Chowhound Gourmet

edibly easy to work with. The food was SO good—our guests are still talking about it! Everything was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. There were so many options to choose from and they helped us stay within our budget. Chowhound truly helped make our special day stress-free and even more memorable. Highly recommend them for any event—wedding or otherwise. Thank you, Chowhound!

a big draw for us and was a big highlight of the day. Everyone loved it! The only drawback was the execution of our late night snack which didn't feel like it had the same attention to detail and quality as the main course and cocktail hour. This is truly the only thing holding us back from a 5 star review. Overall they were very professional to work with and incredibly responsive to questions and difficult food allergies. Thank you Chowhound!

inner and served a plated dinner of beef, chicken or mushroom risotto for our wedding. All of the meals were great and received praise from many of our guests. John, Lucretia and team were so easy to work with, quick to respond to communications and always in a friendly manner. Our wedding day experience with them was seamless - they were on time, prepared and all the service was friendly. We cannot recommend Chowhound Gourmet enough!!

s we had many dietary restrictions. Even with my mistake, the team fixed the issue the day of, no questions asked. The food was excellent and served quickly. My guests raved about how good the food was. The servers made sure to communicate with me to make sure that everything was taken care of and even offered to help with other things throughout the day. We cannot thank Chowhound enough for their excellent service!

e their meal. I know we had the sugguested amount of servers required for our guests. Also, not everyone received steak knives that were charged to our account. Steak and chicken and a vegetarian option were available. Only steak option guests received knives. We were charged for the entire guest list.

for a job well done!

on sizes of dinner and the tasty dessert!

alads, and the staff even came up to my husband and I and offered to get plates of food for us. They are all hard workers and incredibly kind, I’ll always recommend them!

affordable and professional and we had a really nice tasting experience with the owner.

ived the food, except for a couple of items, was nowhere as good as what we had sampled. Great food was one of the most important things to me and this was not great, it was okay. I was missing a platter that I supplied and contacted them about this and my thoughts regarding the food but did not receive any response. I was charged for a few rental items that I did not need but since they were minimal cost I let it go. I paid for each server but when needed them to pour champagne for toast they charged excites and when I asked if one could stay later was told it would be extra charge when in previous email I was told that usually 2 servers stay late. I guess that once they have your money and your event is over they don’t care. EXTREMELY disappointed.

commend!

nd them enough!

John worked with us for over 9 months, responding to emails reliably and making sure everything was exactly how we wanted for our wedding day - menu, rentals, order of events, everything! He even made a traditional German dish for one of our entrees using my mother in law’s recipe as a guide and it was a hit! Lucretia was an amazing coordinator for the big day. She responded to all my questions with great attention to detail. The staff that was present the day of our wedding were exceptional! They were very well organized, so kind and caring about each guest! We highly recommend chowhound!!

eren't getting recorded conversation to conversation BUT day-of I was amazed! Everything was exactly as we'd planned and the food was really good! Not just catering good but actually good like you'd order off a menu at a restaurant. Hot, flavorful and well presented. John and the team kept a close eye on everything and seamlessly integrated Indian food from a local restaurant into our buffet. Choose them! They're great! But make sure you are staying organized and on top of everything yourself to support the process.

ke almost the entire meal gluten-free, and a portion dairy free. He also tried out some new dishes that we asked that we tried when we were originally looking at vendors, and nailed them. It allowed us to make the day about what we wanted to have, not just typical wedding fare. His staff at our reception were absolutely spot on - they were prompt, attentive, and polite. They were all truly special and we appreciated everything they did.

iments from our guests and how friendly and professional all of the servers were. But, the highlight was the FOOOD! I don't know how John and his staff do it. Our venue did not have an onsite kitchen, so we were nervous about the quality of dinner being compromised - somehow it was even better than on our private tasting day. Every single guest plate was plated beautifully and tasted perfect, which we know because I think every single guest told us how amazing their dinner was. We highly recommend the tomato bisque for any occasion, truly was the highlight of our dinner and by far the best bisque/soup we have ever had. Thank you to the entire Chowhound Team!

d and I had everything we needed/wanted. The guests loved the food and the service! I would recommend Chowhound over and over again!

n us, and they also got us our appetizer and dinner plates during the reception. John and Lucretia were amazing to work with. Everyone thought our food was amazing! Definitely would recommend to anyone for any event.

