About this vendor
Diving Catering is a full-service wedding catering company operating out of Portland, OR. This award-winning, woman-owned, independent business has been making private events of all sizes taste amazing since 2008.
Diving Catering is owned by Executive Chef Alisa LaFurge, a seasoned culinary professional who has spent years honing her skills to create unforgettable dining experiences. Over the last decade, Alisa has earned a reputation for her passion and creativity, having catered for hundreds of private events since establishing her business. Together with her Events Manager, Joey Pargen, she dedicates herself to exceeding every couple's culinary expectations for their once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
Diving Catering can on-location catering services to celebrations throughout Portland, Vancouver, Gresham, Salem, and beyond. From consultation to cleanup, Alisa and Joey will design a catering package that aligns with your unique needs, desires, and budget. Their team of licensed and fully insured servers and bartenders will take care of everything, keeping glasses full and guests happy all day long.
Details
Business Attributes
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Cuisine
- African
- American
- Cajun
- Chinese
- Eastern European
- French
Dietary Options
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Halal
- Kosher
- Nut Free
- Organic
Food & Catering
- Buffet
- Catering Clean Up
- Catering Delivery & Setup
- Chef Stations
- Family Style
- Menu Tastings
Reviews
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3.8
out of 5.013 reviews
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Everyone at the wedding loved the food! People went back for seconds (and thirds, etc.) until it was all gone. The staff worked really hard with us to cultivate a menu that accommodated the various dietary restrictions our guests had, which we really appreciated.
I cannot thank Divine Catering enough! The food and
hors d'oeuvres were great, and our signature cocktails were absolutely delicious. We had a vegan guest that they were able to cater to, as well as some dairy-free guests they were able to accommodate as well, which was great and much appreciated! Definitely recommend!
The food from Divine was INCREDIBLE. Everyone during our wedding was raving about how awesome all the appetizers and buffet selection was. From service at the bar to the food from the chef, it was absolutely amazing. We still hear reviews from our friends and family reminiscing how to-die-for the food was as well as the bar package we selected.
BE ADVISED -- Rob Lester (who was AMAZING!) left the company in July, and apparently took all of the professionalism and quality customer care with him.
Hi replacement, Joey Parchen, seems to have made short work of running Divine's entire catering practice into the ground. It took numerous times of trying to reach someone at all, then after finally speaking with him, we had to continually chase him down to try to confirm details for our approaching wedding. He never returned phone calls or emails and never followed through on anything he said he would, including getting us a credit we were owed.
We ultimately had to cancel our event due to COVID concerns, and have now spent MONTHS trying to get the matter resolved. The one person I finally heard from told me that they'd had no idea how badly Joey was handling clients and that Divine was in "damage-control mode" -- but then she failed to get back to us when she said she would too. After finally being promised a refund by the owner, Alisa (which was never processed), they've gone silent -- not returning text messages, emails or voicemail.
As the 1-star rating says, "STAY AWAY!"
BEWARE! The owner, Alisa, is the most unprofessional person I have ever worked with. We lost part of our venue deposit when her staff dumped ice on plants at our garden venue and damaged the plants. Staff was unreachable for days. Alisa and her staff yelled at me on the phone six days before our wedding when she backed out of a service her company agreed to perform and we paid for weeks in advance. Bait and switch food. The food we got on our wedding day was not the same quality as our tasting.
No Call/No Show. Payments were made before due dates and talked directly with the catering week leading up to the wedding. They did not show to 7 weddings that weekend. At least five of us were uninformed because "our contact number was on a different computer." As if they couldn't have called us back from our dozen calls we made day of. Found out later there was a COVID outbreak. I want to be clear--I COMPLETELY agree they should not have come if COVID positive. What is unacceptable and the real issue is not informing us ahead of time (even the night before or the morning would have been better). Instead, we were embarrassed in front of our friends and family. We had to scramble to get food, drinks, and water DURING the wedding. They only reached out after starting to get bad reviews (and deleting them AKA Yelp reviews). They continuously asked for grace and tried to minimize the harm they caused. They tried to use excuses that we are hurting their business. The truth is they did not meet their contractual obligations. Their actions are responsible for whatever the outcome is for their business. MY responsibility is to prevent other couples from having the same experience in the future. Weddings are a very significant event, and I would hate for others to go through what we did. While we cherish that weddings are more than the food and drinks, this company forever tainted our memory of that day. I do not believe that they truly grasp that in our communication as they continue to gaslight us. The right thing for them is to stop making excuses and own up to the disasters that were self-caused.
