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I haven't ever been to a tasting, but if I had went thru what you just went thru, they wouldn't get my business. They should be doing everything & anything to make you happy & comfortable. Answering any questions you might have. If I were you, I would keep looking.
ETA: And if you didn't like the food then, you probably would not like it at your wedding. Just think about it. They did a taste test for 2 people. What would it be like for a whole wedding.......just sayin'.
I agree, if they can't get it right for two people what is going to happen when there are 100+?? I would keep looking also because I do think they should be the ones eager to do anything for your business. There is so much competition in the bridal industry, and the last thing you need is a caterer that doesn't go above and beyond to at least make you feel comfortable.
I think the lack of good hygiene is alarming enough to not hire them.
I honestly don't think many venues even do taste testings. I think the ones you see on the TV bridal shows are definitely the exception to the norm. The best way to find out about a venue's food is by word of mouth. Ask for phone numbers of past brides and call them up and ask them what the food was like. My son's venue uses the restaurant on the premises, so we just anonomously went and had dinner to try it out. The food isn't exactly the same as the wedding menu, but we got a pretty good idea of what the quality of the food will be like.
Woah! Look somewhere else for a caterer ASAP! I totally agree, if they can't get their act together for two people, what the heck is your quality of food going to be like at the wedding?! Flies, gross linens, okay food, terrible customer service. This is a recipe for disaster. People remember the food and the music at a wedding. Those are the two most important things to me. Your guests be driving home at the end of the night and will say 'Oh man, my chicken was really dry and rubbery, how was your beef?! And what the heck was up with the DJ??? That guy sounded like he was announcing strippers!". Either call and have a frank and honest conversation with them, or move on and find someone else.
Whoa, I totally think you should find a different caterer! They sounded totally dirty and unhygenic. Flies? Sick cook? Gross! The tasting SHOULD have been a pleasant experience. Besides, the catering is usually the most expensive part, and you don't want to be paying all that money for crappy food and service.
I don't really know about the service - that could be just a weird abberation. But yeah, the sick cook and the dirty tablecloth and the flies would kind of gross me out. Plus, you didn't LOVE their food! I would look elsewhere, and then you can make a real comparison of what is available in your area.
I think the level of service definitely increases with price. If you are budgeting a decent amount for the caterer, I would not let this happen. If you have a smaller catering budget, I'm not sure if you could find something much better. In either case, it's worth it to keep looking for sure.
Regardless of budget this shouldn't happen-- they shouldn't be rude and they should be clean. Keep looking! you will find a company that treats you better.
go with your gut on this one. If you didn't get a good feeling about it, find someone else.
@GirlWithARing That is actually what I think is going on (we're only spending ~$50 per person for the food) and is exactly why I probably won't go with that vendor. In the game of weddings that amount of money might be chump change but its a lot *to me*.
This caterer has a TON of good reviews online and also lots of word of mouth reviews from other vendors. I suspect these come from people spending a lot more than I am spending, however, I don't think I deserve a lack of common customer service and decency because I'm not spending a ton of money (that I don't have) on food.
Look for a new caterer! OMG that is completely unacceptable, from the presentation to the service to the food to well, everything! I would be very scared to use them for my wedding day, there's no telling what you would walk into and what the food would be like. Small or large budget, that shouldn't happen. Catering is a big expense and you need to know that you can trust them on your wedding day and be happy from the first tasting.
We did our first tasting a few weeks ago and although it wasn't something from Platinum Weddings, I felt like I was getting the royal treatment and it was a wonderful experience, so much so that we knew before we left that we wanted them. The presentation was amazing, the cooridnator sat with us and along wth the chefs, explained each and every dish, and it just an overall warm and special experience.
Before you book a caterer, they should do a tasting with you, I mean how else do you know if you want to book them and like their food? From looking at booking for the rehearsal, reception, and morning after brunch, every vendor we have called do tastings, and that includes restaurants and hotels.
Keep searching, I'm sorry you had such a terrible experience!!
Are you freaking serious? you pay 50 per person and thats the service you are getting? run and def look for another vendor. The flies, the lack of customer service would have enough for me never to contact them again!
Yeah FH says we will not be going with them by any means. Of course, this is going to cause a domino effect in our wedding planning since not using them means its no longer affordable to go with the venue we chose (and put a deposit on). Joy.
My hall didn't do a tasting. We have been there a LOT in the past with other events, so we are familar with the food. The did have an open house, where they had some of their most popular dishes along with new ones they were thinking of adding & invited all their brides. We definately figured out some stuff from that.
We had one tasting at a hall we were considering. It was 25 dollars for our tasting. They made up a veggie dish for me, and a meat one for my FI. We were in their office w/ a made up table, and the chef came in to describe courses. It was odd, but everything was good. The room was nice. We ended up not going with that hall, but it was worth it, we got to see what they were like there.
Sorry you had a bad experience.. maybe you could talk to other people who have been there, and had a reception there about their food. You might even find someone HERE who has been there before.
I am in awe. Our venue offered complimentary catering. The food was just as delicious at the tasting as it was on our wedding day. They had a set a beautiful table and served us champagne. My husband and I did food stations and they served us a sample of each item.
It is so shocking that in this economy a business would not show their full potential. Plus the flies, that is totally disgusting.
I don't care what your budget is, basic sanitary conditions and conversation with the vendor are absolute minimums, not something that only people with high budgets should expect. We didn't do a tasting because we're using a restaurant where we eat frequently, but the manager there has been the kindest, most attentive person of all our vendors- and since the dinner is one of the things that everyone will notice if it goes wrong, having someone who put me at ease was really important.
