Curated/ Elevated/ Experience
Riverside, Temecula, Desert cities, LA,
Travel area: Within 100 miles See details
Jonathan Gonzalez
OWNER
AWARD WINNER (1X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
We offer Seasonally inspired menus with unique flavors guaranteed to have you and your guests speaking of your meal for the foreseeable future. Keeping sight of our passion for hospitality, we may customize a one-of-a-kind experience starting from our very first conversation. Creating a friendly environment for you, you will not feel like "just another client."
6+ years in business
Speaks English, Spanish
Details
Cuisine
American
Fusion
Middle Eastern
Specialty
Dietary Options
Dairy Free
Gluten Free
Nut Free
Organic
Sugar Free
Vegan
Vegetarian
Food & Catering
Buffet
Family Style
Menu Tastings
Passed Appetizers
Seated Meal
Servers
Awards and Affiliations
Any questions?
Meet the team
Jonathan Gonzalez
Owner
I ventured here to California from NYC, with over 15 years of upscale catering experience. I enjoy most, creating a personable relationship with our guests to offer a hospitable wedding experience. By Implementing these standards on our service staff we ensure the most memorable event.
Reviews
4.8
out of 5.016 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Jonathan from James Madison Catering received glowing reviews from multiple couples for his exceptional food and service at their weddings. He was highly praised for his ability to bring their menu visions to life, accommodating various dietary restrictions with delicious options ranging from diner-inspired comfort foods to a Middle Eastern feast. Customers appreciated his enthusiasm, creativity, professionalism, and attention to detail, making their wedding dining experience memorable and special. James Madison Catering was highly recommended for weddings and special events by satisfied customers.Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 5
Joseph S
5.0
5/01/2025
Jonathan made our dream menu come to life. His willingness and enthusiasm to create the menu we had in mind without hesitation was refreshing and invigorating. We wanted a “diner-i...
nspired” menu of all the comfort foods and wanted our guests to enjoy the food at our wedding. He not only made it happen but made it happen in the classiest, tastiest way. From sophisticated chicken and waffles to curly fries with homemade honey mustard and even milkshakes which everyone enjoyed after dinner, he truly made our vision come to fruition better than we could have imagined! Thank you so much. Cheers!!
Bryce P
5.0
5/22/2024
Jonathan and his team were amazing! From the start Jonathan was a dream to work with and made the process so easy! Plus the food was beyond delicious! He even catered a private din...
ner for my bachelorette party with all fresh ingredients that I am still thinking about to this day! Everyone was talking about how good it was! I cannot thank him and his team enough for making my wedding day so special!!
Any questions?
Angeline O
5.0
12/22/2023
Jonathan of James Madison Catering is always cheerful, with the most amazing offering of food. The food not only look appetizing, they're absolutely delicious. I always enjoy worki...
ng with James, knowing that the guests will have a wonderful dinning experience.
Stacey G
5.0
7/20/2023
Working with Jonathan @ JMC for our small, destination wedding was everything we could ever want and more. Jonathan is personable, thoughtful and a great listener; through talking ...
with us in the months leading up to our wedding, he went above and beyond to to perfectly customize the menu. And the meal was INCREDIBLE. I'm still having dreams about the soufflé. If you want to have the most memorable dinner for your special event, you'll find it with Jonathan and his team!
Response from James Madison Catering on 07/20/2023
It was definitely our pleasure to have gotten to know you and Nick.! It’s easy to be perso...
nable with people as great as you two. From our very first conversation I knew this would have been a fun process til the very end. Glad we made this as memorable for you as it was for us. Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.