We have received our initial payment and final payment back. Still trying to determine if we get the money back from having to cover food and drinks last minute.
No-showed seven weddings in one weekend with no communication. In fact, all forms of communication were cut off. I can understand no-showing one wedding due to circumstances, but not showing up to seven weddings and subsequently turning off all communication via phones, emails, and messages seems somewhat deliberate. Do not recommend for any event. Can't even say if the food was good or not as there was no food.
Divine catering was seriously amazing! They were so helpful, quick to respond, and the food was great. I highly recommend them!
Divine Catering recently catered our wedding and we could not have been more pleased! The food was absolutely fantastic and the servers were wonderful. We enjoyed working with Divine Catering so much and will be using them for any future catering events. I cannot recommend their services enough and I highly recommend the beef tenderloin with gorgonzola sauce, the dijon caramelized salmon, and the summer squash rollatini.
I also appreciated their prompt communication as we had a previous catering company fall through after their communication dried up. Rob was always quick to respond to my emails and phone calls. They got us in for a tasting very quickly and were very attentive during the tasting, I seriously could not have asked for more in a catering company.
Wow! Divine Catering catered my daughter’s wedding on May 1st. The food was amazing, unique and delicious plus the staff was personable and helpful. Our guests commented on the beautiful presentation and delicious selections. I chose them because of their great reviews, diverse menu options and various wedding packages which start with a Basic package. Each additional package adds on from there. It’s straight forward, no guessing or hidden fees which I appreciated. You can pick the package that fits your budget, your style: eco friendly plastic or glassware, beverage options, additional entree, etc. Joey, the manager was great to work with and flexible. When new Covid restrictions created new challenges, he offered great, doable solutions. I was pleasantly surprised to meet Alisa, executive chef and owner when I arrived early to our reception! Kudos for making our reception exceptional!
I can’t say enough good things about working with Divine Catering for our wedding! They accommodated us on super short notice (weeks before the wedding!), were willing to travel all the way to Vernonia, and everyone on the team went out of their way to make our special day run smoothly.
Starting from the initial contact with Rob, everyone on their team was wonderful, not to mention the food was delicious! Rob worked with me to find yummy, inclusive options (I would highly recommend the vegan avocado pesto pasta with roasted veggies), and the omnivores were also thrilled with the beef and Gorgonzola cream sauce. And scalloped potatoes. The curried sweet potatoes were so popular, they were gone in a flash, and I personally had to sneak back to the buffet to get an extra piece of bread to enjoy more of the truffle honey butter!
The catering team also went above and beyond in helping us move the donut display outside. Overall a truly wonderful experience, and I would highly recommend Divine Catering for your wedding or special event!
Divine Catering catered my daughter's wedding on November 15, 2018. This is my first child married, so the process of hiring the perfect caterer seemed overwhelming...especially since I live in California. Upon contacting Divine, we received an immediate response from Jane who was extremely flexible arranging a tasting while I was visiting the Portland area. After researching several caterers, the brides easily selected Divine Catering for their special day. We were impressed by the menu selection and packages offered, and of course Jane’s responsiveness. As the wedding approached, I learned that Jane was no longer with Divine (she left to pursue a dream ☺). I panicked since she was extremely responsive and helpful. Rob took over for Jane and he was exceptional. I swamped him with questions and last minute requests (primarily by email). He always responded that same day (usually within an hour) and his patience was so appreciated. The day of the wedding, the Divine Catering staff arrived on time and set-up beautifully. Each Divine staff member was extremely professional, courteous, and highly skilled. They met every expectation, and more. The food was amazing. The brides chose an endless antipasto appetizer, along with flatiron steak with horseradish dipping sauce, salmon with grilled peach and avocado salsa, mixed green salad with mango and avocado dressing, pesto pasta, and lemon butter asparagus. The guests raved about the food (and still talking about it) – it was fabulous! And we included cake service, which went off without a hitch. Cleanup was seamless and unintrusive. As worried as I was throughout this process, including other negative reviews (I have no idea what those were about unless it was another caterer), it couldn’t have been more perfect. Thank you again to Rob for being so accommodating and incredible. If you’re looking for amazing food, professional staff and a company that will make your event memorable, please call Rob at Divine Catering right away.
Everyone raved about dinner, it was delicious!!! Great company to work with, I would hire them again in a heartbeat for any future catering needs.
Contact
16285 SW 85th Ave #101, Tigard, OR | Portland, Vancouver, Gresham, Salem and In Between!
Divine Catering
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