Foodz Catering

they were 3x more expensive than our second most expensive vendor (around $17-18K for 90 people.) We decided to go with Foodz because of their raving reviews, award winning experiences, and the fact that they had an extensive, innovative global menu. We wanted an Asian (Chinese-Vietnamese) fusion, family style experience that balanced the traditional Asian food with a bit of Western flair, a representation of our heritage and upbringing. Not many caterer companies could achieve this. And with how established they are in the business, plus how wonderful the owner Shelby is (she clearly has experience with Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines, and is keen on delivering excellent service & innovation), we chose them. Perhaps family style isn't as popular (vs. buffet/plated), perhaps it was their first time at our venue, but for what we paid for, it didn't seem to match the value/experience. Especially compared with our other vendors, the dollar-to-value ratio was off. Throughout most of the planning process (with our coordinator Emily), it didn't seem like they cared for us as a customer. If this were a food truck or mid-tier catering company, I would have understand - but at $200 per head cost, one would have expected more. For the sake of brevity, I'll share the main issues. The main dining was 30+ mins late (enough for guests to notice/provide feedback to us on), the bar disregarded the line formed serving those who cut in line with several never getting their drinks, and 3 people had food allergy reactions despite the extensive work we put in to ensure that wouldn't happen. The last one is particularly disappointing, as we had name tents with clearly marked signs, a seating chart provided in advance with tables/names marked, and multiple conversations about this. In fact, 2 of our guests had to leave our event early because of the food. And this doesn't even begin to cover the coordinating process, which was frustrating, but eventually manageable. Through all of this, I will say that Foodz Catering did their best to remedy the situation. Prior to our day of, we had expressed frustrations of which the coordinator did work with us to address. The cocktail hour food and late night snacks were also a hit. And the Lychee Martini and Shochu Tea Punch exemplified the Asian/Western fusion flavors we were aiming for. Despite our lackluster experience, I still believe Foodz is a great company. Perhaps our situation was unique (I'll never know, but if you're looking for an Asian/Western wedding that is family style, at a venue they're unfamiliar with...I'd say take this as a cautionary tale), but I do walk away from it feeling so-so.

h FOODZ catering but also does other events with other caterers. Davi is worth every single cent!!! No one had to worry about anything, everyone could just enjoy the day and she took care of everything before we even thought about it. Her attention to detail and hospitality is TOP NOTCH. Best I have ever seen. She was everywhere making sure we were taken care of as well as our wedding party and parents!! She coordinated beautifully with all of our vendors and truly made our day magical, seamless and just all around AMAZING. We cannot rant about her enough but even our family and bridal party ranted and raved about what an amazing job she did. She is a very busy lady and was not always super responsive but but seeing her in action I understand why.. EVERYONE WANTS HER! she also officiated our wedding and did an amazing job and got out of shots for our photographer at perfect moments. She truly made our night a night free of worries and stress and did everything from coordinating with the photographer, caterer, DJ etc. keeping us on schedule, moving up timeline as needed when we were ahead of schedule, getting us drinks during dinner, getting our parents plates during dinner, set up and clean up, helping bustling my dress, grabbing items for us from our rooms, I mean just WOW. She was also very present the weeks prior to the wedding, orchestrated our rehearsal etc. LOVE LOVE LOVE, don’t stop and think about it just hire her, worth every penny.

as not responsive. We had a call in mid August (wedding date November 13th) to discuss changes to our proposed services and inquire about floral information. We were told we’d be sent the info and updated contract within three days. Long story short we received a partially updated contract two months later after several calls/emails. It took another ten days and a couple voicemails before the remaining updates we were completed, at this point it was only 8 days before our wedding. As for floral services, we only received a photo album and invite to call Foodz the next day to discuss centerpieces. Since it was less than two weeks before the wedding and we wanted to focus on receiving the finalized contract, we ended up making arrangements ourselves with fake flowers. It was frustrating that several times we were falsely promised information within a certain time period. We were constantly checking our email (including the junk folder) in hopes of hearing back from Foodz. We are understanding of delays and technical difficulties but the lack of communication was unacceptable. We ended up having to leave a couple voicemails the week and half leading up to our wedding clearly stating our concerns for the event. It was an uncomfortable situation. The food was great though and the servings were generous. It was a good value at the end of the day, just stressful with the lack of communication. If it wasn’t for the great staff the day of the wedding, our rating would be lower.

ded our expectations. We ended up with a mac and cheese bar, taco bar and chicken and waffle bar - which I would have never thought of until Shelby suggested it during our first meeting. Shelby worked with us to create our perfect menu and made us feel like royalty during the tasting.

erous other caterers that they couldn’t promise not to cross contaminate our food. From the very first conversation with Shelby not only did we feel comfortable that this wouldn’t be a concern, but they did a great job helping us design a menu that blended our favorite foods and our heritage to make a one of a kind meal/experience. They did a great job setting up and tearing down the day of our wedding, and worked flawlessly with our wedding planner to take care of all the logistics, rentals, etc. so we could truly focus on enjoying our special day, stress free. We highly recommend Foodz to handle your events!

ing menu was such a thrilling and inviting introduction. We were able to customize our menu and the team was flexible and gracious with our different food sensitivities. The team handled our rentals and literally thought of EVERYTHING. Very responsive, professional, and conscientious of our budget. Working with Foodz you will not be disappointed. Camila took the stress out of planning and you can tell that not only does the team have so much experience but wants to make sure that their clients are well taken care of. The night was executed beautifully.

l other caterers who basically sent us a menu and said "pick what you want," but Shelby took the time to set up a phone call with me - and actually asked a lot of questions about me and my now-husband, instead of just the about what we wanted in terms of menu items! We were able to put together the perfect menu that was just the right mix of class and comfort food. Shelby even created an appetizer display for cocktail hour to commemorate our first date. And the food itself was fantastic! I'm very happy with the choice we made, and would definitely recommend Foodz Catering.

