Heirloom Fire

James, Kady and the team were absolutely amazing! Not only was the food spectacular, but they were on top of everything and made it a point to engage with all guests and make the experience one of a kind. Thank you Heirloom Fire Team for a wonderful day that none of us will forget! ❤️

We were lucky to have Heirloom Fire cater our wedding in October 2023 and simply put, they stole the show- not just because they are theatrical and bring the stoke (literally), but also because they’re an incredibly warm, passionate and talented team who makes delicious, memorable food and experiences. Our wedding day was cozy (aka lots of rain) and James, Kady and their team worked so hard and with smiles the entire day and night. Through the downpour, our food was served piping hot, the lamb and trout we chose were cooked *perfectly,* and every single dish was displayed with such attention to detail. (Weeks later, friends and family are still reminiscing on how tasty and inventive the food was!) Whenever we had bits of downtime, Kady checked on my husband and me, and brought us food and the fabulous specialty drinks they crafted (ours were a ginger/pear/bourbon cocktail and lemon/spruce vesper martini). She's like a fairy godmother, flitting around and doing everything and anything. If we’re being honest, in the beginning we were a little nervous about this unique manner of catering being more “style over substance.” We were optimistic, but like many of our other wedding vendors, we wouldn’t really know the product until day-of. Thankfully, our tasting in Winter 2022 gave us the opportunity to meet James and Kady and provided a window into the amazing contraptions they cook with in person. We’re here to tell you our worry was misplaced. Their caliber of hospitality and quality of food made us feel at ease and confident for months to come. Over the full year and a half we planned with them, Heirloom Fire’s team was professional, dedicated and pleasant to work with. They may take a wee while to get back to you on emails, but seeing how all-consuming their work is and how present they were the day-of, we completely understand why. So, don’t be concerned! They never forget a detail and when they show up, they show up in every dimension. We genuinely couldn’t have imagined our wedding without them and hope we have another excuse to see them soon. Thank you, James, Kady, and your brilliant team! Note: All photos by Liz Andolina Photography

The Heirloom team is made up of hands down the coolest, nicest, most dedicated people. We got so lucky and booked James, Kady, and their team a mer 3 weeks before our small backyard wedding. You would have thought they had been planning for our day for over a year. They made me feel so relaxed and confident that they had things under control. I truly would trust James to handle anything at this point. The meal was out of this world and they made us and our families feel like VIPs despite the fact that we were just 25 people sitting in a fancy tent. Kady is also a jack of all trades, functioning as our main contact AND our bartender the day of. She is bomb. The food was truly insane and the set up is SO COOL. Truly amazing. My niece and nephew who are really picky eaters are still talking about that chicken. I highly recommend them.

HF truly creates a once in a life time culinary experience that our guests still talk about months after. James and Kady were amazing to work with and executed the day perfectly, with some of the best food you will ever have. We can't thank them enough and can't say enough positive things about them.

I can't help but wax poetic about my experience with Heirloom Fire. Celebrating my 30th birthday with them was not just a party, but a glorious feast that dazzled all the senses. The charm of their setup, the live fire cooking, and the locally sourced ingredients were all noteworthy aspects that made this event one to remember. James, the owner and head chef, is a culinary maestro. His skill and artistry in working with local produce and transforming them into delectable dishes over live fire are unparalleled. He is not just a chef, but a personable companion who happily shares his knowledge and stories. I was genuinely amazed by his attention to detail, devotion to local produce, and sheer talent in crafting flavors that are as much about art as they are about food. Among all the dishes, the duck with blackberry sauce was a standout. The marriage of the tender, succulent duck with the tart and sweet blackberry sauce was pure culinary genius. It was a gastronomic adventure that explored the depths of locally sourced food. The passed rabbit appetizer was a creative and delightful surprise, showcasing once again the innovative spirit of Heirloom Fire. As for the oak butter, it was nothing short of phenomenal. It was an explosion of rich, buttery goodness, enhanced by the smoky essence of oak. It was so good that it should be bottled and sold in stores, without a doubt. The delightful experience wouldn't have been the same without Kady, the head of the front-of-house staff and bartender. Her warmth, charm, and fantastic conversation added a whole new level of enjoyment to the night. She was incredibly kind, creating a welcoming atmosphere that made everyone feel at home. What truly warmed my heart was when James and his crew stayed back 30 minutes past their finish time just to relax with us by the fire, sharing stories and laughter. It truly felt like a celebration with friends rather than a catered event. I would recommend Heirloom Fire ten times over. They offer more than just catering; they create unforgettable experiences filled with great food, amazing stories, and a warmth that stays with you long after the fire has died down. If you're considering them for your next event, don't hesitate. Your guests will thank you for a remarkable and delicious experience!

