St. Louis and St. Louis Co., St. Charles & Jefferson Co.
Service area
About this vendor
Chef Larry Gerstein
OWNER
AWARD WINNER (1X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Nominated "Top 10 Caterer in St. Louis" by StL Small Business Monthly Magazine! Would you prefer a sit down dinner or buffet? Carving stations, casual dining? Check our 5 Star Catering Menus for fantastic wedding packages. We cater to over 200 of the most popular venues in St. Louis. FREE Tastings! Call Chef Larry G at 314.606.9520 or email at LarryG@ChampionshipCatering.com to arrange a free, no obligation consultation. Chef Larry G can show you multiple menus and selections based on your desires, budget and numbers of guests! Championship Catering is an approved caterer at hundreds of venues around St. Louis & Illinois. Why? Because we do a great job by serving the tastiest food at an outstanding price, always putting your wedding and guests as our first and only priority.
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Owner, Larry Gerstein (AKA Larry G, Chef Larry G or Chef G), always knew his calling was somewhere within the food service industry and hoped to one day own his own restaurant.
In 1989, Larry's dream came true when he opened Larry G’s, a 50’s diner located in Creve Coeur plaza. Several years later, in 1993, Larry sold his restaurant and opened Custom Catering by Larry, specializing in corporate and private catering as well as event planning. Larry’s catering business expanded to include school meal programs, contract food service accounts, vending service and coffee service. And, Larry didn't stop there...
In 1998, Larry served as the Executive Chef aboard The Empress, a 150-seat corporate yacht. Later that same year, Custom Catering was hired by the St. Louis Rams to provide team breakfast and pre-game meals. Then in 2001, Custom Catering began providing made-to-order breakfast selections for the players and coaches of the St. Louis Cardinals and visitor’s locker rooms.
Larry was working hard and pushing his catering company to new heights. But, Larry knew a personal accomplishment was still missing in his life. So, in 2006, Larry sold Custom Catering , with the exception of the St. Louis Cardinals and a few other strategic accounts, and pursued his MBA. Upon completion of his MBA, Larry was inspired to form a new and appropriately-named catering company... This is when Championship Catering was born.
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Reviews
4.9
out of 5.0
23 reviews
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Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Championship Catering is highly recommended by multiple reviewers for weddings and other events. The food is praised as delicious and the presentation is excellent. Larry, the owner, and his staff are described as professional, accommodating, and a pleasure to work with. The service is commended for being helpful, attentive, and seamless. Guests appreciate the staff's attention to detail and their ability to make the planning process easy. Overall, customers highly recommend Championship Catering for weddings and other special events.
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Caryn G
5.0
1/22/2024
Champion did our Sunday post wedding brunch in our home. The food was yummy and nicely presented. The staff was friendly to all guests and knew exactly what to do & when to do it. I would definitely choose Champion again.
Lora P
5.0
11/18/2022
I cannot say enough good things about Larry and his team! The were professional and we got many, many compliments on the food. They were a joy to work with and made the whole process seamless!
Any questions?
Kimberly F
5.0
4/10/2022
Larry is AMAZING! Larry and his staff were a god send. From the initial calls, to the tasting, to our wedding, everyone at championship catering was a dream to work with.
Not to mention the food was the best food I’ve ever had.
We had Larry come up with food stations and we still have guests talk about how great the food was.
Larry staffs his events very well so there is never a gap in service. He also does a fantastic job of staying within a budget- instead of picking things off of the menu and trying to fit our vision, we gave him a number per person and he built a menu based on what we could afford and what we wanted for food.
If you’re looking for a caterer for ANY event, hire this one!
Jenna P
5.0
11/24/2021
Championship Catering was great to work with for our wedding! We found them through our venue's recommended caterer list. From our initial outreach, Larry and his entire staff were great to work with, they made the entire process easy to work through. He was very accommodating to the requests that we had. During our reception, the waitstaff were very helpful with keeping dinner on time, releasing tables and cleaning up dishes. The food was amazing and we received so many compliments from our guests on how much they enjoyed it.