e! They were so nice and went above and beyond during the night. Highly recommend Chowhound Gourmet. You won't be disappointed!

sh entree options and he had many unique yummy options to choose from. Our guests continue to rave about the veggie enchiladas, au gratin potato casserole, and shrimp and grit shooters. Have to also mention that the meatballs were EXCEPTIONAL. So juicy and flavorful. Everyone on his staff was great to work with. Would rate 6/5 if I could.

out it every day. The entire serving staff was quick, efficient and so so friendly. While setting out the plates and silverware, the person was also wiping down every piece to make sure everything was clean and presentable. They started by setting up a stunning cheese board as well. I cannot recommend John and his team enough! Thank you guys so much for making our meal unforgettable!

d was so good on our wedding day! the appetizers during cocktail were delicious and so was the dinner we had Salmon and Prime Rib carving station for our two main dishes. they were amazing and everything is homemade and so fresh. The service was top tier and the head waitress was so nice in making sure my husband and I were able to have everything and made us our plates. They are easy to work with and very organized. I would 10/10 recommend!

ty in the menu they offered and the guests loved it all! They also did a wonderful job creating meals for several of my guests that were gluten free. We cannot say enough positive things about choosing Chowhound!

o go with one of his packages but John was so excited to allow us our own personal flair and touches. We chose several of his amazing appetizers but also offered one of our own items (bacon wrapped dates, stuffed with chevre) and OMG they were all a hit. For the main meal we again asked for some custom options that all fell within John's original package along with an amazing Risotto station and I cannot tell you the number of compliments we received. We also added a late night snack (POUTINE for my Canadian roots) and the team executed this flawlessly. Lastly, the 'day of' service team and team leader were exceptional, they consistently checked in to make sure we were happy, and operated at a level I have not experienced before. I can't recommend John and Chowhound more if you are looking for a fantastic caterer ! Thanks so much for all your hard work, it helped make our event a huge success !

perfect. John was wonderful to work with and made things easy. I will absolutely recommend and use him for other events.

then and there. I was anxious by the lack of communication, but I’ve realized that it’s just how it goes with wedding vendors. They’re so busy (a good sign) that they can only focus on each event as it comes up. Point is, don’t get worried if you experience this with Chowhound Gourmet, they aren’t leaving you in the dust. Don’t expect to give your final menu and guest count until close to the wedding. Even so, John will answer ANY question you have whenever you have it. He’s great getting back to you and wants you to be as comfortable as possible! He is very inviting and does whatever he can to make your day right! If you want something changed or the menu doesn’t have it, ask! I’m obsessed with pasta, but we didn’t have that as a menu item so he specially made a bolognese dish just for me! When I asked, he replied, “Of course! Anything for the bride.” I have to share that because it just shows his customer service. Now, all of that said, we had some back and forth about the invoices and payments. The prices have gone up from those on the printed menu, a check must be mailed in a certain amount of time or a cashiers check is required (we had confusion because the guest count was still changing but the mailed check was needed before the final guest count was), and most notably, the server charges are paid *separately*. You are expected to bring the server’s fees in separate envelopes at the time of service! That communication must have slipped under the cracks because my fiancé nor I were aware and it caused a mess. We were each asked about it and kindly, we weren’t bugged about it afterwards on the night of the wedding, but it was still inconvenient and put on some stress. We got many compliments on the food at our wedding. I expected to hear more feedback, but sometimes nothing is better than something. We got the NY Strip Loin and Mushroom Risotto for dinner both of which come with a complimentary salad. Ours, the bride and groom’s, was cold when we got the plates which concerned us because we were served first, but everyone else we asked said the temperature was perfect. The food was served timely, tasted yummy, and the staff was great! There was a cucumber allergy and it was taken care of seamlessly. One or two of the servers even stayed through the entire wedding, which was wonderful to have. We also rented some linens through the caterer. The linens were more expensive than other options, but they had the specific color we wanted. Chowhound Gourmet actually require that you use all of their dinnerware for the food though. Having learned the little nuances and known how to make the process smoother, I would hire Chowhound Gourmet again.