I have had the honor of working with Heirloom Fire twice now. The first was for our wedding in 2018. The second, just this past weekend, for my wife's 40th birthday on our farm. For context, I am a photographer and have shot many weddings. There are plenty of good caterers who make good food. There are a few that are great. Heirloom Fire is special. Chef James Gop and his team will make your event special. James is a deep and lovely soul who truly cares about his craft and wants to share it with good people. We are incredibly grateful just to know James, let alone to have him and his team provide for us twice over. What he does is an art form: a sensory experience that becomes a cornerstone of your day, your guests journeying through his kitchen, conversing with his skilled staff and him, watching as their food is prepared in a manner they have never seen before. Again, there are plenty of caterers that make good or great food. Heirloom's culinary creations are well above the rest. Michelin star quality food presented in a Michelin star quality way. None of this is hyperbolic. The conversation around the dinner table becomes about the food. "The best chicken I've ever had!" and "I didn't know carrots could taste like that!" are actual quotes by our guests. About chicken and carrots!! From start to finish, James and Heirloom will craft a menu of your dream dinner, each and every bite more sublime than the last.

Where to begin! Heirloom Fire is amazing and James and Emily were so very lovely to work with and the whole team is just amazing. My husband and I had two things we built our wedding around... he wanted a nice view and I had my eye set on Heirloom Fire. Let me tell you, they did not disappoint. James' food is art mixed with flavor and a bit of theater. Everything about his approach to food and how it is cooked is not only fascinating and delicious but added such a fun aesthetic for our guests. If you're thinking about it, hire them. I've basically become an Heirloom Fire groupie and would love to follow them from event to event.

We used Heirloom Fire for our wedding caterer and still haven't stopped talking about it! We had a large outdoor wedding at my childhood home and Heirloom was the perfect addition to the outdoor event. Heirloom not only provided delicious food from the hors d'eoeuvres to the family style dinner, but was also a conversation piece. It was such a unique interactive experience, we were so happy to share with family and friends. Beyond the delicious food, Heirloom handled the open bar, providing quantities for alcohol, as well as two delicious specialty cocktails. Everyone we worked with was amazingly kind, organized, patient, knowledgeable and passionate. It was sad to say goodbye to the team after working with them for over a year but can't wait to work with them in the future for an anniversary celebration!

Oh. My. God. If you are even on this page, just hire them. They're amazing. We are massive foodies, and catering was our first decision. You probably gathered this from the other reviews, but they cook everything over open fire, and all the ingredients are local, often foraged, homemade, and absolutely from scratch. They even make their own apparatus and are always experimenting with new beautiful equipment that looks like it came from a century ago, in the best of ways. No shortcuts here. They cook everything in bulk, which is why it doesn't taste like typical wedding food - the fish and duck was all cooked whole before being carved and served, the beef was cooked on the leg...Their technique is barbecue, but elevated to creative, farm to table haute cuisine. It never loses its rustic, "done the old way" feel, and it is delicious without being pretentious. Also, they are great to work with. We went for a tasting, and everything was delicious but they took the few notes we had in stride and really collaborated together. The presentation was stunning (he asked if we'd let him serve the oysters and clams over a "running stream," which he built himself), and in addition to the flavor, everyone loved watching them cook out in the open. Our wedding was in a private residence for 235 people, and they did a magnificent job. Best decision we made.

