Mary and her team catered our wedding. We were so grateful to her for not only her talent for delicious food, but also for her kindness and investment in the success of our special day. She hosted us in her home for a tasting, and visited the venue with us to get the lay of the land. Her team were wonderful and our guests raved (10/10 recommend the squash lasagna). She also was so kind as to ensure I had my favorite cheese for the charcuterie! Thank you, Mary!! read more

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Mary jumped in with both feet with very short notice to cater a party for 45. You don't have any idea how grateful I am! Her food was off the charts AMAZING. The salmon disappeared in a flash, and the chicken and vegetarian dish disappeared soon after that. Mary was on time and brought two assistants who kept the tables and kitchen clean and clear. I am STILL impressed with their professionalism. My guests were very impressed, and are still sending me compliments on how good the food was. Thank My favorite were the pear/Gorgonzola appetizer pastry bites. I could have eaten those all night long. Wait - the stuffed mushrooms were really good too! Honestly, zero complaints and LOTS of kudos to Mary for making the perfect party happen. I HIGHLY recommend Mary @ Conscious Catering! read more

Mary Marlet's Conscious Catering - Just laying out the table - so sorry I didn't wait till the table was fully stocked to take the picture. It was so beautiful! - Caterers Near Me

Mary did an amazing job catering our wedding in Penn Valley of 90 guests. From the start - tasting her sample dishes - we knew that she not only was an excellent cook but she expressed love in her work. Mary was incredible easy to work with as a vendor and utilized very little of our time through the planning process. She rolls with much of her own kitchen which allows her to be nimble and adapt to the situation rather easily. We did buffet style and the food was served hot and on-time. The vegetarians and special diets were attended to with the same high regard as the others. The food went quick and had rave reviews. I would call Mary for any catering event in and around the sierras. read more

Mary's food was delicious. Everyone at my party commented on it. I was a little concerned because I made some very specific requests, and that can ruin a recipe. Mary handled it like a champ. She was very understanding and brought a great helper. I think this caterer probably shines when supporting smaller parties or bigger events that are well organized and have support staff and/or a planner. Thanks again Mary! read more

We had Mary cater our wedding and could not have been happier with the food and our experience from start to finish. Working with Mary felt like working with a family member, you could tell she was not just professionally on top of things, but emotionally invested in the event as well. She hosts tastings in her own home which is beautiful and felt so much more personal than other caterers we met with. As for planning the event, she worked closely with us and the rental company to make sure things went exactly as we wanted and was very flexible to help tailor things specifically to our event and save money. For example we really wanted to do family style, and Mary went out of her way to personally purchase platters and serving utensils to add to her own collection to reduce rental cost. Additionally, we had hors d'oeuvres before and after the ceremony and she allowed us to customize items and portions in a way that ended up saving a bunch of cost. The food itself was absolutely incredible! Our main menu included: -Sesame crusted Salmon with a Ginger Miso Glaze, grilled Pineapple Salsa and Sticky Rice Cakes -Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce with Baby Roasted Potatoes in Olive Oil and Herbs -Grilled Seasonal Vegetables tossed in Olive Oil, Balsamic & Fresh Basil -Farm Fresh Baby Greens with walnuts, dried cherries, goat cheese and balsamic dressing Across the board, she worked closely with us to customize items to ensure that menu was cohesive and balanced, using in-season produce, which she grows in her own garden. Additionally, she was very accommodating of kids and family members with food allergies and made separate dishes just for them. We got so many compliments from people on the food, many said it was the best wedding food they had ever had - and we agree! The presentation throughout the day was spectacular, and the staff were professional and warm. Several people commented that they loved the friendly bartenders and had positive interactions with the waitstaff. Our wedding was very DIY with so many details to fall into place, but we didn't have to put a single thought to the food, setup, or timing of things the whole day. We really had the best wedding we could have possibly imagined and are so happy we went with Mary for our catering! read more

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A wedding is one of the most important days of a person's life, so each vendor at a wedding has a responsibility to take the event very seriously. When there are so many vendors available to a couple tying the knot, how do they choose? They need to go with a company that has a reputation for professionalism, AND goes above and beyond to communicate their needs with the wedding planner and/or bride/groom. When Mary's catered my friend's wedding, there wasn't a wedding coordinator - but a good catering company (such as the one that did my own wedding) should know the flow to an event such as this. There were many misunderstandings between the caterer and the couple - trash cans, appetizers, the wedding cake, buffet location, etc. A bride is getting married for the first time, and doesn't know all the questions to ask. A caterer is the one with experience in the matter, and should provide the bride with a very clear set of absolute requirements and a reasonable timeline they can both agree to. At this reception, our plates and the family-style serving plates sat on the tables for an HOUR after people finished eating. If a bride is on a budget and she cannot afford the number of servers that the event needs, a caterer needs to either say, "this is my reputation and therefore my final price," or suggest to the bride she cut down on her guest list to afford the catering. Otherwise, it reflects poorly on the caterer that they accommodated the bride's budget... but made the guests suffer the consequences. However, I don't think this was an issue of being understaffed, as much as it was lack of care: several catering staff were standing around using their cell phones. I was frustrated for my dear friend, and several times almost took it upon myself as a guest to interrupt a text-messaging staff member and ask them to start working. The food was average, but that wasn't as disappointing as the rest of it. read more

