Creative Cuisines

There is a single, undeniable fact about the cuisine Chef Steve Munday serves: it is exceptional. He will work with you to develop a menu that fits your tastes and desires and will keep your guests coming back for seconds and thirds (or more). As a twenty-something in the full throes of the “wedding circuit,” I can say that Creative Cuisines serves the best menu that your guests will ever eat at a wedding. Comments on the food keep rolling in, even several months later. Steve Munday has a particular level of service that places him in the five-star category. However, customers should keep in mind that he seeks to maintain this level of service in all areas, i.e. attempting to “cut back” in some areas will be met with resistance. Pay attention to the details of your contract and be frank with Chef Steve, but please don’t let it ruin the delicious food he puts on your plate – he knows what he’s doing.

As the Mother of the Bride, I would like to warn people about the risks of using Stephen Munday of Creative Cuisines of Williamsburg, VA as caterer. He added incredible stress and confusion to the occasion. He never called when he said he would; we finally worked via email. On April 21 (for a May 27 event), I asked him to look for ways to revise the menu to reduce the cost of the food to $33.00 per person from $38 pp. It took him until May 9 to come back with a menu at $36.88 pp, requiring a further round of modifications. When I questioned him on certain unexplained costs, he sarcastically replied, "Since you seem to be systematically dismantling the way we do business, I'm not sure what we are doing." It later proved that in this estimate he had added in rentals for the first time. I checked on a detail and he replied, "I am a bit surprised that you would make the assumption that we would conduct ourselves in a less than professional manner. Sometimes when you don't have a clear understanding of whom you are working with it might be best not to assume the worst case scenario." The condescension was uncalled for, especially considering that later there were details I should have checked on that were not present. He was unprofessional: "Since [wedding planner] doesn't ever have time to meet with me on any events . . . [She] also does not share information with me. . . Had I known that [she] was involved I would have conducted things differently. Her communication skills with vendors is (sic) lacking." On May18 he called the groom who had not been involved in the finalization of the details. This was confusing to all concerned. The wedding went off well and the food was fine. There were details I would have liked to see: the umbrellas I paid for over the appetizers, plates for the appetizers, a display of the signature cocktails, wine poured into the glasses on the tables – all details I should have checked on. All in all, it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience dealing with this vendor, adding stress and confusion to the preparations. I would not recommend that you subject yourself to working with him.

Chef Steve is amazing! Everything was made from scratch from fresh local ingredients. He was very accommodating for my vegetarian friend, and provided a lot of options for everyone else. And boy was it delicious! He made our wedding cake also-- pumpkin with cream cheese icing. It was so moist, and since he didn't have a recipe for pumpkin cake, he made one. I can't sing his praises enough. He was amazing, and the food was some of the best I've had, ever.