I'm sorry. I'd agree about not hiring them. I hope there is something else you find that is affordable. Also, were you dealing with the owners? Maybe if there is someone over them, you could go to that person?
Good luck.
go someplace else. no point using ANY vendor who makes you THAT uncomfortable.
Run!
The amount of time they spent on the tasting = the amount of time they will spend preparing for your wedding. I did 3 tastings, and 2 of the 3 were great. They knew the basic details about our menu choices and our wedding date. They made suggestions. They showed us pictures. One of them was terrible--he kept leaving to attend to other things, calls, etc and even though I had already sent in menu choices, he had no idea what I chose!
I love my caterer b/c he is super responsive, was great on the phone with my questions, and his food and attentiveness at the tasting were great too!
My experience was not the norm but not bad. This sounds BAD! I would switch caterers or at least go to a few others quickly for a comparison. I know you have to committ to caterers sometimes THEN get a tasting but maybe you can ask for a tasting first. Or at least visit their office.
That sounds terrible.
Our tasting was amazing. It was at our venue, and the staff had set up a romantic looking table. They provided some wine. We had salad and bread, and a HUGE meal with all of the choices we had made. I mean big servings. Neither of us could possibly finish. We had some time alone, and some time talking with the coordinator. The chef came out to meet us for a few minutes. It was great!
I am sorry you had such a bad experience. I would suggest looking somewhere else if it is not too late!
I don't think it's weird that they left you completely alone while you were eating (I'd prefer it, so you two could discuss without pressure), but the flies and the overall hygiene? gross...
Is there any way you can talk to a favorite restaurant about doing the catering? $50 a person seems like a pretty good price in my opinion, so there should be some other options so that you can keep your venue.
I don't have a favorite restaurant in the area since I'm getting married where FH grew up. Another issue is that the venue has an approved catering list that they won't let me deviate from (have asked).
Onto the hunt for a new caterer...*sigh*
OMG...that's HORRID. The only tasting that we've had to do since our venue doesn't do tastings is cake tasting. And while the bakery we're using has a very small front area with a tiny table for the couple and the baker, everything was clean and hygenic and the baker explained everything to us. She did leave us to taste and discuss the bits of cake but was always near by in case we had a question.
Before you give up on the approved caterers for your venue, call around/email and explain your situation and ask them what they can do for you. Maybe you can get a deal cut? Forgo alcohol or do a cash only bar? Etc.
Good luck!
My venue didn't really do tastings, but would have prepared our menu for us as a regular meal (ie we'd have had to book it like a regular dinner there and pay full price). We didn't bother, because we've had dinner there a couple of times and really like it, even though we haven't tried the particular wedding menu items. I was a bit disappointed though, I wanted to taste little plates of stuff!
Ewwwww.....flies, sick cook, dirty table cloth. I give you credit for even trying the food!!!!!!
Ick. The sick chef, dirtiness, and rudeness would be plenty to make my fiance and I look elsewhere!
I would look for a new caterer as well.
When I do tastings, I sit with the clients and actually taste the food with them. That way I can know what I am speaking to and if they say the food is cold, bland, etc, I will know as well. The chef comes out and explains each item and after every item he comes back to answer any questions they have. I stay there almost the whole time and answer questions as well. If the food is cold at a tasting when they are only preparing food for 2 people, its a pretty good chance its going to be the same or worse at a wedding when they have to prepare for WAY more people. The tasting to me should always be the best of the best, because you are trying to book a client and impress them!
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Maybe I have been watching far too many wedding shows but I though the food tasting was supposed to go a little differently than what I experienced today.
FH and I went to what we thought was going to be The Caterer and were really excited about it. After a 50/50 weekend of wedding meetings (cake baker was great, dj not so much), we were looking forward to a nice meeting with some yummy foods and lots of discussion about our special menu.
We arrived at the caterers place which wasn't much to look at from the outside but lots of gems are tucked away in unexpected places so I wasn't going to judge from that. We walked into what looked to be a masonic office (despite the catering business name outside) that was...a bit unkempt, to put it lightly. There was a business desk with a dirty striped satin table cloth laid over the desk. On that desk were some spoons and forks and 2 glasses with napkins tucked into them.
Happily buzzing away in the room were *several* flies. The caterer mentioned them in passing "oh there are some flies because I left the door open" and proceeded to tell us that the chef WAS going to do a live presentation of one of our stations but wasn't feeling well so she told him to stay in the kitchen. GREAAAAT. We most certainly wanted to know someone sick was preparing our food. She yelled back to the chef that we were here and he proceeded to bring out all the food we requested for our menu...and then they both left.
To their credit, the food was ok. It was quite cold and one of the items left something to be desired (rubbery was the best word I could call it) but the service level was just...not there. The caterer didn't sit with us an discuss the food with us, she didn't make sure everything was to our liking, there was no asking what could be improved, how the menu was...nothing. She just left us there to eat and periodically came back to see if we'd finished. Once we told her we had, she just sat there looking at us expectantly, as though we wanted her business and not the other way around.
I'd wanted to talk to her about the table linens, the place settings, etc etc but when I asked about the linens, she handed us a book of swatches and left the room again!
Now, I may be reading too much into this but it seemed as though she was trying to nonverbally broadcast to us how little our business meant to her.
This being the first (and we'd hoped only) tasting we went on and having only seen other tastings on TV, can you ladies tell me if this is the standard operating procedure for tastings?