Unfortunately, I did not have a great experience and would not recommend The Kitchen Door for a…read morelarge wedding or event. Betty has many positive reviews, which is one of the reasons I hired her, so my assumption is that smaller events may be a better fit for her business. However, based on my experience with a wedding of over 100 guests, I would not hire her again. The overall customer experience, communication, staffing, and execution did not meet expectations.
Positives:
* Betty was very helpful during the initial planning process. I originally reached out looking for bartending services, and she was able to provide catering, dinnerware, linens, and other items that reduced the amount of rentals I needed.
* She created a beautiful custom menu and was accommodating when guest counts needed to be updated.
* The appetizer presentation looked great and was well received by guests.
* The enchilada soup was good.
* She provided a cake knife for our cake cutting.
* Food service itself was not excessively slow despite the size of the event.
Negatives:
* The staffing and service provided did not match what was outlined in our contract, and there was never any acknowledgment, explanation, or follow-up regarding those issues.
* Our contract included two bartenders, but only one actually showed up. While the bartender who was present had a good attitude, I was told by guests that he arrived approximately an hour and a half late. I did not even realize until afterward that my friends were pouring me drinks, and guests were serving themselves drinks while waiting for bar service.
* We ran out of food, despite six guests from my final headcount not attending, 14 of the guests being children, and three people that I know of not eating due to there being no food available.
* There were no plates available when appetizers were first being served
* We also did not have enough utensils for guests, and plastic utensils had to be used. I would have rented plates and utensils if that's what was needed. But I was told that she had them, which she did but not enough.
* Communication became increasingly stressful after booking and I often felt uncomfortable asking questions or making updates.
* I was contacted for final payment before the payment date outlined in our contract, which created unnecessary stress as I had intentionally planned my RSVP deadline around the contract timeline.
* a little bit before the wedding, concerns regarding the venue change were raised (not kindly). I had previously asked what would be needed at the venue and was told that power was the primary requirement, so that was my understanding going into the event. There appeared to be a miscommunication regarding additional needs, including concerns about water access that had already been discussed prior to the wedding. While a solution was ultimately worked out and water was available on the wedding day, the way these concerns were communicated created unnecessary stress during an already busy and emotional time.