Darae and Friends Catering

DaRae and Friends were excellent to work with for our wedding day! I loved that we were able to have a tasting with my parents, to choose our cocktail hour and dinner menus. From that tasting, we even decided to use them for our desserts, because they were incredible! Our guests raved about the cheeses at our cocktail hour and the bourbon ball brownies for dessert.

Excellent,innovative menu for 150 guests at a remote venue,including passed appetizers,family -style service, open bar, signature drinks, and late night snack. Super stylish charcuterie table-looked like something out of a foodie magazine.Darae and her staff were highly communicative during planning process,making great suggestions. Servers, chefs, and bar tenders were very professional and appeared to love their jobs. Everything served at the correct temperature and there was virtually no “wait time” for food or drinks. Would hire Darae again in a second.

DaRae was wonderful! My groom and I were on a very tight budget and she worked with us to give us a lovely reception. She and her team artfully arranged it and went above and beyond to make it look beautiful, and of course, taste delicious. We've been married almost two months and people still talk tell me how good the food was and ask for the recipes!

By far the best caterer in town! The food was excellent and the service was impeccable. DaRae's kindness and generosity shines through her employees, making each event they do a memorable occasion. We could not be more thrilled with our wedding and got numerous compliments on the food and staff. I'd recommend DaRae to any bride/groom and/or event planner in a heartbeat!

If you are a central Kentucky bride, selecting DaRae and Friends for your catering makes for a truly memorable reception. From the first time I met with DaRae, her calm confidence put to ease my stress about making one of the biggest decisions of the planning process. DaRae kindly hosted not one but two tastings for me to accommodate my fiancé’s and mother’s schedule. We were thrilled with the incredible variety of choices, the high quality of all the food, and the ability to customize our menu in a detailed fashion to craft a unique reception. After our tastings, choosing DaRae was such a simple, easy choice. The reception confirmed our decision as DaRae and her wonderful staff surpassed all expectations. Guests were thrilled with the “stations” of food that promoted mingling as opposed to one long buffet line, and many commented that it was the best food they had ever eaten at a wedding reception. Furthermore, the incredibly thoughtful on-site workers ensured that my husband and I ate by bringing food to our sweetheart table, checked on us throughout the evening to bring us another bite to eat or keep our glasses full, and sent home hearty portions of leftovers at the end of the night.

Darae and her crew were incredibly kind and helpful and the food is always amazing! We had the pleasure of trying their food at several other events prior to booking this caterer for our wedding day, so we knew we were making the right decision! They did not disappoint in the way of service either, staff were very attentive, professional and pleasant. We got lots of great compliments. Highly recommend this caterer for any event!!!

DaRae was wonderful to work with and made suggestions that we didn't think about. We wanted a Salsa bar with different Salsa's (cause we are a chip and dip couple) so she suggested a Carnita's sations to go with it. Great idea! Among all our other food on our buffet to choose from as well.

Our guests are still raving about how delicious the food was at our wedding reception! To quote one guest who was devouring the shrimp & grits, "I don't like grits or mushrooms and don't care for shrimp, but this is the most delicious food I've ever eaten!" The presentation was gorgeous, the food was fresh and delicious and the service was phenomenal! Will not hesitate to work with Darae & Friends again. They made the process very non-stressful, fun and tasty.

Darea & Friends Catering is absolutely amazing. From the intitial contact, to the tasting, to the wedding reception itself. We had so many compliments from our guests about the amazing food! If you are looking for a caterer in Lexington, KY please choose Darea & Friends Catering. You will not regret it!

The food was wonderful!

I loved everything about this company and their food. Darae the owner was super sweet, knowledgeable about all things wedding not just food, and went above and beyond to make our budget and still make all the foods we wanted. The food was EXCELLENT, the staff was on time and efficient with set up, the servers were great and attentive to guest and everyone keeps raving about how great the food was! :)

This vendor was at the Lexington Bridal Show I went to. They had a huge selection to pick from and everything they prepared was delicious!! If my wedding had been closer to Lexington I would have went with them for sure! They were defiantly willing to work with me because at the time I was thinking of having my wedding on a farm. I would highly recommend their services for any occasion!

Darae is absolutely the best to work with. The staff are first class and the food is amazing. She personally came by to make sure everything was in order and congratulate me on my big day. I had friends who have been to large Galas and weddings and said the food we had was better than they have ever had.

I called a few times to speak with someone about my wedding... I left my information two times and never got called back. I had 200 mouths to feed and DeRae didn't get to help me do it.

We had such wonderful and delicious food from Derae & Friends Catering. We had an opportunity to meet with DeRae before actually booking them and she made us feel so comfortable about the whole process that we had to go with them. A few weeks before the wedding, we got to have our tasting and loved everything. We even got to take leftovers home from the tasting! As the guests arrived at the reception, they had hors'doeuvres and tea passed in mason jars for the. We had an afternoon wedding, so our food was a buffet of hors'doeuvres. By the time I got there, my mom had asked them to open the rest of the buffet, so I didn't get to see it as it We had fruit and cheese, hot mushroom dip, bacon & cheese spread, chicken dijon croissant sandwiches, ham biscuit sandwiches, grilled vegetables, bruschetta,and cream cheese & craisin pinwheels. It's hard to pick my favorite, but I think my favorite was the chicken dijon croissant sandwiches. I heard multiple people rave over the hot mushroom dip and you can't go wrong with their Southern-traditional ham biscuit sandwiches. They made up a huge basket of plates for me and my husband to take with us, but we also ended up with all the leftovers at our house. Great food and we didn't have to worry about anything!

DaRae & Friends catered our June wedding at Talon Winery. From the very beginning, DaRae made us feel comfortable and wanted to make sure this was a day about us. They even met with me a few days before the wedding to go back over details and make sure everything was in place. Unfortunately, the air condition broke at the barn the day of our wedding, but the staff did not let it stop them and they never complained.They even made sure that I had a glass of water before entering the reception. They were all so courteous and helpful. They even cut loose at the end of the night with us on the dance floor. The food was AMAZING!!! We left our tasting with leftovers that lasted us a week. They set up several cheeses and a fruit display outside under a tent for in between the wedding and began serving drinks to our guests as we took the last few pictures. For dinner we had friend chicken (which was fried on the spot), brown sugar ham, green beans, cole slaw, and best of all a mashed potato bar. This was a hit with the guests. It consisted of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with all of the fixings. There was plenty of food and no one left hungry. They even set up a table for the kids that consisted of mac n cheese and chicken fingers. I felt that we got A LOT of food for our money. They even made sure we had chocolate covered strawberries (my fave) and had my own plate ready. They sent us home with 2 huge containers of leftovers ( DaRae said she would fix us a plate to take home and she was not kidding). DaRae & Friends also took care of our bar that night. If you are in Lexington or a surrounding area and you are looking for a caterer that is reasonable and provides GREAT service and AMAZING food....DaRae & Friends is the way to go. We will definitely use them in the future!