Michala M
5.0
10/16/2021
Championship catering was a recommended vendor from our venue, and we were so happy with using them for our wedding! Larry was so personal and accommodated all of our wishes for cocktail hour and dinner. His staff working the wedding were wonderful—very friendly and kept the buffet line going smoothly. They even packed up the leftovers and helped with keeping our dessert bar stocked throughout the night, as well. Nothing but good things was said about the food-definitely recommend!
Tamara T
5.0
7/10/2021
Larry, the owner of Championship Catering is the best caterer in St. Louis to have for your wedding. We used Larry 30 years ago at our wedding and the food and presentation was the best in St. Louis then. So when my husband and I decided to renew our vows on our 30th wedding anniversary, of course, we thought of Larry at Championship Catering. He traveled a long distance to come to our venue to cater our event for the second time. Once again the food was excellent and the presentation was amazing. The service was excellent. Larry was there the entire event making sure everything ran smoothly. I would use Championship Catering again with out a doubt. Your event food will not be a worry.
Maria N
5.0
5/26/2021
Booking Chef Larry and his team was a no-brainer. He has great reviews for a reason. Due to COVID, we were unable to have a tasting, but we trusted Chef Larry and he did not disappoint. He truly delivered an exceptional meal. The menu was perfect and the food was amazing! Great portions, great price and working with his team to coordinate made the whole wedding planning process a breeze.
Lydia M
5.0
4/26/2021
Great food! We had a wedding of 130 people and everything went smoothly. Highly Recommend!!
Andrea B
5.0
12/10/2020
AMAZING!! Larry helped us customize our menu to make it unique to US, while helping us stay within our price range. He's simply the best person to work with hands down!
Kaci H
5.0
10/31/2019
People are still commenting on how great the food was at our wedding and it was about 2 months ago. Larry is very easy to work with and really works with you on your budget and gets creative with dishes. At our venue we were unable to have open flame/burners for a live action pasta station and he was able to suggest a mashed potato bar that was a huge hit. The carving station with the beef tenderloin was easy to cut with a fork and while our rehearsal dinner was at a very nice steakhouse in the area, several who were at the rehearsal said the tenderloin had much better flavor. Although Larry was not at the actual event, his staff was top notch. The bartenders were sure to keep the bride and groom hydrated all night and the line was never more than two people even though we had a decent sized attendance. I would recommend Larry and Championship Catering to anyone. His food was the best we tasted and he was definitely the most reasonable.
Demi B
5.0
10/07/2019
OMG-AMAZING! I had never heard so many people talk about how good the food was at a wedding before. People were literally raving about it for days.
Chef Larry is amazing to work with, will do basically anything you need, and goes above and beyond for any special requests or allergies. We did appetizers, a buffet, and late night snack and it was all delicious. Everything was also hot and fresh which was a concern for us having a buffet, but there was nothing to worry about!
I feel like I can only use Championship Catering for any future catering needs!
Linda L
5.0
1/09/2019
Larry is a dream to work with. He was the only calm in my storm of looking for a caterer for my wedding. He came out to the hall and we discussed every aspect of the day with the "hall people". They both knew more than I did in terms of details to think about. He and his crew arrived on time, were pleasant and professional. We just had appetizers for the reception, the meatballs and mini quiches were delicious! They packed up all the leftovers and things I had brought for me. Thanks Larry for everything!!
Ashmika R
5.0
10/31/2018
Championship catering was wonderful to work with during such a stressful time of planning my wedding. Larry would get back to me about my questions in a timely manner and always make things work. I loved the food at the tasting and only lived their services at my wedding even more! Everything was the way I pictured it and all my guests talked about the delicious food. Mainly for me it was good food at an affordable price.
Steve L
5.0
10/29/2018
What a fantastic job by Larry G and Championship Catering! We decided against going to a restaurant because we could not have had the place to ourselves. Larry G suggested the Museum of Transportation and it turned out to be a super cool place for our rehearsal dinner. Then Champion Catering through down a buffet fit for a king. The menu selections were extensive. The service excellent and the price very reasonable. I have no hesitation recommending Championship Catering.
