Elaine Bell Catering

special ice cubes and a fun display. And the food at the wedding was so good that my wedding guests are still talking about it three weeks later. The baby rack of lamb hors d'oeuvres and the ice cream sandwiches were the biggest hits.

anager really went out of his way to cater to our guests. However, we received mixed reviews on the food and felt that while the food was good, it wasn't as good as our tasting. The complaints we received largely had to do with certain dishes being under-cooked... and we noticed a bit of a lag in getting certain tables' entrees out. Overall, we were happy with EBC's services and I guess there is always someone who complains... but even my husband's food was a little under-cooked so that can't be entirely overlooked. Compared to the other vendors in the area, I still think they're the best choice. I'd note that your initial quote on price is likely not what you'll pay, as rentals etc get modified as the date gets closer and the price tends to increase.

m. The food was to die for (like Michelin star quality, truly) and the set-up was wonderful at the tasting. We were treated like royalty and even enjoyed a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. Throughout the menu planning process, Richard was nothing but helpful and supportive. Any question we had he was quick to answer and made all adjustments however we wanted them. We had stations and we kept getting compliments all night on how amazing the food was. And the staff was great, as well. The only "complaints" we had were the serving staff was too good -- drinks were placed on tables and they were swiped when people hadn't finished drinking them - ha! And a friend was bummed the food had been cleared because she hadn't had the chance to try something. Not bad complaints, really! Thank you, EB, for making our wedding truly an event to remember. I wish I'd gotten to enjoy more of the food but as the bride, it's always hard :)

eativity and gourmet palate I was looking for. My contact was Mandy and she was a doll to work with. Being an out of town bride, I did a lot of my planning over the phone and via email, but Mandy was always great about responding quickly. By the time I met her for our tasting, I felt like we were old friends. We did the menu tasting a few months before the wedding and it was wonderful - I highly recommend doing this. We tasted every dish and got to make changes. They even served us a few alternative dishes just in case we didn’t like something and I actually loved one of the alternatives so much I swapped it out for one of my original selections. On the day of the wedding, the staff arrived on time and got straight to work setting up. Everyone looked very professional and the food was exquisite. I served an all vegetarian menu to a crowd of 65 and got nothing but rave reviews, even from the hard core meat lovers. It was that good! I would highly recommend Elaine Bell to any bride.

t be quite the same on the wedding day as they were cooking for 160 people. I was wrong. It was perfect. The filet was medium rare and came out warm and delicious, the glazed salmon was to die for. We have gotten more compliments from guests saying they have never had wedding food that amazing and over a month later they are still talking about it. The service was great and they executed it very well. It all just went so great! It was worth every penny...thank you Elaine Bell! Amber & John

der to get a hold of our acct manager. The worst of it was that the day of event was chaotic and disorganized, even though we had walked through the property and all lay-outs and set up prior to the event. I am a very organized person and sent everything ahead of time, including a detailed timeline and setup list. Our acct manager said she would show up and didn't. They messed up our cocktails and the chefs were rude and curt tour guests. Unfortunately we didn't feel they were worth the money.

email or phone and was always very quick and helpful with her responses to my questions. The actual day of the wedding, the staff was absolutely great. They were always there to pour wine or attend to a guests needs. We had a port and cigar bar at our wedding and somehow (minor detail haha) we forgot to purchase the port. The staff actually went to the store and purchased the port for us! I could not have been more impressed by this catering company and would highly recommend them to any couple getting married!

definitely wanted to try so we new ahead of time we were going to try things we already liked! The tasting went so well and we tried what we had wanted and some more great ideas they thought would be good choices too. We loved literally everything they brought out to us to try--it was all presented how it would be at the wedding so we knew how it would look for guests and it all tasted delicious. The food was JUST as we had seen at the tasting, thank goodness! As guests arrived for the ceremony there were bartenders with fresh lavender lemonade to handout to everyone. For the cocktail hour at our wedding we had some passed hors d'oeuvres such as mahogany duck on potato pancakes, mini sliders that actually fit in your mouth without being messy etc. as well as an oyster bar with a person to shuck them right on sight. There were also waitstaff passing silver platters of sparkling wine, white wine, and water for all the guests. I heard the oysters were a huge hit and all of the food was fully enjoyed. There was a perfect amount of waitstaff so no one waited in lines or felt like they had to search for food and drink. All our guests who have commented to us have said how well taken care of they felt at the wedding. For dinner, the food came out at a perfect temperature and even with 13 tables everyone was served at roughly the same time so no tables waited and waited for food. The guests had a choice of delicious halibut, black angus filet, or a curried vegetable dish that was so unique it made me a "non-vegeterian" order it for the my wedding meal! Every dish was beautifully presented, tasted divine, and big enough portions to fill up even our midwestern steak and potato guests. Oh and the started salad was fresh and not drowning in dressing even in the warm June evening of an outside wedding--how did they do that?! Finally alongside our cake from another vendor Elaine Bell had freshly fried beignets for our guests to go with the groom's father's side from New Orleans. They were apparently thoroughly enjoyed and my maid of honor said there was nothings but a million black plates covered in powdered sugar leftover. The service and food were top-notch. While a bit on the expensive side, that's really because we added a lot of our own requests such as an oyster bar and beignets. What a wonderful catering company. TOP QUALITY!