A field, or a nook in the woods. Flame-licked iron, leather, and hand-forged knives. Tiny lights strung like fireflies overhead. Fresh, line caught fish, a whiskey-spritzed aged leg of beef, and fire-roasted potatoes, spun over open flame. Hand-rolled, hand-stamped pasta discs with wild foraged mushrooms and spruce-tip-smoked cheese. Oysters over red-hot coals and chilled lavender lemonade. The summer's best tomatoes and sweet cherries, served on a silver platter. Vinegars aged in birch logs, coffee wound through tubes of glass, baked berries in cast iron. A dream of another time becomes, for an all-too-brief evening, your reality. When I asked my now-husband how he envisioned the food for our wedding, his reply was "pig roast". So, I Googled "pig roast" and "wedding," and found Heirloom Fire, who are so far above and beyond a pig on a spit, I can hardly believe I was lucky enough that my search terms led me to them. We hired them for our rehearsal dinner instead of our wedding, in part so we could be more present and engaged with the experience. James Gop and his crew are professional, eclectic, brilliant, personable, innovative, and the hardest working people in the industry. They not only provide elegant dinner theater and a culinary education, they serve meals that are a delight to taste and to behold. From our tasting in the Berkshires, which was an afternoon with friends that I wished would never end, to the late-night hugs in my mother's back yard, we were awed by Heirloom Fire's ability to turn their dreams, and ours, into a delightful and constantly surprising reality. When I mentioned my love of edible hay, James created for our dinner a hay milk punch. When we wanted a drinks list rather than a full open bar, he provided the bar support. When my mother imported a wheel of aged asiago cheese from Italy, he made it a seamless part of the experience. When my in-laws suddenly could not attend, he incorporated their foraged foods with his, in honor of them. With Heirloom Fire, your wishes become James' command (complete with a smile), and you get the feeling that anything you imagine is possible. His goal is to tell the story of your location, the story of your reason for gathering, through the most beautiful meal you may ever eat, and it's a resounding success. We hired a lot of great vendors to make our wedding weekend the highlight of our lives thus far, but this team were the only ones who delivered absolute perfection from start to finish, from managing my financial concerns to indulging my appetite for more oysters. Our only regret is that every meal we'll ever eat from now on will pale in comparison to this, and any other evening we design will be but a shimmer of an event with Heirloom Fire. If you want something unique, elegant, special, and dream-like with a crew of dedicated, assiduous, industrious, joyful, delightful, people and a world-class, local, sustainable, innovative culinary experience executed to perfection, Heirloom Fire is for you.

Heirloom Fire provided food, drink, and their typical understated flair for our wedding in May 2019. From the getgo, it was clear that there was no other choice than James and his excellent team to provide the high quality, deeply researched, and incredibly thoughtful experience that we and our guests would appreciate. (So much so that it seemed natural when the entire Heirloom crew received a round of applause when dinner first came out!) I'll also note that Heirloom was working at a private site for the first time for our event, and yet everything was flawless and perfectly executed; this owes to James taking the time to conduct site visits, have discussions with us about menu, event flow, and exact ingredients, and coordinate directly with all other wedding collaborators so that things were seamless. Guests had amazing interactions with the Heirloom team, and immensely enjoyed the food. If you're considering working with Heirloom, I recommend it 100%!

Food is very important to us so when we started planning our wedding, we decided on our caterer first. We stumbled across the Heirloom Fire website and from the very start we were enamored with the beauty and creativity of HF's style of cooking. We had a hiccup with the first venue we chose and when they said we could not use HF as our caterer, we decided to ditch the venue and keep the caterer. Best decision we ever made! Jim is an artist in what he has created with his company. He is very charismatic and personable. We had multiple requests for our menu and he was not only able to oblige he was excited to work with us on created the most personalized menu possible. My husband Angelo loves bananas and requested a banana dessert. Jim made the most magnificent cast iron bananas foster you can imagine that our guests are still raving about. We fortunately had a beautiful sunny day for our wedding so everyone could enjoy interacting with Jim and his team. Their set up was absolutely mesmerizing. The food itself was top notch. There are so many small details that HF helped with but they are too many to recount. Suffice it to say, we are so incredibly pleased that we picked them as our caterer. Jim even left us a loaf of HF olive bread and HF coffee beans in our bridal suite - the most thoughtful person touch. Thanks for everything, Eleni and Angelo.

