Oh my gosh, I can't say enough good things about this amazing chef! You can literally taste the…read morelove, intention and care she puts into every bite. The food is always nourishing, clean, healthy, sustainable and incredibly delicious!!! I love how creative and flexible she is with my different dietary restrictions. I could never come up with all the great ideas she has on my own and luckily I don't have to! Her meal delivery and her catered events have all been a smash hit, from vegan to paleo, she's got it down!

Farmgirl catered my wedding last July. We asked for an entirely gluten-free, vegan menu and not…read moreonly did Chef Kimber manage to meet our friends/family's dietary restrictions, but the food was AMAZING. She made a Thai feast that impressed my wife's Thai mom (not an easy thing to do as she is also an incredible cook) and left all of our guests happily satisfied. Even our guests who are adamantly carnivorous loved it. And that's saying something. I can't recommend Chef Kimber more. She's easy to work with, responds promptly to any questions and is a master in the kitchen. Brava!

Bridgette is an inspiring chef! She guided our group methodically and with a joie de vivre that was…read morerefreshing. We made whipped feta crostini with strawberries and a honey drizzle. We learnt how to make a delicious salad dressing base along with a citrus Fennel salad. Then the main dish: a seared chicken cutlet with a lemon butter sauce. Yum! I highly recommend Bridgette Andersen for any of your cooking class/catering needs. And Kim at the Painted Cork was the hostess with the mostest

The Free Spirit Kitchen catered my baby shower tea party and the food was absolutely delicious!…read moreBridgette put together a fantastic menu that worked for those with food sensitivities and intolerances, all while keeping with my desire for fresh, local, and organic. Several guests commented on how delicious the food was. Bridgette also made a wonderful tea blend that my guests thoroughly enjoyed. It was such a joy to work with her and her company. We will definitely be using them again when we have a catered event!

Coming across SettheMesa's owner Kristen Sagana who connected me to Chef Carli Parisi while I was…read morein search mode for a charcuterie catering service in our resort suite for our 50th Wedding Anniversary was the best thing ever! After the reception the plan was to have guests continue with the celebration and enjoy drinks/cocktails, appetizers for a relaxing afternoon through the evening while relishing some sun and beach fun. Arranging this was a breeze and communication with both of them was so streamlined and prompt that everything was set up without a hitch. They both took all my needs and requests into account plus made suggestions that made everything come together beautifully. Chef Carli Parisi and Kristen Sagana, owner of SettheMesa together delivered an awesome Charcuterie spread for our 50th Wedding Anniversary venue!!!! It was an unbelievably beautiful and delicious combination of cold and hot pupus that our guests enjoyed throughout the celebration!!!! Even after the reception and the limited space we had at the resort suite, they made it so inviting that guests dove right into the variety of fresh, delectable combination of appetizers. Not only was the food A++++, they set it up so so exquisitely stunning!!! Our guests were so pleased that they posted pictures of the suite fun in the social medias. I am so lucky and pleased to cross paths with these beautiful ladies!!! SUPERBLY AWESOME!

We had the absolute best experience with Carli as our private chef. She cooked for my family for…read moretwo nights, and every dish was incredible, truly some of the best food I've had on the island. Beyond her talent in the kitchen, Carli has such a warm, likable personality and immediately made us feel comfortable having her in our home. She went above and beyond to make everything special, thoughtfully adjusting the menu for my dad since he doesn't like raw fish, and even surprising him with a lei, which meant so much to us. The meals felt personal, intentional, and beautifully done. I will absolutely be hiring Carli again and recommending her to all my friends. If you're considering a private chef, she's a total standout.

We LOVE Mickey. She is just the sweetest person to work with and we really loved having her cater…read moreour wedding. She even got down with us on the dance floor! Mickey was so great to work with, we would highly recommend her for any catering needs. She was very professional, prompt and so easy going. We changed our venue, guest count and catering needs 3 months before our wedding, Mickey not only adapted to our changes but was so flexible- it took a huge stressor off our shoulders. She was very clean and diligent about upholding any changes needed for COVID. We would highly recommend Mickey for anyone needing a caterer for a party/wedding.

How many weddings do you go to where the guests all comment on how good the food was and how…read moreorganized and friendly the caterer is? None right? Mickey catered my wedding a couple of weeks ago and I think I got more compliments about her then on my dress! I think after a wedding most people want to know when they can see photos, but my guests want to know where they can buy Mickey's sauce and candied basil! Working with Mickey was an absolute joy. She was very organized and communicative throughout the process. I choose a venue where we had to do everything from rent tables to dinnerware to buy ice. This seemed like a very daunting task when I started out, but Mickey held my hand the entire time and made sure everything was perfect! From my perspective, the day of was perfect. I'm sure something went wrong, but I didn't notice a thing because Mickey and her staff handled all of it. Mickey even made the time to go to each and every table at the wedding and make sure the guests had everything they need. I also want to mention that a lot of our 185 wedding guests have special food allergies, and Mickey accommodated all of them! I also told Mickey prior to the event that I get hungry-cranky, and she must have come up to me once an hour to make sure I had food if I needed it. I've since learned that the rental place provided us with a few broken umbrellas and other items. Mickey kept track of everything and took the initiative to contact the rental place for me and demand a refund. This is just one example of how Mickey treats her customers, like royalty. On top of how great working with Mickey is, she is a genuinely charming and extremely talented individual. She won't brag about herself because she is to humble; but Google her. There are some articles out there that will tell you just how talented Mickey is!

