Menu Tastings
Passed Appetizers
Seated Meal
Servers
Any questions?
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.026 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Bread Garden Market Catering in Iowa City receives glowing reviews for their exceptional service, delicious food, and accommodating staff. Christa, the catering director, is highlighted for her organization and responsiveness, making the planning process seamless. Guests rave about the various menu options, including bacon-wrapped dates, beef tenderloin, and a cheesecake bar. Reviewers highly recommend Bread Garden for weddings and events, praising their professionalism, attention to detail, and reasonable pricing.Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 6
Emily M
Highlighted review.
5.0
12/16/2025
As a wedding planner who works with BreadGarden Market Catering often, they’re truly one of our go-to teams in the Iowa City area. Their communication is reliable, the food is alwa...
ys good, and they genuinely care about making every event a success. Christa is fantastic to work with—organized, responsive, and always willing to go the extra mile—and the rest of the team is just as great. They’re easy to collaborate with, dependable on event days, and consistently deliver a great experience for both our couples and their guests. We love working with BreadGarden and highly recommend them for weddings and events. P.S. They don't know we are writing this review. We just love them that much.
Sarah L
5.0
8/18/2025
I would recommend having The Bread Garden cater any wedding if you live in or close to Iowa City. Christa was amazing to work with and we received so many compliments from guests o...
n how good the food was and how much people loved the cupcakes! They are great at what they do, they answered any and all of our questions, and they helped make our day absolutely perfect. Christa and her team were fantastic, and we would give them 6/5 starts if we could!
Any questions?
TJ B
5.0
4/07/2025
Bread Garden Market did an amazing job for our wedding reception!! Excellent communication beforehand and the service day of was great! Our guests were raving about the pasta bar! ...
They did a really good job accommodating allergies as well! Highly recommend for any Iowa City event!
E K
5.0
11/04/2024
Bread Garden provided catering for my wedding reception, and it was fantastic! They served appetizers, a meal, and desserts (including cake, a dessert bar, and coffee). Some of the...
highlights were the bacon-wrapped dates, beef tenderloin, and champagne cake, but they have a large menu for you to select from. They also had optional kids meals, so kids could have chicken strips and mac and cheese. I had so many guests come up to me and ask who catered the meal, or call me the next week and rave about the appetizers!
Christa, the catering director, was so professional and helpful in answering questions and keeping me organized, and the staff that worked at the event were so kind and helpful. I would highly recommend Bread Garden Market for any catering needs - they were amazing!!!
Sam F
5.0
5/06/2024
Made our special meal so seamless!! We did their tacos and wow they were delicious, people loved them! They also were so easy to work with, they made what could be a stressful expe...
rience so easy and we are so grateful for their professionalism through the whole process!
Response from Bread Garden Events Catering on 07/11/2024
Thanks for your kind words Sam! We wish you and Sarah all the best <3
Emily C
5.0
3/10/2024
Bread Garden is truly the best of the best when it comes to wedding catering. Christa and her team were very knowledgeable, prompt, and organized throughout the whole process. We c...
ould not have been happier with how our appetizers and buffet meal turned out, and received so many compliments on the food from our guests! To top it all off, the prices are extremely reasonable for the high quality food Bread Garden offers. We would recommend them to any couple in a heartbeat, and look forward to utilizing them for event catering again in the future.
Response from Bread Garden Events Catering on 03/11/2024
Thank you so much for your kind words Emily!! We were thrilled to play a role in your big ...
day <3
Kate B
5.0
10/02/2023
We cannot recommend Bread Garden enough! We had a cheesecake bar for our wedding as well as a tiered cheesecake and they were both beautifully done! We got many compliments on how ...
delicious the cheesecake was.
Erin P
5.0
8/02/2023
If you’re thinking of using Bread Garden for catering, THIS IS YOUR SIGN!!! I hired them for my wedding, and it was the most delicious wedding food I’ve ever had, and a majority of...
our guest have told us the same. Not to mention their service, attention to detail and coordination with our venue exceeded all expectations.
They are also very careful and considerate when it came to providing delicious options for vegans, peanut allergies, gluten intolerances, and more
We loved working with Christa, who answered all of our questions quickly and in detail.
