Ciao Y'all Catering is an experiment in using old world flavors and southern preservation to create food that scales without a loss of quality. It is the idea of delivering fresh food using quality produce and pasta to eliminate the common issues found in large event catering. Using low overhead and event by event staffing to keep prices competitive and providing white tablecloth quality meals with country inspiration and a laid back service.
Ciao Y'all was opened by McDaniel Mac Cooper in 2017 and has been catering for weddings since. He worked in various restaurants and kitchens throughout his time in college and started working in catering while in grad school. He loves all of the excitement and joy in the atmosphere at weddings and is passionate about every last detail that goes into the planning. Together with his team, Mac wants to combine gourmet food with warm, friendly service.
Ciao Y'all tailors their offerings to suit each couple's budget. They are happy to offer canapés, charcuterie boards, and buffets. You can also opt for traditional plated service or pasta stations. Some of the dishes you can choose from include fried ravioli, sweet potato gnocchi, and Caprese salads.
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Born in Johnson City, Tn I put myself through college and business school working in kitchens and restaurants. While in graduate school started catering events with Brother’s Pantry in Arcata, Ca and fell in love with the excitement, challenge, creativity and love that goes into putting together large events especially weddings. I Moved to Asheville to return to the south and continue to grow my skill set. We opened the food truck in 2017 and have been doing wedding catering ever since.
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4.7
out of 5.0
13 reviews
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Ciao Y'all received glowing reviews from multiple customers for their exceptional service, delicious food, and accommodating nature, with a special mention for their ability to handle dietary restrictions such as gluten-free options. Despite the challenges posed by Hurricane Helene impacting the area, the team went above and beyond to deliver outstanding service with a smile. Reviewers praised the fusion of Italian and Southern-inspired cuisine, complete with standout dishes like mac and cheese shooters and pistachio pesto pasta, highlighting the professionalism and high quality of service provided.
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Andrew R
5.0
10/28/2024
Our wedding was about one month after hurricane Helene hit WNC. MacDaniel and the team really pulled through for us. Once they were able to get some lines of communication open, they regularly kept us in the loop on how their operations were impacted. Despite the circumstances, this team delivered us everything we had originally planned and did an exceptional job. On the wedding day, they were really flexible as we had to make a lot of game time decisions due to the weather. Super helpful and friendly. And then there's the food!!! It was all a huge hit, especially the mac and cheese shooters. Absolutely order those. And the pancetta. The team put together a really great gluten free pasta option for our guests too.
Couldn't recommend these guys enough!!
Aeryn K
5.0
10/26/2024
I cannot recommend Ciao Y'all enough!!! I have celiac disease, and when we first started wedding planning, we decided that it would be a 100% gluten-free wedding. Living in WNC, finding a GF caterer was a bit of a struggle, but the search was absolutely worth it!!! To start, the food is absolutely amazing. My Italian family and my husband's Southern family raved about the food—and have continued to do so a week after the wedding! As someone who has to be GF, I have run into individuals who will price gouge and make a profit off the dietary restriction; this could not be further from what happened! McDaniels was completely transparent, honest, and communicative about food cost, especially with the gluten-free accommodations. If you are getting married with dietary restrictions, know that you will be taken care of. I am very sensitive to gluten - more sensitive than the legal limit for "gluten"-free"—and didn't have any issues after the tasting or the wedding -- okay, I did overeat, but that was entirely my own fault ;)
Then, as though wedding planning isn't stressful enough, Hurricane Helene came and really threw a wrench into things. We got married in Hendersonville, NC, on 10/19/2024. The magical miracle that McDaniels pulled off to make my wedding perfect was beyond my wildest dreams. My priorities was everyone's safety and well-being, and I had made peace with the fact that my wedding was going to look different from how I had planned it. Due to the incredible effort from McDaniels and his team, as well as our vendors, absolutely nothing had to be compromised!!!!
Whether looking for a dietary-friendly wedding or just looking for some incredible Italian-Southern inspired food, Ciao Y'all is the caterer for you!!!
Any questions?
Anthony F
5.0
10/21/2024
Ciao Y'all was booked to cater our wedding on October 5, 2024. A week before our wedding, Hurricane Helene came through Western North Carolina and devastated the community. We checked in on the Ciao Y'all team and even mentioned that we would understand if circumstances changed.
McDaniel did not entertain that for a second and used kitchens in Johnson City, TN to ensure all the food was prepared and cooked. The journey to Cashiers was a little longer for the Ciao Y'all team but they did not complain once. McDaniel served the food with a smile on his face and you would never think that a hurricane ravaged his neighborhood a week earlier.
