The Good Fork

able. The delicious food will be remembered by our guests for a long time to come! This caterer provides exquisite presentation and Chef Mary and her team were so helpful during the entire process. She emailed us about 3 months prior to our wedding reception and several times along the planning to ensure we felt "not anxious" and prepared for a flawless event. Between the Chef and her assistant, we felt so taken care of! I appreciate so much that they are an all inclusive caterer and offer in house event planning services and can recommend the best photographers, etc. My fiancé and I actually booked the Good Fork by attending another wedding that Chef Mary executed. I would recommend The Good Fork and her talented staff to brides near and far looking for a unique and spot on dinner service!

struck gold when I found The Good Fork. The menu that was put together was exactly what I was looking for, and was a reasonable price. Things started to get strange when it came to scheduling a tasting. I couldn't arrange a tasting until I had agreed to use The Good Fork and put down a 50% deposit. I asked how was I to decide if I liked their food if I couldn't try it until I committed to a contract. We were able to compromise where I would pay for a tasting that would go towards my deposit should I elect to go with them. I should have reconsidered when no contract or paperwork was mentioned, but I was planning everything on my own, and this was one of my first vendors I had any experience with. Several months before the wedding, I got an email from The Good Fork, which alluded they had never received my deposit. Concerning since I had given them a check for a very large sum of money many months prior and they had nothing on file. When I responded and told them I had for a fact paid, I was asked to provide proof of my check for payment. After a trip to my bank, and providing proof to them, they replied "Oh yes, we found that you in fact paid." WHAT?!? You can't keep track that I paid you thousands of dollars and made me prove I had in fact paid you?! After that debacle, when asked for the remaining balance before the wedding, I pulled together my own contract from emails we had exchanged. When I asked Chef Mary to meet me to exchange the final deposit amount instead of mailing and to sign my contract, I was told by Chef Mary that this was extremely unusual, and no one had ever asked this of her. On the day of my wedding, I was worried that The Good Fork would even show up. They showed up, but there were no shortage of problems. The plates that I had paid extra for (wooden, recycled plates), were warped and didn’t even lay flat on the table. I had paid for hor d'oeuvres, which didn’t even have any plates for guests to serve themselves. When asked, the servers that were provided by Chef Mary, rudely told guests to put the cheese, toppings, and honey on napkins. Later I was approached by Chef Mary during the reception, and when asked about how I liked everything, when I said it was fine (trying not to make a scene) she pushed and asked for what was not satisfactory. I told her I was a bit disappointed by the plates that were warped, I was told by Chef Mary that some variation happens, and while I would be compensated for the issue (which I wasn't) she had to make sure I was aware that a certain gentleman (my grandfather), had “assaulted” her by putting his hands on her shoulders, and that I should be happy she didn’t report him to the police officer on premise. If it was that much of an issue, why did she feel the need to tell me (instead of the many other people present), or only bring it up when I brought up issues in services after being pressed? The food provide by Chef Mary was exactly what was promised, and was very good. But the lack of communication, issues with payment, and the unprofessional manner that she exhibited made the whole experience very bitter. I had an amazing wedding day filled with many wonderful memories, but it is extremely disappointing that this was part of that day.