Kiss Catering recently did an AMAZING job catering the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz…read moreCounty's Annual Day on the Bay Regatta at the Yacht Club. Every single thing about their services were spot on and top quality. The menu they created, the amazing food and staffing they provided and their great attitudes and professionalism were top notch. I have also eaten at their cafe in Scotts Valley and was incredibly impressed - the selection, quality of food and ability to eat inside or on a nice outside patio were impressive. I will be back and we will definitely use them again for future events. This is an exceptional family run business with tremendous catering services.

My recent experience with this great company and terrific staff makes me want to host events more…read moreoften. The quality of service, food and staffing was one of the best I've ever had. I highly recommend Kiss Catering for your next event.

The ultimate foodie fish tacos with handmade tortillas, spicy aioli for flair, pickled onion, and…read morefreshly caught fish from our nearby waters. Good food in an already great environment, Companion Bakeshop, which if you haven't been, you're missing out, because they make the best breads in town and also host pizza night, oh and the bakery is also open for us bake lovin' folks. I had the COMBO* plate, which has both the YAM-BEAN taco and the Snapper taco, because you know, I'm indecisive that way. Having recently been introduced to the fine arts of fishin', Snapper Taco blew me out of the water. *Ok, if you've read my other post you know that I'm somewhat price conscious, at $14 for the combo plate, I straddled between compromising curiosity for economics, but the enviro side of me kicked in with arguments for quality ingredients. In the end, I'm glad to have tried both main dishes, I was SUPER well fed, my tastebuds were joyfully singing, so much so when I finally (big portions take a while to ingest) made it to my dance class, food comma ensued, and well... lets just say that my barre exercises were on the comically lethargic side. Yam-Bean, I'm hooked.

Upon the recommendation of another local caterer, I hired David of The Yam & Bean to cater a…read morespecial event at my home this past weekend. David created and executed a perfect menu - as I write this, I'm savoring the scrumptious leftover morsels from the day, lamenting their inevitable depletion and regretting that there weren't more no-shows to my party so I could have even more leftovers. The food is THAT good. In addition to spectacular eats, David and his staff provided outstanding service leading up to and including the big day. They took care of everything so I could enjoy being present. I would absolutely recommend The Yam and Bean.

Look no further. Erika is the only caterer you need for all occasions…read more Erika catered my bridal shower in May- Southern fare for a lovely ladies' lunch in my mother's backyard. She also helped with the party rentals from Alexis. Erika also catered our wedding at Bargetto Winery in October. Passed apps, beautiful seasonal dinner, even helped with cake decor. I'll spare you the minutiae, emotional roller coaster, and family needs on my end. Erika is the best you can get! She is dependable, communicative, calm, enthusiastic, and accommodating. We're still getting compliments on her filet with reduction and macaroni and cheese. I will not hesitate to call her for any future special events we host.

My daughter got married May 20 and Erika catered our wedding, the food was amazing and Erika was…read moreamazing as well ! We enjoyed the summer menu .