I have been to a few events where Mary was the caterer. The food was always excellent and the service was top notch. The food is hot and ready when requested but events don't always stay on time. Wedding parties should consider their part in all of this. Regarding plates sitting on the tables, this occasionally happens when toasts are being made. It could be considered impolite to make noise and get in the way of guests. read more

As I review Mary Martel's Conscious Catering, let me first start by saying that Mary, herself, is a wonderful cook. When we went to our tasting, I was blown away by how wonderful absolutely everything was. We booked Mary to cater our wedding based solely on that tasting, however, as our wedding grew closer, the administrative side of things started to fall apart: 1. Mary did not contact me to get final details; I had to get in touch with her. By time she got everything figured out, it was a week before the wedding. 2. We did not even get a contract until that point and it was then that we found out all of the little things that we were being charged for in addition to the cost per person per entrée and appetizer. It ended up being significantly higher than we had been quoted. 3. When I asked her for a price breakdown, she refused stating that she was too busy! 4. Because of the significant difference between the actual bill and what we anticipated, my groom and I decided to put the remainder on a credit card. We discussed this thoroughly with Mary during that week only for her to tell us 2 days before the wedding that she was unable to take a credit card because her Square account limit had been reached for the month and she couldn't take the hit to have it held according to the policies of the Square Company. I found it completely unprofessional of her, as a business owner, to make the client, her customer, inconvenienced because of her lack of ability to handle her own money. But, again we were willing to overlook this, because of how much we were looking forward to great food at the wedding. 5. In addition, while we were trying to take care of all of this over the phone, she was very unprofessional and even hung up on me once! (To her credit, she e-mailed us much later apologizing and stating she would be changing her policy for future customers in order to avoid this problem with credit cards; but, again, it should have never been our problem in the first place.) On the day of the wedding, this whole issue was the furthest thing from my mind until I was informed that the caterer was an hour late. Then I was asked what we wanted done with the order of ice tea glasses that seemed to be extra. They were extra! We never ordered them; something we would have known about had we gotten the breakdown of expenses that we asked for several times. We had to pay for something we didn't even want. Then it was time for the wedding dinner, and that was the final blow. I would have been willing to overlook the preceding if the food had been what we were expecting. Unfortunately, that was so not the case: 1. When it came time to eat, the wedding party was served first and our food was cold! 2. We were charged $3.50 per person for appetizers, and most people only got one, when we ordered two per person! 3. The lemon mashed potatoes were so runny that most guests couldn't tell if they were potatoes, polenta, or something else. The flank steak was bland leaving more than one table asking for salt, and the pasta tasted "off". 4. More than a few guests got sick and missed the remainder of the reception. 5. The lemonade, ice tea and coffee that were supposed to be provided by the caterer were nowhere to be found. 6. And the final straw - when the cake was cut, the pieces where so small that we ended up having 2 extra sheet cakes. On a positive note, Mary did provide an extra bartender and server at her own cost, because she didn't think the amount we had discussed was going to be enough. This was very sweet of her, but she didn't provide the even basics of what we wanted - good food. Granted, there is a difference between cooking for 3 and cooking for 135, but shouldn't a professional caterer know how to make up that difference? If I could go back and do it again, the caterer would be the first thing that we changed. Mary was unprofessional, and the quality of the service she provided was low at best. I would not recommend using her services. read more

Do not hire Conscious Catering!!!! I wish I had written this review right after I attended my friend's wedding because I had a lot more to say then, but here goes! I saw the menu before I attended this wedding and was very excited to try the food. It sounded amazing...but what we really got was horrible!!! The tri-tip was cold, tough and flavorless. It left many people in search of something so simple, salt!! There wasn't any salt to be found, by the way. I was served one hard end-piece of bread which was okay, it tasted like bread at least. The potatoes were confused by many as soup, I did not even attempt to try those. Later on in the night I was lectured by the bartender for not returning with my glass when getting more wine...(mine was taken off of my table). To top off my night, I got sick from the food and missed the couple's first dance! Sadly, there was quite a few people running to the bathroom and even people going across the park, through the dark, to get to other bathrooms! It seems to me that this company doesn't know what they're doing. They weren't prepared for any kind of event, of any size and they should never, ever cook for anyone ever again! I'm actually starting to think they didn't even cook the food my friend tried during her tasting or they lied about what they would actually be serving. If you want to get food poising from horrible food, then this company is exactly what you're looking for! read more