Laura B
5.0
6/26/2023
Jonathon was wonderful to work with as he made our wedding menu vision come true. The post-wedding ceremony celebration was held at a private residence in Twentynine Palms, CA and ...
we were looking for a caterer to serve a family-style middle eastern menu which would suit our guests’ various vegan/gluten-free/vegetarian dietary restrictions, while also providing options for meat lovers. Jonathon was excited about creating this menu. He even came to meet us at an Airbnb we rented when we visited the area months ahead of the event and put together a private dinner for us to taste. It was delicious and a great opportunity to provide him with feedback on the menu options we were able to try. Jonathan put so much passion and creativity into the menu and grazing board. He also handled the venue’s numerous permitting requirements with professionalism and grace. The wedding dinner that Jonathan presented on our big day blew us away! Our guests are still talking about how amazing the food was, from the lamb meatballs, to the falafel to the turmeric couscous. We are so pleased with James Madison Catering and would highly recommend them. The glassware, flatware, and dinnerware they provided were also excellent. We would choose James Madison again, no regrets!
Response from James Madison Catering on 06/26/2023
Thank you Laura and Liam,
It was my true pleasure to have created that menu for you two. T...
he whole process of working with you both was so great, it was the epitome of what and why we do this in the first place, so thank you for the opportunity to have create such a wonderful memorable experience for you.! And I look forward to our next encounter. Cheers.!
Laura H
5.0
1/10/2023
I could not have had a better experience! Jonathan and his team made our special night extra delicious. Jonathan was very responsive and helpful from beginning to end during our pl...
anning. He was so helpful, especially since I had to plan my wedding from outside of the country. The food was incredible and my guests were all so happy with their dinner choices. Jonathan was very attentive and sweet, he and his team felt like part of our special night.
Khalid E
5.0
12/29/2022
Very helpful and accommodating. Delicious food and great service. Made our intimate wedding of 10 guests feel so special. Highly recommend the team at James Madison.
Brielle B
5.0
9/17/2022
My husband and I got married last weekend 09/10/22 and Jonathan and his staff were incredible! Prior to our wedding, Jonathan came to our home to prepare a menu for us and we did s...
ome tasting. He held such great conversation and his food was amazing! Right away we gave him a deposit because he was that great! Fast forward to our wedding date, their service was excellent! His staff was lovely, I had received so many compliments about how delicious our food was! He handled our cake, and even helped with gathering our late night snacks when they arrived to the venue. The ladies in charge of our bar were so helpful and made sure everyone was being serve correctly. Throughout the entire night, Jonathan kept checking in on me to ask if I needed any assistance aside from food. I couldn’t thank James Madison Catering enough for such a great job they did on our special day!
KC C
1.0
7/13/2022
Very unprofessional. Knot review team please reach out to address our concerns. He was recommended to us by The Knot.
Meg P
5.0
5/04/2022
We were taken care of by James Madison catering in every way for our wedding luncheon. Jonathan and his team were kind, attentive and paid attention to every detail. The food was d...
elicious and exceeded our expectations. All of our guests were raving about the lunch. Presentation was beautiful and everything was just fantastic about our experience with James Madison. Thank you!!!
Response from James Madison Catering on 05/05/2022
Hi Sarah,
Thank you so much for this. And thank you for the opportunity to provide you ...
with this experience. We had such a fun time creating the custom menu all through to the execution of the event. You and your guests were a true pleasure to work with.
Samantha M
5.0
2/20/2022
My husband and I can not recommend Jonathan and his team enough! His food, professional demeanor and personality are absolutely AMAZING. From the first time we met Jonathan to our...
wedding reception you could tell it was going to be great. All of our guests were more than impressed with the food and service they received. One of our appetizers was pork tacos and as we walked around our reception and asked if they were able to try the appetizers a majority said “I had 4, are there more?” We can’t go out to eat anymore because nothing compares to the food we were able to enjoy during our reception. Also, If you’re looking for great service, James Madison Catering is the company to hire! We have NEVER been so impressed with a group of servers. We never went the whole night without a drink filled. The servers would come up constantly, in a great way, to ensure we had all we needed. I can’t rave enough about the service we received.
The best part too is now that the reception is over, it doesn’t mean that the connection is over. We definitely plan to hire Jonathan and his team for any catering events we need or even any special romantic nights we have planned. Jonathan is stuck being our one and only caterer / chef for any needs.
Thank you and your team for your delicious food and astonishing service.