WOW! Where do I begin? I first spoke with Kim about 4mo before our wedding. We live in the SF Bay…read moreArea, she's in Santa Cruz and the venue was in Monterey. Right off the bat I connected with her on our first phone call, and she not only listened to what we wanted, she heard it. We had a very specific menu that we wanted, and I told her I'd be open to suggestions in a couple of areas. Essentially our menu request was a Family Style Italian dinner with: Caprese salad, Caesar salad, Chicken Saltimbocca,and a pasta. I told her we wanted to use local ingredients like crab, artichokes, etc., and was open to suggestions for appetizers as long as they fit the overall Italian theme, and type of pasta. Kim promptly provided us with a quote for the menu requested, and the appetizers she suggested were: Crab Cakes, Blissful Benedict Bites, Squash Sippers, and a Gorgonzola and Port Wine Poached Pears cheesecake along with an array of cheese, fruit etc. and the pasta recommendation she made was a penne in Thyme infused Asiago, and she also recommended grilled artichokes as a vegetable side at dinner. I think she may have made a couple of other recommendations but the above is what we went with. Let's just say Kimberley's Catering is the only caterer we didn't do a tasting with. We had been underwhelmed by the caterers we had done tastings with, and while we would have loved to have had a tasting with Kim she doesn't do formal tastings and my husband and I just didn't have time to try and negotiate making other arrangements with her to do something for us. At the end of the day we selected Kim for the following reasons: 1. First and foremost she respected our wishes and prepared a quote for what we asked for, while every other caterer we contacted ignored our menu request either in its entirety and tried to push us towards what they wanted us to take, or, had one or two of the menu items we requested and then directed us to what they wanted us to take. Seriously, when a potential client calls and says "this is the menu we want, can you do it?" and they say yes but don't quote it, do they seriously think they're going to get your business? I even had on caterer who it took two weeks to get a quote from and when it came through she had the audacity to say "I wanted to make sure to do your quote personally and give it the attention it deserved" and she didn't quote a single menu item I had requested! But I digress... 2. Kim sounded excited about the opportunity to cater our wedding while the others made us feel as though we'd be lucky if they catered for us. 3. Kim came in at a lower price! Certainly this makes one stand up and take notice, but considering she was the only one we didn't do a tasting with, it could have been disastrous. 4. She asked to come see the venue. One of the caterers had implied on the half dozen calls I had with them, that they were familiar with our venue and had catered there before. When we went down for a tasting with them, we learned they had never catered there before but "it won't be a problem..." Considering their food was "eh" "nice" "okay", they quickly got booted from consideration for having lied to us. When Kim met me in Monterey and drove to the venue with me, she was excited! Considering this was a private residence and the kitchen was not licensed for catering use, Kim didn't bat an eye and assured me that this was no problem for her and her crew. When I got home from having met Kim face to face and going to the venue, I announced to my husband "We have a caterer!" He said "did you talk to her about arranging for her to cater a dinner for us so we can do a tasting?" I told him I hadn't because I couldn't see when we'd have time to do it, and that I had a good feeling about her. OMG! The venue was perfect (casaborondamonterey.com), the day was perfect, and Kim's food was PERFECT!!! More than a month later our guests are still talking about how fabulous the food was! In addition to the menu as noted above, Kim threw in another appetizer, a seared ahi tuna that was amazing, and an array of roasted vegetables at no extra charge (because she thought they would go well with our menu...that's artistry!). I might also add that our wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, sit down family style dinner, cake cutting and dance area were all happening within one space, albeit at common as well as different ends of a courtyard area. Kim's crew seamlessly transitioned one area to the next, unobtrusively and very politely. I can't recommend Kim and her crew highly enough, and would hire them again in a heartbeat. As a matter of fact finances permitting, we'd like to go back to Casa Boronda for our first wedding anniversary and hire Kim to come down and cater our wedding menu for just the two of us.

Kim catered our wedding at Pajaro Dunes in October, 2011. She and her staff were outstanding in…read moreevery way, and I cannot recommend her enough. Kim's advantage over other catering companies boils down to three things: 1) scalability (she can do a small dinner party or a 300+ person wedding); 2) professionalism (responsive, great staff); and 3) creativity. Kim's background is in event planning. This is important. I really recommend asking your caterer how they got involved in the business. There are lots of people out there who are great cooks and decide they'll do catering - but getting it right is probably 10% cooking and 90% event planning. If the food tastes great, but your guests have to wait in a long line for it, or they run out, then what's the point? Kim had everything worked out really well and made it appear seamless on the day of the event despite some significant unforseen events. She made sure to visit the site well in advance of the event, made helpful suggestions and gave us a variety of creative options. Kim works primarily with Alexis Party Rentals for linens and china. Although she will work with other vendors, she recommended Alexis and that worked out well. We met at the Alexis showroom with Kim and picked out the placesettings, linens and some other decorations. Kim coordinates the delivery and set up and then charges a handling fee based on what you order through Alexis. So you pay Kim directly and she takes care of the details - it's well worth it for one less detail to worry about. Keep in mind that you do need to rent china and linens so don't forget to budget for that! Even with that cost, Kim's quote was very reasonable with a great menu from her plus the rentals. I've had restaurants do drop-off catering for almost as much and the food was no where near comparable, never mind the extras you get with Kim. We had no idea what we wanted to serve and she made some great suggestions. We ended up with salad, mushroom risotto, vegetables, napa chicken and tri-tip. She also did some outstanding appetizers including a butternut squash soup that was divine. Our guests raved about the risotto but really all the food was good. Kim doesn't do tastings, but if she's catering a large event she might be able to bring you a plate if you really, really have to try her food. We didn't end up tasting anything prior to the event which goes against all the "wedding planning" conventional wisdom, but we had multiple recommendations for Kim from people we knew and trusted. Kim works with a great event staff. Everyone we dealt with was incredibly pleasant and professional, particularly the bartender. You know how sometimes you go to a wedding and the staff are kind of propped against a wall, looking angry and tired? None of that here. Kim's staff smiled at everyone and really contributed to the upbeat, welcoming feeling we wanted. I very much hope I'll have the opportunity to work with her again soon. As far as I'm concerned, we've found the only caterer we ever need.