for my wedding day. We wanted farm- to -table style with really simple but delicious food. When we first began researching, The Good Fork had good reviews, reasonable cost, and seemed to offer just that, so we signed a contract. Our wedding was 150 people. Once our contract was signed, things started to fall apart. Communication was very difficult. Emails would be responded to VERY slowly and often did not address half the questions we asked. Sometimes the Chef would respond, sometimes her business partner, and the two never seemed to communicate with eachother. When it came time for our tasting, it was canceled the day before- meaning our families, who were traveling from out of town, could no longer attend. Our "contract" was copy and pasted in emails with no consistency- when we reviewed the contract to make our final payment, half of the items were missing and had to be re-discussed. Communication got so bad that I started to doubt the Good Fork's ability to pull my wedding off. I even had a "back up plan" in case they didn't even show up! Now to get to the actual wedding day:Bar Service: Glasses brought in from rental company never used, plastic cups used instead with some guests telling me they couldn't get a drink because there were no glasses. I went to order a glass of champagne and I was told they were out, meanwhile, we found an entire case un-opened the next day. Is there anything worse than a bride not getting 1 glass of champagne at her own wedding? Contract stated red and white wine were to be passed out as guests arrived. This never happened, which resulted in 2 extra cases of unopened wine.Food: Contract stated a "family style" meal. Food was brought out inconsistently and very spaced apart- 30 minutes between potatoes and meat. Salad was bare lettuce, not "spring greens with leaks, feta and thyme vinaigrette" as stated in contract. For desserts, caterer was supposed to supply "chocolate cake with espresso whipped cream and lemon cookies" Neither of these were provided. Instead, we got frozen cheesecake. Overall Service: Dessert plates were put on the dinner tables and then bused before dessert- my guests ate cake off of napkins. Outside dessert that was brought in to supplement was never served. Staff set out dessert and left, even though contract included busing all tables after the meal. My venue staff had to stay late to clean up their mess, and I had to compensate them for it. The result of all of this was a bride crying on her wedding night. When all the issues were brought up, we were offered a very small refund, the amount did not even account for all the money we lost in alcohol, rentals, and desserts not being served. Chef Mary knows how to cook well, but The Good Fork could not execute a wedding. I really regret hiring the Good Fork and wish I had shopped around more before signing the contract.

ments and did not make restitution. Salad was served with only lettuce, no dressing, none of the contracted additions to the lettuce. Potatoes served cold at the same time as the salad? Not enough chicken to feed our table of 8. Then no potatoes. 1/2 of the 155 guests did not receive the couscous. The caterer forgot to serve the steaks and when I inquired 3 raw steaks were brought out to our table at the same time dessert was served. Caterer failed to use the rented glasses, plates and also failed to return the used rental equipment to the correct place. Caterer failed to return many of my telephone calls. I gave her an opportunity to preserve an otherwise good reputation but this caterer chose to ignore me. this was the most unprofessional caterer. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS COMPANY.

The planning and communication process leading up to my wedding is where I struggled the most. The emails were slow, really slow and when I would get responses, only half of my requests would be addressed or they would be done so incorrectly. In one e-mail a catering manager would respond and in another, Chef would respond and it seemed as though they were not communicating with each other in the process. It made planning VERY stressful. Case in point, my tasting, that was confirmed, that my fiance and I drove 3 hours to have with our families, was missed because they 'wrote down the wrong day.' They did address and remedy the situation in a professional manner but it did make my question the organization of the business and my decision to use them for my big day. On the day of the wedding, the food was delicious and our guests enjoyed but I don't think I would work with them again based on my personal experience.

ooking for someone who could offer great/organic food for a guest count of 200 on an island, with no kitchen, and little space to work with. We chose right, because Chef Mary pulled it off flawlessly. All of our guests were fed, we had great feedback on the style/taste of the food, and most importantly, Chef Mary and her staff were kind, friendly, and professional. Chef Mary is very easy to deal with and offers a fresh alternative to the various catering vendors in the Cleveland area that typically cater 10 + weddings a weekend. With The Good Fork, their entire focus was on us for the weekend, as this was the only wedding they were catering. Chef: Great to work with and fun. Good experience. Genuinely cares. Food Quality: Great (Prime Rib, Roasted Chicken, & Vegetarian Pasta Option) Staff: Great/Professional Price: More than reasonable

ew what a caper berry was until I ate with The Good Fork, and now they are one of my favorite ingredients. really a joy, thanks Chef!

s the hardest to please was blown away by the service from The Good Fork starting with the initial email outlining important details for planning a wedding. We appreciated her coming to our home to go over the menu during our wedding menu tasting. I will continue to share The Good Fork with friends and colleagues. Thank you again, Chef Mary, for excellent customer service and genuine friendliness! Best to your business in 2016!

menu - I would highly recommend Chef Mary and The Good Fork to anyone looking for outstanding food and service! 5 star!