The food was phenomenal. The ribs and brisket were cooked to perfection and all of our guests loved their fusion of italian and barbeque. During the tasting, McDaniel was engaging and made sure to work with us on any tweaks we may need for our wedding party.
If you want professional food that tastes amazing, with an Asheville flair of funkiness - Then Ciao Y'all is for you. We cannot say enough good teams about McDaniel and his team
Bailee H
5.0
10/20/2024
So caring and easy to talk to! They were able to provide services even after a hurricane hugely impacted their area. They are very hard working and professional. Their food was delicious and had good variety.
Beth G
5.0
7/21/2024
Ciao Y'all catered my daughter's wedding at Homewood in June 2024. They did an amazing job and were wonderful work with. Everyone loved the food and I highly recommend.
Addison S
5.0
7/21/2024
Ciao Y'all catered our June 2024 wedding and it was DELICIOUS. Excellent service, reasonable price tag, delicious food. The owner was incredibly nice and accommodating for us during the planning stages. I highly recommend the pistachio pesto pasta as one of your catering picks, it was a guest favorite!
Michaela H
5.0
10/26/2022
The food was AMAZING and for the day of the wedding, the staff was exceptional. Everything ran very smooth, and everyone enjoyed the food and the experience! Overall a very relaxing and happy experience!
Jessie H
5.0
10/17/2022
This catering service was an absolute pleasure to work with! The owner really worked with us on our all vegan menu. The seitan in our vegan bbq mac and cheese was perfectly seasoned and had amazing texture. We had eggplant as an entree and so many of my guests told me how much they liked it. They served all vegan canapés and the stuffed mushrooms were so delicious and loved by all the mushroom lovers in the group. We were completely stuffed by the end of the event. The staff was so much fun to work with and very amicable. We will definitely be checking out their food truck when we come back to Asheville.
Anna B
3.0
10/16/2022
Food was pretty good but the portions were very small- felt like it was being rationed even though we booked for extra portions. Contact was okay, overall wouldn't book again given the opportunity.
Nicole F
3.0
10/09/2022
I wanted to love this vendor, as there were multiple 5 star reviews, and the owner was very nice in person, but we did not have a good experience… When contacting the vendor via email, there would be multiple emails that would go unanswered. We never even received a final menu. On the day of, the food was prepared at a separate location and brought to the venue. We had buffet style. Unfortunately, the food was set out at 4-4:30, and our dinner wasn’t until 5:30. Being that it was an outdoor venue, there was a breeze, and the food ended up being cold by the time we got to eat it. Also, we had discussed two separate main dishes. One was correct, but the other was was not. Very disappointing.. I gave 3 stars because the owner was very nice in person and the staff did apologize for the cold food. The food also had great flavor!!
Brianna R
5.0
6/13/2022
When we first began our planning process I wanted a food truck for our day of but ended up going with a catering company; Luckily we still needed to cater our rehearsal dinner and I got my food truck and desired Italian dishes. McDaniel was easy to work with and provided amazing food! He was upfront about his services and made sure we got everything we wanted within our budget. Our guests loved their choices (especially the lasagna) and the staff were so kind and helpful. We aren’t local to the Asheville area but my husband and I have already discussed that on our next trip we need to find Ciao Y’all for some more delicious Italian!
Morgan F
5.0
9/13/2021
I was so excited when I found Ciao Y'all for my wedding. I wanted to do a food truck for the fun/low key vibe/Asheville experience but also wanted delicious food I'd be proud to serve to my guests.
Ciao Y'all was the best of both worlds and the perfect fit. The food was delicious and at the high standards you would expect at a wedding (Smoked Prime rib and Truffled Lobster ravioli were our main entrees). And, from a cool locally-owned food truck!? Asheville was a destination wedding for us, so having this experience (vs. the standard wedding catering you can get anywhere) was a big hit with the guests.
We had 130 guests at our wedding and I was concerned about long waits in the foot truck line. But they were really flexible and worked with me on this. We ended up doing a separate buffet style set up with the salads/sides/etc. so guests got their main entree from the truck and then got the rest from the buffet to help move the line faster, it worked out great! They also did a full cocktail hour set up with charcuterie and appetizers, it was all so good!
Everything was amazing and surprisingly reasonably priced, I can’t recommend them enough!
Jordan C
5.0
6/30/2021
We had a small wedding. Eloped. They served us food for or reception and it was fantastic. Fairly priced and they were so easy to deal with. Would hire again.
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Ciao Y'all
McDaniel Mac Cooper
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