We used Heirloom Fire for our mid September wedding caterer and they went above and beyond our expectations! My husband and I love food so we wanted something more unique than typical wedding food and Heirloom Fire definitely delivered. As the guests arrived at our venue, they were in awe of Heirloom Fire's set up. James welcomed the guests to take pictures, ask questions and take in the whole experience. Not only was the experience amazing, but the food was absolutely delicious! The guests kept coming up to me saying it was the best wedding food they had ever had. James was an absolute joy to work with - from our first phone call, to our tasting, to the wedding day - he was professional, kind and easy going. You can tell the whole Heirloom Fire team really has a passion for cooking and entertaining. Would highly recommend their services to anyone!

I honestly can’t give Heirloom Fire higher praise. They are the absolute best. My wife and I hired them to cater our wedding day and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. They were a huge hit with our guests. I lost count how many times we heard, “This food is amazing! This is some of the best food I’ve ever had.” We are still getting messages about it a month past our wedding. The food was matched only by its presentation. It was absolutely magical (another word we heard a lot from our guests). Heirloom Fire’s aesthetic is simply stunning, and they use no short cuts to create the perfect atmosphere. All of the above coupled with approachable and interactive chefs and servers made the whole experience memorable for everyone. Jim is a professional in every sense of the word. It was clear from the outset that food is his life’s passion. So much love and thought goes into every single detail to make sure your wedding is as special as it can be. Jim was thrown some curve balls on our big day with heavy rain and having to deal with two very difficult venue owners, but he took it all in stride and never let those issues effect what he was there to do. In short, if you want a one of a kind, magical wedding day with a feast fit for a royal banquet, hire Heirloom Fire. You’ll also make a new best friend along the way. Jim, whisky next time you’re in the city!

Heirloom Fire is beyond comprehension. First of all, they drove all the way to Canada for us. Then, they built their entire kitchen and equipment from scratch - creating the most beautiful serving platters and tables. They arrived on site 3 days before our wedding to navigate the grounds and forage locally for inspiration. All of the food was sourced within a small radius - hand spun chickens, tied up smoked trout, wow. On top of everything, they personalized the experience for us by including authentic Polish dishes after finding out my family's heritage. If you're thinking of anyone else, don't! This crew is hands down the best.

It's hard to put into words how unbelievably talented and special the Heirloom Fire family is. And I certainly wish there was a way to give more than a five star review here, because working with Heirloom Fire was a 5+ star experience. We were lucky enough to have Jim and his team cater our October wedding and they truly made it into the most magical and memorable evening. Our guests from across the country have continued to rave about the most delicious food, the unique presentation and everything in between. It was no surprise to us that the Heirloom team exceeded our expectations. Working with Jim before our wedding to finalize our menu was a particularly special experience in itself. Jim's attention to detail and more importantly, unbelievable passion for food and the work he does is truly inspiring. We're just hoping to be invited as guests to another Heirloom Fire event soon!

We hired Jim and his team for our daughter's August wedding. The food was amazing and everything was so magical. In the days following the wedding, I had guests coming to me and stating that Heirloom Fire was "simply the best!" Jim is very meticulous with designing the food menu, preparation, and the display of the food is beyond description. I would hire Jim and his team in a heartbeat; only thing is I have run out of daughters to be married! Thanks, Jim and Heirloom Fire for an unforgettable time!

Hiring Heirloom Fire to cater our wedding was the absolute best decision we made! They were so helpful leading up to the ceremony (helping us plan the menu, walking us through their services, and talking to us about set-up). The food was AMAZING. Everyone said it was the best wedding food they'd ever had. And they created an entire ambience for our wedding that was so unique and special. They're food wasn't only delicious, they completed my vision for the wedding and created such a beautiful backdrop to the reception. James, Magdalena, and the entire staff were also so kind, helpful and on top of everything. I had an outdoor wedding and the weather did NOT cooperate. I was so glad to have HF there - they were calm, cool and collected and knew exactly what to do when it started raining. I can't recommend them highly enough. They were truly the best!!