Response from James Madison Catering on 02/20/2022
Thank you for this kind message Samantha and Pedro. I’m glad we were able to provide you ...
such a memorable experience. Definitely could not have done it without the team and I will be sure to let the them know they’ve earned this review.
You two have been so much fun to work with and I would be honored to be a part of any future events of yours.
Becca G
5.0
11/22/2021
James Madison Catering served us so well for our special event in every way! Johnathan and his amazing team were perfection. Their menu options, ability to be flexible with special...
request and creativity were hands down the BEST! They made the process so easy and the outcome was SO beautifully displayed, served and delicious! They were punctual, organized, respectful of our space and so personable! Look forward to using them again or any occasion.
Bridgette H
5.0
10/27/2021
We had a fantastic experience with Jonathan, Nicole, and their team! We ended up having an intimate wedding with 15 of us there and Jonathan created a five course absolutely delici...
ous experience for our families. Everything was so tasty, our families could not stop raving about the food that night and into the next morning. Jonathan, Nicole, and their team were all so kind, positive, and fun and made the experience even more amazing. It was an unforgettable reception dinner and we could not recommend James Madison Catering enough!
Response from James Madison Catering on 10/27/2021
Thank you Bridgette for this kind remark, it was our pleasure working with you and Armando...
as well. We love working with fellow foodies and are grateful you allowed us the opportunity to show off some of our creativity. We’re so happy you and your family had a truly memorable food experience!
Karla A
5.0
5/14/2021
We discovered James Madison Catering through our venue and we are so thankful we did. Due to COVID, my husband and I had to switch our wedding plans completely to the San Diego are...
a. Not being from the area made this planning a little stressful but we are forever thankful that we met Jonathan. Throughout the whole process, Jonathan was friendly, professional and responsive. We did a tasting and ended up making some adjustments to the menu via email and he was great in answering ALL the questions and in making suggestions for what might work. Our guests raved about the food and said it was the best wedding food they ever had! My husband and I agree. We highly recommend James Madison Catering for any event, you won't regret it!!
Jacqueline M
5.0
12/15/2020
My husband and. I discovered James Madison Catering through a venue tour. Jonathan was very professional from the start. He offered us delicious appetizers and showed us his season...
al menus. My husband and I really liked that his menu changed with the season. Although he had a set menu, he emphasized he was open o suggestions if we had any. We hired him on the spot, and two weeks later we had a tasting.
During our tasting Jonathan came to our home, and cooked everything in our home. Jonathan was very organized and fast! During the tasting Jonathan was very professional, yet fun. We had some fun taking videos for Instagram, to make the tasting more “dramatic” When the tasting was over our kitchen was spotless, and we had some leftovers.
The days leading to the wedding, we finalized a few things. He offered kids meals and vendor meals at great prices. Jonathan also offered plate and champaign rentals at a very reasonable price! We defiantly took advantage of these offers.
The day of the wedding, Jonathan was great! He introduced himself to our guest and told them what was on the menu. He then brought my husband and I our plates. He was honestly so professional, yet he felt like a friend. All of our guest loved the food, and my husband and I ate our entire meal! We hope to hire Jonathan, for another event. His food was delicious! THANK YOU!
Aimee G
5.0
11/24/2020
After we weren't able to continue with our original venue due to COVID, our new wedding coordinator recommended James Madison Catering. With only a few weeks before our wedding, Jo...
nathan was quick to communicate with us and set up a tasting. All of his dishes were incredible and we had so many options to choose from! We ended up choosing a dual-entree plate with steak and salmon and some amazing sides at our wedding. We even asked for bread just a week or so before the wedding and Jonathan provided it with beautiful herb-infused olive oil dispensers on all of the tables. All of our guests raved about the food and we had several who even asked for his info to potentially use for their own events. We would highly recommend him to anyone and would definitely love to use his company again in the future!
Service area & Contact info
Travel area: Within 100 miles
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James Madison Catering
Jonathan Gonzalez
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Owner
Wedding vendors in Riverside
James Madison Catering
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