Robert B
5.0
10/29/2018
I strongly recommend Larry Gerstein and Championship Catering to anyone who wants to have a first class wedding for a reasonable price. We spoke with numerous caterers, and Championship Catering was the only caterer who could satisfy our needs within our budget. Larry was extremely helpful in planning, as this was our first wedding. He brought up many things about which we hadn't even thought. Larry and his crew arrived early, and every detail was handled professionally and perfectly. Everybody raved about how the food was absolutely delicious. My second daughter just recently got engaged, and although a date has yet to be set, we already are planning to have Championship Catering be the caterer. Thank you again to Larry and his crew!
Mary R
5.0
10/26/2018
Clean, courteous and affordable.
That’s exactly what Larry G and his crew of professionals delivered for us.
We had a few vegans invited and Larry assured us they would be taken care of. They were! We recieved several compliments on the food and service from our guests. We’d highly recommend Championship Catering for a beautiful reception.
Ashley B
5.0
10/24/2018
Championship Catering is the best around!
Krisi H
5.0
10/20/2017
We loved Larry! It isn’t often that you can find vendors that don’t try to up sell what they do/have. Larry is passionate about what he does and he loves giving people a wonderful meal! He works with your budget and is very professional. We got so many compliments on the food! Thank you!
Kristin M
3.0
6/18/2017
Championship was a very affordable option for our wedding reception of 160 guests. Larry and Doug provided us with the opportunity to do a tasting before booking them and then provided us with a final tasting a couple weeks before our wedding. Larry and Doug were accommodating to us and worked with us on creating a menu that we wanted. Larry provided us suggestions on how to get the appetizers and desserts we wanted and nothing was too much for him to handle. The only issue we had was the actual food on the day of the wedding. While everything was plated and tasted how we had decided, it did come out cold. We know Larry was training new staff, so this might have been the cause, but it was obviously noticable. Although this was disappointing, we were provided with wonderful service during the planning process.
Susan B
5.0
1/28/2016
LOVED Larry with Championship Catering. He was extremely accommodating and did everything he could to assist us in getting the most "bank for our buck". He definitely entertained my approach of "every penny counts" and I was appreciative he was upfront with pricing.
Compared to many other catering options, the total was inexpensive but the food was GREAT! Great presentation and very tasty!
Larry also brought 8 staff members with him to serve our 250 guests and they worked extremely hard and were very friendly. Would definitely recommend Championship Catering!
Jill W
5.0
9/22/2015
I love Larry! He was so fun to work with. We got so many compliments on the food and the service at our wedding. Larry was the first vendor I called that was willing to go above and beyond for me. As a bride, that was essential. Great price, great food, great service! Go with Championship Catering!
Nikki S
5.0
12/10/2014
Everything about Championship Catering was excellent! Larry G is so accommodating and had such great ideas. The service was impeccable and the food was complimented throughout the evening. We would highly recommend Championship Catering to fellow bride-and-grooms-to-be!
5.0
1/05/2014
I can't tell you how many compliments we got on our reception, especially the food. We talked to 3 caterers, did tastings with two and decided to go with Chef Larry G. We went with the Champagne Chicken and Beef Peppererloin. They were fantastic! And Larry G was there making sure everything was handled. Actually my husband and I did not even have a chance to eat during the reception so Larry made sure we were set up with "To-Go Boxes" when we left for the hotel. He really did think of everything. And on top of all that he prepared 3 or 4 separate vegetarian meals that he included for free.
I also think one of the main reasons we originally choose Larry G was his personality. The other caterers were "How much do you have to spend, here is what you get". Pretty dry. Larry G is a character and his experience really comes through in a fun way. I recommend you do some tastings before settling on a caterer and go with their signature dishes. These are the ones they do best and stake their reputations on. Larry G's beef pepperloin and champagne chicken were the best regardless of price. Good Luck!
response01/07/2014
Wow...I know exactly who this is. Jennifer, thanks for the great review! I just hope eve...
rybody reads it. You're wedding was so much fun. Almost too much fun. But that is another story. Best of luck to you and your new hubby. Regards, Larry G
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Chef Larry Gerstein
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