I debated writing this review because my opinions are so mixed and I don't like dissing people who…read moreare working for a living. The easiest way to explain is with bullet points:
* Sam was very good at responding promptly 100% of the time whenever I reached out to him.
*Sam was responsive when I wanted to add a food item last minute.
* Sam's staff did a good job with setup and clean up (at the end of the party).
* Sam's staff wore the themed outfits I requested (50's style soda shop clothing).
* Sam's staff did a good job plating the desserts I SUPPLIED.
* When I first interviewed Sam for the job, I asked him if he'd ever catered a party at my venue. He said yes, many times. I came to find out that his reply was patently UNTRUE. The venue manager (who has been with the venue since it opened six years ago) told me the only time he was there was years ago to do a taste testing for a bride and groom who did not choose to use him because they didn't care for his food. He never catered a party there and was not honest with me about that. Bad on me, that should have been a red flag.
* We were seventy people and I said I wanted a soda shop theme for food. We decided upon burgers, hot dogs and fries. Last minute (two days before the party) I realized we didn't have enough food options, pointed out to me by my sister and a friend. I would have thought it the job of the caterer to suggest that I didn't have enough choices for my guests! (Never offered other entree ideas, desserts, etc.) I ended up running to COSTCO the day before the party to "fill in the gaps" with bags of chips, cookies and pastries.
* We offered burgers and hot dogs (added grilled cheese last minute) and fries, as well as milk shakes and soft serve ice cream. Sam told me he wanted to do the grilling right next to the serving tables but was informed by the venue party leader that he could not do that and needed to grill away from the set-up. The venue manager and leader both VEHEMENTLY denied that Sam was told that, they said they ALWAYS allow the caterer to grill by the serving stations. Because of that, the burgers and grilled cheese were barely lukewarm and the hot dogs were cold, despite being in chafing dishes. Sam said it was the wind that cooled things off. (His comment that the venue denied him the ability to cook where it would be warmer was patently UNTRUE.)
* The macaroni salad and cole slaw were not kept cold and it was a fairly warm afternoon;
* Sam supplied a soft serve ice cream maker which was going to be the highlight. ALL my guests that I questioned said their ice cream was like soup and the reason I even asked them about it in the first place was because I saw it for myself! The ice cream was pure liquid. Additionally, when I questioned Sam about this issue after the party, he told me it was the fault of the electrical system because the venue did not have the proper ampage. PATENTLY UNTRUE. The venue has a fully up-to-date electrical system to accomodate a soft-serve machine AT THE VERY LEAST. The venue hosts large weddings and events with full bands (we just used our own Spotify play list), DJ's, lighting systems, etc. (NONE OF WHICH WE HAD) and is perfectly capable of running a soft serve machine. Sam told me at some point he decided to start serving hand-scooped ice cream to compensate but by then very few people wanted to have it because they were turned off. The milk shakes were just okay. When I went to find Sam to ask him about the problem, he was nowhere to be found. When I called him after the party to discuss this, he said he stayed on premises until 2:30 (the party ended at 3) but again, that was patently UNTRUE because I was looking for him at approximately 1:15 and his staff told me he'd left awhile ago;
* We added veggie burgers to accommodate vegetarians but these were not labeled on the display for the guests and I only found out after the event that the vegetarians did not even know they had that option.
* Because the food was essentially a self-serve, the staff spent a lot of time out of the view of guests, taking selfies and playing on their phones. I know this because I went looking for them to ask questions periodically. The venue leader also complained to me that the staff were busy on their phones rather than standing by the serving stations to make sure no one needed anything. There was ZERO staff-to-guest interaction by the food. Additionally, I the did not clean away dirty plates, glasses, napkins and forks. Guests were left to clean up after themselves. The staff said they were only responsible for cleaning their own prep and display sections (which they did well), not where the guests ate.
* When I asked MANY guests (25+) for their opinions about the food, their answers were resoundingly the same: 1.) The food was cold; 2.) The burgers were just adequate but not particularly great quality meat and very thin patties; 3.) The grilled cheese (which Sam made with shredded cheese) was barely ch