I wish I could give Jim and his team a better review as the work they do is beautiful and was great entertainment for our guests however the lack of professionalism regarding our wedding made the few days following a disaster. To start, Magdelena contacted us 2 days prior to our wedding date demanding we hire 3 additional bartenders (we hired 4 already) because she felt "it would be impossible to give good service and would reflect poorly on Heirloom Fire - we simply cannot afford this and sacrifice our reputation". At noon, the day OF our wedding, it came to our wedding planner's attention they showed up without any servers (we paid for 8), and last minute they placed an add on craigslist for additional help (a gentleman drove 1.5 hours to help with service - not vetted of course). After several email exchanges we settled on a reimbursement, and left it as that. It then came to our attention that he reached out to our photographer and got copies of our wedding album to use for his own self promotion without speaking to us first! We literally paid for his promotional items as this is our personal wedding album! I am typically someone who feels strongly about helping business grow and doing anything I can to promote good work, but Jim will go to any length to grow his business and doesn't care who he steps over to do so. Ironic when you get an email that their reputation is so important to them. It truly is unfortunate - since their work is beautiful.

How many weddings have you gone to and had a memorable meal? My guess would be few to none. Most often I find the meals are overlooked by the rest of the day. Well that is the not the case with Heirloom Fire. James understands that this is a celebration and the food should reflect that. Not only was the meal exceptional, so was the presentation and service. When I spoke with James in the months leading up to the wedding he promised me this is something my guests would remember. He is absolutely correct. The entire night I had my friends and family saying how fantastic the food was, and they still are! The presence of Heirloom Fire transformed my wedding. My guests loved being able to watch the food during it’s entire process, from the pasta being made to the chickens being roasted. James' passion for harvesting the land and good quality food is obvious. During cocktail hour James was around to suggest pairings of food and explain all of the horderves. I can’t say enough about him and his team. James made my wedding a true celebration that me and my guests will remember for the rest of our lives!

Based on all the reviews and recommendations -- and having met the amazing Jim Gop -- we expected great things, but the food, the aesthetic, the set-up, the service, the treatment of our guests, the professionalism, and the clean-up all exceeded those high expectations. All through the night our guests kept telling us how perfect everything was and that they never experienced anything like it. The food blew everyone away and the "kitchen" enchanted all of us. We also got great compliments about how the staff was on top of everything -- always cheerful and helpful -- yet unobtrusive. It was perfect!

James, Magdalena and THE ENTIRE TEAM were consummate professionals. Not just fantastic at their job, but their passion & the joy they get from doing the work is evident in their positive disposition and quality of their output. I had multiple guests from my wedding comment that 1) "This is the best wedding food I've ever had!!" 2) "The caterers are all so pleasant! They're on top of their game, and with a smile on their faces!" and 3) The entire food set up is GORGEOUS." All of those comments, as the bride, were music to my ears AND I agree with whole-heartedly. Heirloom Fire was the best darn wedding caterer I could ever have imagined and they really helped craft our wedding day into the extremely special occasion it was, at the Basilica in Hudson, NY. Thank you, James and team!!

I don't have enough words to describe what a wonderful experience we had with Heirloom Fire. Now that the wedding is over Jim feels more like a friend than a vendor we hired. Our venue was a gilded age mansion and Jim was able to take what his team does so well and "glam it up" so to speak to fit our venue. Everything from cocktail hour, to the dramatic entrance of dinner, to the craft cocktails and late night cuisine was absolutely perfect... I am seriously salivating thinking back on it. The experience was like nothing I've been a part of at any event and I think that's what made it so special. During the event almost every guest told us that this was by far the best food that they had ever had at a wedding and that the entire experience was something they would always remember. The only word for it is magical. The other thing that set Jim and his team apart was their dedication to giving me and my husband a day that was custom and special to us. I unfortunately have to deal with wheat and dairy allergies. I let Jim know about these allergies early on in the planning process with the focus being "don't ruin the food for the entire wedding because I have allergies". Jim never wavered and ensured that not only my guests had an amazing meal but that I was also taken care of. What this manifested itself into was almost an entirely gf/df spread that was absolutely spectacular. Jim made homemade gf bread, late night gf pizza, an entirely gf dinner menu, gf beignets, cast iron skillets of gf cobbler with a special dairy free glaze, gf graham crackers for s'mores... seriously the list goes on and on, I'm just touching on a few. The point I'm trying to make is that Jim is more than a caterer. He cares so deeply about giving his clients the most special day ever and that is so evident in his food and the detail that he puts on every element of the event. Hiring Jim was the best decision we could have made. Thank you for everything Jim & HF team! xo Adrianne and Chris