Michelle P
5.0
8/01/2023
The Bread Garden catered our daughter’s wedding for 250 people at The Eastbank Venue in July. We had an awesome experience. We had a tasting with the caterer to decide the menu a...
nd Christa was very helpful and responsive during the planning process. We served beef tenderloin and duck breast on a buffet line with a carving station. The service was excellent and the food was awesome! Guests were impressed! I would recommend using Bread Garden for your wedding or any other event!
Ashley G
5.0
9/07/2022
The best catering company out there! If we could give more than 5 stars we definitely would. Never thought I’d meet someone more organized than me but Christa might be that person....
:) She is extremely on top of the ball, very responsive, and definitely someone that you can trust to perfectly execute your catering event. She also spent extensive time answering all my questions during our tasting and via email and response time was always very fast. Every minute detail was accounted for, down to ensuring what color serving platters or type of disposable plates we wanted for apps/desserts.
We got so many compliments on our wedding food to the point where people were still talking about the food a week later! Sometimes food isn’t the most memorable thing from someone’s wedding day but definitely something that we and our guests will remember from our wedding day. Both sides of our families have amazing cooks so our whole family is honestly very picky when it comes to food so it is a HUGE compliment to say that there were no complaints and everything was cooked to perfection! Would recommend for catering to anyone and everyone planning a wedding and have already sent a few referrals Christa’s way :)
Response from Bread Garden Events Catering on 09/07/2022
You are so sweet Ashley! It was so wonderful seeing your whole vision come together for yo...
ur wedding day -- we loved being a part of it all :)
Haley B
5.0
7/07/2021
We did the 3 different buffets (taco bar, pasta bar, BBQ bar) for our wedding and the food was delicious! They were super accommodating and we loved the tasting they provided when ...
choosing the food. They also did a great job having safe food options for guests with severe food allergies who needed them to be extra careful. I had multiple guests tell me it was the best wedding food they had ever had!
Response from Bread Garden Events Catering on 07/07/2021
Thank you Haley! We loved working with you :)
Sammi S
5.0
11/17/2020
We had a stressful February when our original wedding catering company cancelled for all 2020 brides. I reached out to Alison from Bread Garden and she responded SO quickly and was...
extremely helpful and not pushy at all. She set up a tasting and we were sold at our first bite! Throughout the planning process, Alison was beyond pleasant to work with. She responded so fast to emails and was so easy to communicate with. We had many last minute cancellations because of COVID and Alison made sure everything was perfect the day of. The food was phenomenal for our wedding and we got so many compliments on it. I didn't receive a single complaint from anyone. I would 1000% recommend using Bread Garden as your caterer and working with Alison for any event! Thank you again for such amazing food and service :)
Anna T
5.0
9/03/2020
I ordered my desserts from here and have no regrets! I ordered online and a day later someone followed up with me to clarify and ensure I got what and the amount I wanted. My gues...
ts loved the selection and my husband and I loved the price!
Brooke B
5.0
10/02/2019
We are so happy we went with Bread Garden Market for our wedding caterer. We used them for reception dinner and for appetizers during cocktail hour. They had servers walk around wi...
th the appetizers which added a touch of class to the occassion!
Also, working with Allison as our catering manager was the absolute BEST! She is so professional and made us feel like we were in the best hands at all times! There wasn't a single thing I would change about the food for our wedding. Plus our guests were raving about how delicious the hangar steak and mashed potatoes were!
We would book with BGM a million times over again, especially if we got to work with Allison again!
Soirée Wedding Planning M
5.0
10/21/2018
Bread Garden is one of my favorite caterers, because their food is delicious, the staff is wonderful, and the catering managers are amazing. You won't be disappointed when you work...
with Allison or Erin for your upcoming wedding or other event. I have worked with them at multiple weddings and they are top notch. Everything is organized! Their staff is super friendly, and they truly are the best at what they do! Book with them today - you'll really enjoy your experience.
Ciara T
4.0
9/12/2018
We were so happy to have The Bread Garden catering staff with us on our wedding day, and for our brunch, the day after. They were professional, helpful and pleasant. They seem ver...
y adaptable and flexible, as our outdoor reception did not phase them, organisationally speaking. In email exchanges and for our tasting a few months prior, Allison was very detailed and organised. We had some dietary restrictions for some of our guests and she made sure that these were clearly marked, and that we had options that would work for all guests. We'd happily work with them again in future.
Kristin B
5.0
12/11/2017
We had Bread Garden do our drink catering and they were fantastic. The bartenders were super friendly and helpful and even helped us cover a misunderstanding with who was serving w...
ater to our guests. Definitely recommend them.