re were only serving platters on the table without decorations. It looked so bad :( A white table cloth and dishes basically. We were also suppose to have 2 lines at the buffet, but the caterer made it so there was only 1. That delayed guests in getting their dinner promptly. Also, the chicken was dry. We were promised ciabatta bread service, ice tea, and lemonade. None of that was there. They also left a lot of items we had to pick up afterwards: coffee maker, mason jars and utensils. Overall disappointed. Would recommend spending a little more money because you get what you pay for.

you won't find that anywhere else in Cleveland. She is an artist with her presentation and the guests thoroughly enjoyed ever bit of it. We loved that she was there to interact with guests and talk about the food! I highly recommend The Good Fork to any bride who is excited about local and organic! 5 star perfect dinner service!!!

entation on the day of the event. We had a "whimsical buffet" and it was adorable, no chaffing dishes or ugly serving ware, just cute decorations and beautiful serving dishes! During the planning process though email communication was a bit slower than I would hope, but it wasn't a deal breaker. Chef Mary and her team did a great job and many guests remarked on the uniqueness and quality of the food!

on the tables, but were not. 15 minutes after the protein and salad was served, potatoes and corn bread was passed from table to table, BY THE GUESTS. No coffee as they ran out of cups. A few examples: a guest asked for salt and pepper and was given a cup with salt and pepper mixed together. NO condiments were available. When the cake was cut it was placed in the palm of the hand of the staff and then put on a plate. NO ONE ATE THE CAKE.as they were a little taken aback at the lack of care for food safety. Mary Wills refunded a nominal amount compared to the fiasco the reception was. Of course it took 2 weeks for the refund to be received after a number of calls.

not at this price point. Chef Mary was able to work within our budget and create an affordable yet special family-style meal including homemade ice cream for dessert. She incorporated all of our feedback after our tasting and her team worked flawlessly in a very complicated venue. Highly recommended.

tally found that in The Good Fork! Chef Mary gave us a menu of bean burgers w/ tofu aoli & avocado, bbq chickpea tacos, cornbread, mac & cheese, fingerling potatoes & salad, all on a beautiful display with handwritten menu signs. Every guest had a different favorite! We also had our reception at an outdoor picnic pavilion with no staff, and The Good Fork was able to provide us with biodegradable silverware, napkins & plates that looked like bamboo, bartenders and mason jars for drinking glasses, ALL within our budget when no other catering company could fit that all into our budget. Staff arrived and executed without any issues on the big day. Another nice touch is that Chef Mary comes to YOU for your tasting in your own home!

essional manner. Followed through with phone calls and emails. I would highly recommend The Good Fork Catering to any bride looking for professionalism and overall very knowledgeable service staff. My guests still message me about how the quality of the ingredients were "Excellent" and ask to be connected with Chef Mary. Thank you for an amazing Wedding experience, and best of luck Good Fork Team! Cleveland is lucky to have your services!

ht of the wedding and the service staff was friendly and attentive. Would definitely highly recommend!

ers out there. Chef Mary and her assistant were always quick to respond to emails and also worked well with us trying to create a delicious menu for our guests that would allow us to stay within our budget. The reception was held at a park setting in July with 225 guests. We were so happy with how everything turned out and received so many compliments on how delicious the food was. Throughout the evening we heard numerous times "best food I've ever had at a wedding!" Chef Mary and her staff exceeded what we were looking for in a wedding dinner. Not to mention they did all this at an outdoor venue over an hour away without the proper amenities a caterer would need. We certainly recommend the Good Fork to other couples looking for a caterer for their wedding!

t menu as well as the cutest, original layout for the buffet. We got married last month and everyone is still raving about how delicious the food was. I would highly recommend Chef Mary and the Good Fork for any event which requires catering and expect to be blown away!

and with the conversation we had with her as she created our five-course meal. She worked skillfully and what seemed almost effortlessly using seasonally available, fresh ingredients. Further, Chef Mary was a pleasure to talk with. By the time she left, leaving us essentially no clean up tasks, we felt like we had made a friend. Before she left, we asked her for a few business cards so we could recommend her to our friends.