Aside from marrying my own wife, choosing Heirloom Fire to cater our wedding was the best decision I've ever made. The unique food, experience, and service... it all truly made our day so special. The menu was inventive and transcended anything you could imagine being served for a large group - and every single guest was blown away by how delicious it all tasted... our foodie friends and family are still talking about it weeks later. Heirloom Fire's work and aesthetic is like a performance, and it added a really cool "experiential" element to the event. Jim and his team clearly have a passion for what they do and it shows in the output and their professionalism. They were extremely responsive and accommodating throughout the process (which including a very extravagant tasting), and we didn't have to worry about a thing on the day of. I would recommend Heirloom Fire for ANY event - weddings, parties, my own funeral, etc.

Jim and his team are so amazing. My guests were blown away by the food and service. The chickens!!!! I mean seriously, the chickens are the best chickens I've ever had. And the carrots! Don't even get me started on the carrots. I'm a pastry chef in New York, and my guests came expecting something great and Heirloom fire just blew everyone away. I mean, I've had Jim's food, so I knew what to expect, but he even exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. I can't tell you how many guests have asked me to get them recipes. My only regret from my wedding is that my husband and I didn't get to have a solo hour with the charcuterie station before the guests arrived. Or a beer with Jim after it was all said and done. He is so clearly loving his work and having fun with his team. There is so much passion and love in the food. What's more he makes planning painless. He is so responsive and organized. Every step of the way was great. I can't recommend Heirloom Fire highly enough. They really know how to throw a party.

Heirloom Fire was the absolute best thing about our wedding day, except for marrying my husband ;) Jim and his team created an experience that our guests just loved and the food was incredible. Not only was the team professional and service excellent, the ambiance was magical and more than we could have asked for. We hope to have them back for our anniversary pig roast in the near future! I highly recommend Heirloom Fire and would/will hire them again. Thanks Jim and team, you rock!

Not sure I can really put into words how amazing the experience was to work with Jim and Magdalena. I say ‘work with’ but that puts my involvement with them on an equitable footing…which it was clearly not. They took our idea of a wedding involving nearly 200 guests and turned it into a wonderful intimate affair far exceeding anything we could possibly have imagined. Looking for catering/event coordination? Then stop right here…Heirloom Fire and Magdalena Events…cross everyone else off you list and you will not go wrong. Would not hesitate to recommend … and in fact am looking for an excuse to do a similar event again. Obviously can’t use the excuse of a wedding (The wife would kill me!!) but trust me I will find a way…Maybe Summer 2017 … a 1st Wedding anniversary. Many thanks to you and all who put some much effort in.

We wanted something different for our wedding and this was that and more! Jim and his team are so professional and delivered such a magnificent spread that it is something that we and our guests will be talking about for a long time to come. It has been an absolute pleasure working with Heirloom from start to finish and I would do it again with no hesitation. There are not enough words to explain how fantastic and amazing the whole experience was. Don't look any further than Heirloom Fire!

Heirloom Fire lived up to all my expectations!! They were very professional, set up the event beautifully, and the food was delicious!! And, I felt the price was very reasonable!! I would highly recommend them to anyone!!

Jim Gop and his delightful team were a pleasure to work with. The high level of impeccable customer service and attention to detail is unmatched by others in the industry. Magdalena Events and Heirloom Fire worked seamlessly together to make our wedding nothing short of spectacular. Their unique presentation and cooking style enamored all of our guests. The high quality seasonal, local, and organic ingredients they chose, combined with their culinary expertise, wowed even the most particular and sophisticated New York City foodies. The day of our wedding, the vibe their whole team emanated was positive and bright. They went above and beyond with every detail, which allowed us to simply relax and enjoy the day. Heirloom Fire provided an amazing experience in every way, shape, and form, and I recommend them with flying colors!