Zoe M
5.0
10/02/2017
Working with Allison and her team from Bread Garden Market was one of the best decisions we made for our wedding day. They responded quickly to many questions throughout our year o...
f planning, and took care of business on the day. They offered different suggestions/options for beverages, were more than prepared when they arrived, helped guide our guests through the absolutely delicious apps and buffet, and were a joy to work with through the final behind-the-scenes cleanup. Thank you!
Megan M
5.0
7/23/2017
My husband and I can't stop raving about how lucky we were to have Bread Garden cater our wedding. Allison and her team went above and beyond in every way. I really don't know what...
we would have done without them. The food was delicious and they were so flexible even when we ended up running over a half hour late. I can't recommend working with Bread Garden highly enough.
Carolyn G
5.0
7/08/2017
We used Bread Garden on two separate occasions. First, for our engagement - my groom rented out the Palmer House and planned a catered dinner with our parents following his proposa...
l. Bread Garden served a three-course meal for the 6 of us, complete with one of their servers, Jason, who made the experience even more wonderful than it already was. I suffer from a severe soy allergy, which makes it difficult to eat at many restaurants. Through Bread Garden's attention to detail, thoroughness, and top notch customer service, they were able to serve a very tasty and completely soy-free meal.
We also used Bread Garden for our dessert table at our wedding, which featured 7 different options with almost two dozen flavors available. The cost was very reasonable, and second to none, for the quality and quantity of desserts provided. By the end of the night, there were no desserts left, only compliment upon compliment from our guests about how great they were.
We would highly recommend using Bread Garden Market for any of your catering needs. They respond quickly, are able to accommodate food allergies with ease, and above all, provide fantastic and delicious food every time.
Lauren K
5.0
10/28/2013
Couldn't be happier with Bread Garden catering. We set up a tasting with them just a couple of months before our big day and their chef and event coordinator were fabulous about of...
fering suggestions and working with us to achieve exactly what we wanted. Their menu is extensive and their chef was willing to make any adjustments or additional dishes we might like. On the day, their staff were courteous, professional and just generally great to have around! Got tons of positive feedback from guests on the great variety and quality of the food.
Ngaire H
5.0
7/28/2013
I had passed hors D'oeuvres and a buffet line for the meal. The paella was ok, but the ravioli was amazing. Our best man said "I don't know what this is, but I like it!" The sta...
ff were professional and everything from food to bar tending went smoothly. I also thought the prices were very reasonable and it was nice to have good food at our wedding.
Emily K
5.0
7/12/2013
I worked with Bread Garden as the caterer for my wedding in May 2013 at The Celebration Farm and they were fantastic to work with. The food was great, the service was great and the...
y were so wonderful to work with in the planning phase as well. They gave me clear expectations based on each request and when we had creative ideas and requests they were excited about helping us bring those ideas to life.
The added benefit of working with them at that venue is that they work there often and can seamlessly coordinate with the venue staff. We also had our rehearsal dinner at Givanni’s, which was amazing food and is owned by the same company as Bread Garden so they were able to help us coordinate any needs for that event as well. I heard nothing but great feedback from my wedding guests and was so happy with the service and product we received.
I would definitely recommend working with them!
Joanna D
5.0
8/04/2012
We had three different cakes for our wedding and the staff at the Bread Garden could not have been more helpful. We had many people comment on how wonderful the cakes were. Thanks ...
Bread Garden!
Lily F
5.0
12/07/2010
My husband and I originally picked the Bread Garden Market to cater our wedding, because it was the location of our first date. While we chose it initially for sentimental reasons...
, both the food and the service exceeded our expectations. We had chicken marsala, baked tilapia and a vegetable tower for entrees, as well as salad, breads, mashed potatoes and seasoned vegetables as sides. Our guests raved about the how amazing the food was more than any other detail of the reception. This was a fantastic vendor who was very calm and easy to work with, allowing us last minute revisions to the total meal count which saved us money as well. I highly recommend them as a wedding caterer!
Molly V
5.0
11/23/2010
The Bread Garden was awesome to work with. They were on top of everything, the servers were super helpful... and the food was WONDERFUL! We had lots of compliments on how good ever...
ything was.
Service area & Contact info
Travel area: Within 25 miles
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Bread Garden Events Catering
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