Congratulations! It's your day to shine!
Serving Des Moines and outside Metro
Travel area: Within 25 miles See details
Susan Madorsky
OWNER / CEO
A wedding is a glorious celebration of you and your future. You say "I do" and we will do the rest. The Tangerine Food Company is welcome at many venues in the Des Moines area and also hosts an exciting contemporary space called The Big Room at Mainframe Studios in downtown Des Moines. Give us a call - we'd love to show you around.
Details
Cuisine
American
BBQ
Cajun
Eastern European
French
Fusion
Greek
Indian
Italian
Latin American
Mexican
Middle Eastern
Southern
Specialty
Dietary Options
Dairy Free
Gluten Free
Nut Free
Vegan
Vegetarian
Food & Catering
Buffet
Catering Clean Up
Catering Delivery & Setup
Chef Stations
Family Style
Menu Tastings
Passed Appetizers
Seated Meal
Servers
Any questions?
Meet the team
Showing slide number 1 out of 3
- Susan MadorskyOwner / CEOSusan, co-owner and chef, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She began her culinary career in Portland, Oregon. She trained under Jim Dodge at The Stanford Court in San Francisco, California. She was the assistant pastry chef at The Willard Hotel in Washington, DC and the pastry chef at The Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Since living in Iowa she has been an adjunct instructor of Advanced Baking in the DMACC Culinary Program.
- Pernilla WerningerOwner / Sales Director / ChefPernilla, co-owner and chef, graduated with honors from Fox Valley Technical College with a Culinary Arts Associate degree, Advanced Culinary Certificate, BBQ competition awards and culinary competition awards. Born in Sweden and moved to the US in 1980. Much of her passion for food came from her origin and her family's cooking. She ran and operated a private catering business in Neenah, Wisconsin for 2 years before moving to Des Moines, Iowa. She has been working with Tangerine Food Co. since 2019.
- Chris Bottorff-NicholsOwner / Executive ChefIowa local, Christopher Bottorff-Nichols was raised in Waterloo, working for great restaurants such as Verona and Park Place. After high school he attended culinary school at Kendall College in Chicago. He continued his education working for Dinner Lab, a pop-up dinner concept company based out of New Orleans. Through Dinner Lab, he worked in many exciting cities but returned Des Moines to produce the same amazing food and expand the local culinary scene. Chef Christopher (Chip) managed the kitchen at Proof restaurant in Des Moines from 2014 through 2016. Chris has made himself at home bringing his fabulous flair and skill to the table.
Reviews
5.0
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.
Heaven B
5.0
11/21/2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 — Exceptional Catering & Service!
We are so thrilled we chose Tangerine Food Company for our wedding. The food was absolutely incredible—fresh, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. Our guests could not stop talking about how delicious everything was, and several even told us it was the best wedding food they’d ever had.
From start to finish, the Tangerine team was professional, organized, and an absolute pleasure to work with. They were responsive during the planning process, flexible with our needs, and made sure every detail was handled seamlessly on the day of the wedding.
The service staff were friendly, attentive, and made sure everyone was well taken care of. We truly felt like we were in great hands the entire evening.
Tangerine Food Company helped make our wedding celebration unforgettable, and we cannot recommend them enough. If you want incredible food paired with exceptional service, they are the perfect choice! 🍽️✨
Kelsey S
5.0
7/31/2025
Pernilla was so responsive, kind, and helpful. The catering staff were nice and did a great job overall. The only concern I had was that they did not pay attention to our dessert packaging. Some of the desserts were gluten free and we had requested signage to make sure the non-gluten free and gluten free foods were separated. This did not happen and all of the desserts were mixed in together. This only made a difference to one person, but was a little frustrating given they had plenty of notice and instruction. They also put out the dessert with appetizers which was odd to me and not what was requested, but it all worked out and people enjoyed it. The food was incredible! So many of our guests continue to rant about the food they had. The food and set up were very elegant and fit the venue and wedding theme well. We are so thankful that Tangerine made our day so special!
Any questions?
Emma B
5.0
5/14/2025
We loved working with Tangerine for our wedding! We chose a taco bar and it was a hit with all of our guests. One of the reasons we went with Tangerine was because of their variety of vegetarian options — I myself am vegetarian, and a lot of our guests were too, so this was super important to us! On the day of the wedding, Tangerine staff were so kind and helpful and brought us plates of food to make sure we ate. We are so pleased with our experience and will definitely recommend Tangerine to others in the future!
Mary Beth W
5.0
9/05/2022
We appreciated Susan and the rest of the Tangerine team doing the catering for our wedding. The food was one of the most important elements to me (the bride), and we chose well! Susan helped us plan an Italian-inspired menu, which we were so excited about. Unfortunately, we got COVID our wedding week (me the day before) and unfortunately had to scale down our big day to a small ceremony at the last minute. Since a lot of the food prep was already done, Susan worked with us to provide boxed to-go meals for our guests after the ceremony. Tangerine then provided apps and desserts for the rescheduled reception we did a couple months later. I can't express how thankful I am to her/Tangerine for working with us so we could celebrate with our loved ones more fully once we were healthy. We got many compliments on the food, and for all these reasons I highly recommend Tangerine. Thank you to Susan and her team.