ring my husband and I appetizers and drinks and despite having a fool proof name place tag with meal choices in large print, some people still were served incorrect meals. We were also promised a picnic basket with food to take with us at the end of the night. This ended up being 4 crackers with a small roll of cheese and one apple. Not necessarily what you would expect for 2 people to share after their wedding.

and sophisticated items that were impressive visually and taste-wise. Our wedding was outdoors and every single guest that chose the filet has commented on how they were cooked to perfection and possibly the best they had ever had!

ntacts at the catering company, all due to personal issues of the Elaine Bell staff, and sometimes had to request things a couple of times, but in the end it all was great, and was everything I could have dreamed of.

was exactly what we were looking for and the best value. They are a large catering company located in the Napa Valley with 30 years of experience. We were truely won over when we visted their facility for our tasting. We were greeted warmly by our Event Sales Manager Susan and were treated to a 4 person tasting of our entire menu (5 passed apps, 2 meat entrees, 3 side dishes). Elaine (the owner) also stepped out of the kitchen to meet with us, and then offered us a tour of her facility. Their Kitchen is Amazing! Our reception was held at a private residence that we rented, so Elaine Bell provided all the dishes, glassware, flateware, service staff, bar tenders, etc. They also brought all of their own kitchen equipment to cook everything on site, and this made all the difference in the quality of the food. We had passed apps during our cocktail hour (highly reccomend the cauliflower panna cotta), and then a family style meal. The most important thing to us was that the menu was local & seasonal, giving our guests the true experience of Bay Area cuisine. We had the Beet Salad, Chestnut Quinoa, Ratatouille, Mohogany Cedar Salmon, and the Braised Short Rib - all were exceptional (especially the slow smoked Short Rib). Many guests told me it was the best meal they have ever had at a wedding. The service staff was very professional and courteous. We highly reccomend Elaine Bell Catering!

as the 1st catering tasting we went to and although you can't go wrong with any of the Napa Valley caterers, EBC stood out from the very beginning and no one was able to quite reach their standard. While their price point was a bit higher, it was worth every penny since on the wedding day, their presentation, service and professionalism were impecable. We worked with Susan who was simply amazing and the most responsive contact we had from the caterers, and even met with and spoke to Elaine Bell on multiple occasions - she was always available to us. While touring around the Napa Valley area, many locals advised us to hire Elaine Bell because she is second to none. People were practically diving for the ahi tuna cones and mini burger and fries at the reception, we'll never forget it!

able to customize our menu, conduct a tasting, and much to our surprise, the food was even BETTER at the wedding! We had about 150 guests from all different backgrounds, and everyone was raving about the food. The professionalism of the staff at the wedding was so appreciated. I added additional staff to ensure we had 5-star service, and we did! They sent a picnic back-pack for us after the wedding with some items from our menu, wine, and chocolate truffles which was so appreciated after not having the opportunity to eat much at our wedding. It was perfect in every way- thank you Elaine and Jackie!

t all I think about! I know people are looking for specific examples, but I am not comfortable listing out everything. With that said, I am willing to share the biggest fail on their part. The EBC Coordinator was so late without any communication, that my Wedding Coordinator was unable to concentrate on what we hired her take of, and my mother-in-law had to leave me while getting ready in order to step in and help set up all the tables and organize the EBC staff. This set the tone for the rest of the day for my mother-in-law and she had a very difficult time enjoying herself at her own son’s wedding. My photographer even captured a few golden moments of my mother-in-law carrying a full trash bag during the EBC clean-up. We really wanted to love EBC, but their actions followed by their unapologetic response to all of our complaints have made it too difficult to recommend their services or give them a positive review.