They are very responsive and reasonably priced - we couldn't be happier with our experience!

es "family style," and John is so flexible that I was able to design the entire menu (BBQ and all the fixin's!) from scratch. John added his input and recommendations for how to best prepare and serve, and his team executed the day of and the food was simply outstanding. Our tasting event upon booking was also a special experience, and I felt that John took the time to understand our vision and make small tweaks to the food to really send it over the top. We've had so many compliments from our guests on how delicious our meal was, which is the absolute best. Finally, during wedding week, we had a bit of a snafu with securing a tent for the catering team to use for their food prep onsite at the venue, and John stepped in and took it upon himself to resolve the issue and bring in his own tent for the team. This was a huge relief to me the week of, and I am very grateful for John's willingness to step in and make it a non-issue for me to manage. Thank you John and the Chowhound Gourmet team!

guests is still talking about how great our food was, which is a big win for me, a huge food lover .. let’s be honest wedding food can be a bust, but not with Chowhound! 10/10 recommend John and his team. I found them to also be the most affordable, accommodating and have the best communication compared to over catering companies. We also did our linens & China through Chowhound.

e and innovative (no plain/boring wedding food!) and they were executed so well! The team and service was top notch from start to finish. If you want food so delicious that your guests continue to talk about it after the wedding, hire chowhound!

ive and flexible and a dream to work with. And that’s honestly an understatement. Not only is John amazing to work with but the food…. I cannot tell you how happy alllllll of our guests were!! Mark and I knew how amazing it would be from our tasting but our guests were ecstatic. The Mac & Cheese and Prime Rib were the BIGGEST hit! I drool thinking about it still after the fact. If you book Chowhound, know that you are getting the absolute best food and the best caterer you could ever work with!

at for catering and once we met John and tried his food, we knew that it HAD to be him. I would use John for any event.

chicken! Everyone was very impressed and all the servers were so nice and worked quickly! I highly recommend you book them! John is fantastic as well!

her for a guest who had a sleeping baby on her lap), and everything was delicious! They were extremely reasonable with us when we had to postpone and even though we went nearly two years between the tasting and the big day, the food was just as good as we remembered! Only downside is that they could sometimes be a little tricky to get in touch with but I always heard back eventually - just not as quickly as I did from other vendors. It was also the busy season for weddings when much of our final communication was taking place so I understood. In the end, everything came together and everyone was super complimentary of the food! I also appreciated that John included everything in the main price and did not nickel and dime extra "service fees" like many of the other caterers we priced out - even though his prices might look a little higher than others on the surface, I found that they were completely fair and reasonable once you accounted for the way other places padded their quotes.

schedule my wedding due to COVID and he worked around to figure out something to work for us. He is so kind and an amazing chef!

od was awesome and many of our guests have raves about it. The chicken we ordered was so tender and I loved his steak bruschetta appetizer; we actually added the steak bruschetta appetizer just a few weeks before our wedding after we tried it at my husband’s cousins wedding.

y we'd get the quality of food we wanted in that price range. But HOLY CRAP were we wrong. We really don't know how he made so much food, all of it tasting like it came from a high-end restaurant, hot, and appeasing to every palate in the place. John, thank you, thank you, thank you.

th and the servers were very professional. Highly recommend!! Best decision we made during wedding planning.

had asked for butler buffet thinking our guests would prefer it. They ended up serving buffet but no one seemed to mind. Otherwise, we received rave reviews from our guests!

e highly recommend Chowhound!

month before. John was absolutely amazing!! He responded so quickly and worked with us to get everything together. On top of the excellent service, the food is absolutely to die for!! I would 10/10 recommend.

inal menu. Truly above and beyond service. Our wedding guests raved about the food and we are still talking about the salad dressing. We look forward to working with John again in the future and recommending Chowhound whenever we get the chance!

t. I was extremely satisfied with the service, quality, and pricing of the catering, and this was an easy choice in our wedding planning process. John and his team went above and beyond for all of our events. We faced several obstacles because of Covid, but he was always several steps ahead of me and even called me on his vacation at one point when our original wedding venue went bankrupt. Because of these obstacles, we ended up using Chowhound three times: once for our June ceremony, once for our wedding shower, and once our larger reception in November. John is very professional and always takes his client's needs into account when suggesting menus for the event. He is clearly passionate about what he does and he treated us like family. I have been recommending his business to everyone I meet looking for show-stopping catering!