Corrin W
5.0
4/19/2022
I hired Tangerine catering and had my wedding at Mainframe studios for my April wedding. Both Cherry and Susan were amazing to work with. They were prompt with emails and very accommodating to what I envisioned for our wedding. The food was also incredible. All our guests raved about the food, especially the slow roasted pork and sweet potato salad. They even custom made boudain balls and beignets, which were delicious!
Jane H
5.0
10/29/2021
Bankers Trust had them cater dinners for Secure Life Styles. We drove by The Tangerine Co at Mainframe and picked up our dinners. When we got home we popped them in the oven for 20 minutes and the food was delicious! Would highly recommend them as a caterer!
Lindsey B
5.0
8/15/2021
I would highly recommend Tangerine for your big day! The staff were creative, flexible, and professional. Cherry was an absolute gem, and they even made special scones and crumpets for our English country wedding. Their service was above and beyond! Thank you folks for an amazing wedding luncheon!
Erin W
5.0
7/28/2020
Absolutely loved everything about working with Susan! She was so flexible regarding menu planning, service, etc. as we had to make several changes due to getting married during COVID-19. Every detail was thoughtfully executed and the food was incredible... our friends and family are still talking about how good the food was! I look forward to the next opportunity to hire Susan and Tangerine because they are truly amazing!
Patrick K
5.0
11/22/2019
One of the key things we wanted to make sure we got right at our wedding was the food. When we talked about our plans for food, Tangerine was at the top of a very short list of caterers that our wedding planner knew could do what we wanted. And he was right. Susan was a pleasure to work with as we finalized our menu. She knew just how to round out each of our food stations, and the pie bar topped off the night. We've had multiple guests comment on how good the food was. Tangerine will be my first stop the next time I need a caterer!
Lindsey B
5.0
11/12/2018
We are so glad we chose Tangerine to cater our fall wedding! The food was delicious, our assortment of wedding pies mouth-watering, and Cherry & Susan and their whole staff were so good to work with - kind and consummate professionals. We'd recommend them to anyone!
Heather D
5.0
7/20/2018
Susan at Tangerine Food Company was friendly and easy to work with. Our food was incredible at both the tasting and wedding reception. I received several compliments from our guests regarding the food we served at the reception. The dessert table was also a great hit with our guests.
Emily L
5.0
10/06/2016
Tangerine came highly recommended by every wedding vendor that we met with for their service and quality. We were very pleased with the results. Susan was extremely organized and made me feel like we were in good hands. Their servers were pleasant and provided excellent service. My only (small) complaints are that they didn't have the bread and salads served on the tables as we requested and one of the entrees was not warm enough. However, the food was completely DELICIOUS! We got rave reviews from all the guests, and the cost was definitely reasonable. Good luck with your event!
Lindsay F
5.0
10/06/2014
I had an insane plan for my wedding catering. My husband is Indian, I'm a vegetarian, and my family is old-fashioned Iowan. Several guests had never tried Indian food before, while other guests had never been to an American wedding before. So, we decided to have a bit of a small plate/stations smorgasbord, giving everyone a chance to have something they recognized as well as try something new! Plus, I wouldn't be stuck with a blah "vegetarian option" made as an after thought.
Tangerine didn't balk for a minute. We brainstormed up a menu, and then edited it to an equally awesome menu when I nervous about the price. I sent random Indian food recipes from the internet - the Indians in attendance loved the result. We only had a chicken option, but no one even noticed because there was such a variety, all so tasty, and so well presented (and believe me, I get a lot of guff from the family about being vegetarian - it would have come up!). My only critique is that the bacon was added to the Iowa Potato Salad instead of left out on the side, which bummed my veggie heart, because it looked fabulous.
And the dessert table. Oh, you guys, the dessert table. I said, "individuals servings of good things." And they blew it out of the water. Our photographer spent 15 minutes taking glamor shots of the desserts. We had basically nothing left on the table afterwards, because everyone wanted to try more of all of it.
Professional waitstaff, flexible and adaptable planning, and reasonable pricing.
Marsha S
5.0
6/17/2014
They were more than willing to work with us. They listened and made suggestions. Their servers went above and beyond while they were there.
Paula Y
5.0
8/31/2013
I spoke with several caterers before I met with Cherry at The Tangerine Food Co. Being a foodie, the food at our wedding was the most important aspect to us and we wanted a variety for our guests. Cherry and her staff hit it out of the park with a variety of food stations and desserts. Everyone loved the food and cocktails and the service was outstanding. I never had to worry about a thing! Would highly recommend them to anyone who wants great food and great service at their event!
Emma E
5.0
8/06/2013
I knew I could relax after having my first meeting with Tangerine Food Company. They took are of anything having to do with the meal and were excellent about listening to what I wanted but also offering their wisdom and advice to help make the day run smoothly.
The food was amazing of course! They even made our wedding cake. We wanted something simple but delicious and they sure delivered! If you're looking for scrumptious food with great service and a company you can trust, look no further!
Service area & Contact info
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Serving Des Moines and outside Metro
Typically included in the starting cost
Travel area: Within 25 miles
Additional charges may apply
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The Tangerine Food Company
Susan Madorsky
|
Owner / CEO
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The Tangerine Food Company
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