In Search of Magical Elves: Finding a Caterer

So a couple of posts back I clued you all in on our empty venue situation and the relief in discovering the world of full-service caterers. As I mentioned, our reception site has a list of "preferred caterers" (aka "magical elves" whom are familiarized with the historic site's layout and rules and capable of turning our empty reception hall into a fully-furnished and beautiful event) so, needless to say, I was pleased to have a starting point but also a bit concerned. If we chose to not sign with one of their caterers we would incur a $1000 fee. I knew about the penalty before I signed the venue's contract but was still a bit worried that I wouldn't click with any of their caterers (and in such case not looking forward to dishing out an extra thousand bucks).

I started at the top of the list and contacted each company for a general quote. By doing so, I was very quickly able to eliminate about half of the caterers (they were too expensive for my frugal liking). From the remaining companies, one seemed to stand out among the rest. Initially it was because I recognized their name from their starring role in a beautiful wedding at our reception site:

 Recognize this photo from a certain post by our very own Miss Tartlet?

Above images via Choco Studio

The bride who planned this wedding that I secretly coveted was obviously a kindred spirit (same venue, similar color scheme, a vintage air) so I was sure I could trust her choice of caterer right?

Right!

So after a fairly general quote and some e-mail correspondence with a lovely lady from the catering company, we setup a tasting for me, Mr. Seal and Mama Seal. I really had no idea what to expect going into it, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of fun we had.

We were warmly greeted by the woman I had been working with from Checkers Catering and I immediately got good vibes. She took us for a tour of their facility (including a stop in the kitchen where all of the yummy food-makin' magic happens!) and then up to the room where we would be served our meal.

To start off, we were presented with three delicious appetizers. Mmmm. I scarfed these down so quickly that I failed to capture a picture—but trust me, they were amazing.

Next we were brought an absolutely yummy Caesar salad (I only remembered to take the picture after eating half of it). I am not a big Caesar salad fan, but this was scrumptious.

Mama Seal enjoyed the Caesar salad too.

The salad was followed by a Mediterranean flank stank and Chicken Picatta duet served with a side of mashed potatoes (a blend of yukon and yams) and grilled veggies:

It looked so much prettier before I started digging into it ravenously, I swear.

Close-up of the flank steak

Their Chicken Picatta was the most tender chicken I've ever tasted.

After filling our bellies with yummy, we sat down with the catering coordinator to discuss tables, chairs and linens. We all fell in love with this woman and her confidence and knowledge of our venue. If we signed with the company, not only would we get an affordable deal on some of THE most delicious food I've tasted (and I'm a foodie), but we would get this wonderful woman as our day-of coordinator and her amazing staff of magical elves to setup, run and take-down everything on the wedding day. Having that sense of responsibility lifted from our shoulders alone was worth a million bucks.

We were all sold. I really thought we were going to need to go to a few tastings before signing with anyone, but this just felt right. So, with one caterer consultation under our belt we signed the contract and wrote the check for the deposit!

Was finding a caterer this easy for you? How many tastings did you go to before finding "the one"?