We had a luncheon for a corporate event that was catered by Mary and Conscious Catering. She was very professional and timely with her management of our event. Mary's food was excellent, healthy, and delicious. All of the feedback from the attendees on the food was very positive. I would certainly use Mary for events I will be producing in the future. read more

Excellent food and great service. Organic veggies and the crew is friendly and courteous. Mary is very pleasant and helpful. Reasonable price too for a delicious catered meal read more

The wedding business seems to be one of the most challenging businesses to be in. My fiancé and I have been very careful who we have hired to assist us for our wedding, and we are both so grateful to have come across Mary more than a year ago. We are getting married in Nevada City, though we live in Los Angeles. We have had two tastings with Mary and they have been top notch...coming from two foodies. I find most wedding food to be crap, and the food we have chosen is so delicious and exciting. Mary and I have been in contact consistently from everything from bar menu, rentals (she has been so so helpful with this), as well as other tid bits of info that has really assisted me in this planning process. She even helped me find someone for our rehearsal dinner. I feel like people have unrealistic expectations when they are not willing to pay the price. We are on a budget, but are still hiring an extra server and bartender to make things go more smoothly. I am very organized, and expect a lot out of service and Mary has completely met all of my hopes and expectations. Not only that, Mary is a wonderful person. My fiancé and I really enjoyed her company both tastings, and we love supporting someone who is only using the finest ingredients, focuses on sustainability, and cooks with love. I will update this review after the wedding, but I have full confidence that we have chosen Mary as our chef and caterer. UPDATE: In the end, we chose to go with a different caterer (Blue Ginger Catering), so I do not have an update about how the wedding went, other than over 100 guests told us we had the best wedding food they have ever had. read more

Mary catered our annual fundraising event - A Wine & Culinary Adventure - at the North Star House in Grass Valley on June 27, 2014. She did an amazing job in understanding the event and coming up with a very creative menu from four international regions. She provided a food tasting which wowed the committee prior to contracting. Our vegetarian guests were especially enamored with the dishes she provided. High quality, good quantity and outstanding flavor! I hope we can have her back again!! read more

Mary is an amazing caterer, great cook and goes above and beyond for her clients.

Incredible food! Mary was such a pleasure to work with for our wedding. We had a lovely tasting at her house in Grass Valley. We hired her for our outdoor wedding in Browns Valley, CA. She was met with some challenges of having to cook some of the food on site on her grill. The fish and the meat turned out excellent! Perfectly cooked, I got so many compliments from our guests. I have a lot of vegan and vegetarian friends and family and she was able to adjust the menu to meet everyone's dietary needs. She made us two different crostinis for passes appetizers as well as bacon wrapped scallops. For the main entrees, we had cod in a coconut lime dressing, beef tenderloin in a blackberry compote, and a vegan and veggie mousaka which was to die for. We also had a side of black bean quinoa and a caprese salad. We were on a budget and she really helped us maintain our goal. She went above and beyond and even provided a yummy lemonade for our guests. She was professional, communicative and so sweet. I would recommend her to anyone. read more

Mary & her staff were amazing! We looked everywhere for a caterer that would serve local, organic, healthy & conscious food for our corporate function. Turns out Mary has a network of organic farmers that supply her with amazingly flavorful produce for her dishes. We had some "special needs diets" (Raw, Vegan & Paleo) that needed to be accommodated & CC was able to be very creative about it. Prices were more than fair and we were delighted to leave a generous tip! Love it when a business is passionate about what they do & it showed with this group. Thank you Mary & Staff! read more

I was disappointed in the lack of professionalism exhibited by the owner/chef Mary Marlet. We initially confirmed availability of the date for the event, for the chef. Several weeks later we were informed that there was a "conflict" with the date. Then we were told the "best" staff member would cover the event for us, only to be informed a few weeks later that the "best" staff member would now not be available, and would be covered by someone else. When we met at the venue the owner was unprepared with no paperwork, pictures or even a contract. Prices quoted (even in print) escalated, dates double booked, inability to provide a contract until just before the event made me loose faith in her ability to provide services. Less then one week before the event she asked to cancel and in the end we were in agreement as she failed to provide us with the confidence we needed asking someone into our home. read more