, and she was a wealth of knowledge, and helped us get to a menu for our wedding that was perfect for us! Not only that, but Davi was our day of coordinator - she was the best decision we made during our wedding planning, truly. I can't even begin to describe how lucky we felt to have had her working on our wedding with us! There were many times I had no idea what I was doing, and she was always there to provide solutions or advice, all of which was the perfect approach. She was always incredibly calm under pressure, and helped pull off a day that we will never forget. I am sure there were snafus on the day of, but I don't know of any of them because she handled everything with such expertise. Even wedding guests were coming up to us afterward saying how amazing she was. Davi, and Foodz Catering in general, was the best decision we made and we cannot recommend her and the catering company enough. The food was the best I had ever had at a wedding, they were quick and efficient, and very willing to work within our means while still making sure it was an unforgettable day. We love Foodz Catering and Davi!

ayout with us and coordinate a room flip between the ceremony and reception. She was always very helpful during the planning process with answering whatever questions we had (no matter how obvious/silly they may have been). The onsite staff the day of was very friendly and positive, and did a great job with both set up and tear down. After the wedding, the onsite staff even packed up some left over appetizers for us in little to-go boxes for our trip back to the hotel! Overall we would highly recommend Foodz!

price, beautiful presentation of their food and THE BEST flavors of any caterer we tried. We met with Shelby at an Open House before we chose Foodz, and the food we tried there -- as well as Shelby's willingness to brainstorm with us, ask the right questions, come up with creative suggestions, make our specific requests happen, etc. -- sealed the deal. We signed on the dotted line shortly thereafter. We didn't feel like we received the same kind of personalized attention in the decision-making process from anyone else like we did with Foodz. During the planning process, Foodz was really helpful with venue layout and helping us make sure we had all the right details in place. And the day/night of, the on site staff was super on top of it and checked in with us several times to make sure we had everything we needed, where happy, etc. And they packed up the cutest little to-go box for us to take to the hotel with us that night (complete with mini cans of champagne!). My only criticism is that at times I felt the folks there weren't as responsive as I expected them to be -- perhaps this is because I spent 10+ years in a professional service industry where I was expected to respond to client inquiries in a matter of a couple of hours (and at the most 24 hours), so my expectations may be a bit higher. And this probably wouldn't bother someone less type-A than me :). But there were times when I had to reach out a couple of time before getting an answer -- I get that everyone gets busy especially during peak times, but it seems like a response within a couple of days isn't unreasonable. However, overall even given this feedback, if I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change my decision to go with Foodz -- the day-of service and delicious food far outweighed any negatives!

e had an excellent tasting when we first visited Foodz Catering, and the consultant assigned to my wedding, Melissa, was phenomenal. She always got back to me that same day or the next, and delivered exactly what she said she would. We had THE best mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life, feta mashed potatoes I believe, braised beef, herb chicken and asparagus. I forget exactly how everything was cooked, but in short, it was too perfection. I could not have been happier when the meal, and the fact that my husband and I didn't have any left to take any home was an excellent sign!! We had buffet style food, and it worked perfectly with the flow of our wedding. The food is superb, and the customer service is unparalleled!

ssional, on time, and I got so many compliments on the good food and how friendly/professional the catering staff was. They sent us home with a bride and groom gift of the dinner we didn't get a moment to eat and all of the leftovers that we wanted. They were willing to work in a pub with no kitchen and helped us to modify the space beautifully to suit the occasion.

cated to the day of staff.

ull service caterer, all he would do was make our main dish - the Paella. This created a problem when looking for other caterers. I loved that when we contacted Foodz, they had no problem working with us even though we already had a caterer. When I found out they cooked Paella (through a review on yelp), we decided to taste it. It was WONDERFUL. We ended up canceling the first caterer and just going with Foodz, since they do everything - rentals, serving, bartending, beverages, and food. They created a Spanish menu for us of passed appetizers (patatas bravas, gazpacho shooters, and stuffed pepperdew peppers) and a main meal of four different types of paella, meeting different people's dietary restrictions - I loved how flexible they were. The paella bar was pretty awesome because it was interactive bar, you chose whether you wanted vegetarian/vegan, seafood, meat, or everything paellas, and they would cook it for you right THERE! They also made fantastic sangria for our signature cocktail. Melissa was great to work with as well, through the whole process. We had to do a lot of rentals because we got married and had our reception at Golden Gardens. We didn't have to deal with rentals at all, which was great! I'd really recommend them.

Washington Rowing Club. I appreciated that Foodz routinely works there, so they knew where everything was and handled the clean up. Overall, I was happy w/my catering choice.

, but also their amazing attention to presentation. We had already seen all our other options, but knew we had to pick Foodz after experiencing some incredible appetizers (artisan cheese and Salumi meats anyone?), delicious entrees and side dishes, and creative drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike). Then we were able to meet with Shelby to design our own unique meal (we chose family style dining) and help her get an idea of our event. She was a pleasure to work with and although she wasn’t there during our wedding, her catering team did brilliantly.

hey made a wonderful chocolate fountain that was a big hit. Their salmon and pasta was raved over for days! They set everything up, including all of my DIY centerpieces, shells, special plate signing table, etc. They took my vision and went with it. It turned out beautiful! Thanks Shelby & Melissa.