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We didn't get resistance at all! Our caterer knew we were whittling down our choices, and offered to do a preview -- NOT the wedding food, just a meal he dreamed up -- at home for us, waving his personal chef fee, and just charging us the cost of the food.
When we signed our contract with him, we had a second tasting -- including the 'rents -- focused on the wedding cuisine.
Could you mention some of the other caterers you've talked to are completely willing to do a tasting?
Most caterers dont schedule a tasting until after you book. If they did tastings for everyone who wanted one for free, there would be tastings every day and they would be losing a ton of money on food and labor. If you are willing to pay for a tasting, I would let the caterer know and see if you do book if it would be applied to your event. Also ask about group tastings, some places do that - you might not taste exactly what you want but it will give you an idea of the presentation and quality of the food.
A lot of venues will have a night set aside each month where you can go and sample their food and check out some of their recommended vendors. We got married and Florentine Gardens in River Vale, NJ and was able to do that.
Tell them you'll happily pay for the tasting, and then if you decide to go with them, they can apply the money paid to your wedding.
The only down side to this is - some caterers will prepare a meal for you to taste, not necessarily the food that will be served at your event.
I work for an off-premise catering company, and the tasting part can always be tricky. With an outside caterer - the entire menu is SO customizable that it can be hard for the company to narrow down what they serve at a tasting.
Good Luck! :)
Hm, we got a free one once we booked - I didn't think to ask before we booked!
we didn't think of asking before we booked. i thought the idea was to book 1st and then select and taste the menu.
Our caterer encouraged a tasting prior to booking. I'm also in Chicago - check out Chris with D'absolute Catering. We're planning to do a second tasting next week with my FMIL and FSIL to finalize the wedding menu. The food and presentation are excellent and the pricing is reasonable.
I recommend picking the venue before the caterer. It seems like the one venue you may not have choice of a caterer. If the other venues have different feel, you may want a different caterer.
I HIGHLY advise against signing a contract if you haven't tasted the food!! What happens if the food is terrible? You may have a beautiful venue...but your guests will remember a bad meal!
It obviously depends on how important the food is to you though. If I were you, I'd question why a caterer wont offer a tasting (even if it's a group tasting!) before signing....
i was really confused about that too! a friend told me that you should offer to pay for it and it you decide to go with them they would credit the amount you paid toward the final bill. i also was not offered a tasting, but since the caterer was reccomended and the menu sounds great, i'm just going with it at this point.
You can also always ask for letters of recommendations from past clients. I highly believe even if they dont offer a tasting that it shouldnt be something to be super concerned about. Look at reviews online if you can, if caterers are serving terrible food, they would not still be in business! Tastings are designed more toward something you do after you book, to assist in selecting your menu and narrowing down your choices.
Based on prospectuses that were created for me by the caterers I contacted I picked a small group and let them know they were being strongly considered for being booked. At that point several of them provided tastings and that is really how we selected our caterer. He recreated everything he suggested serving so we would know exactly what our wedding meal would be like. That won us over. The tasting really made a difference because his prices are a little higher but completely worth it!
I would be really cautious about booking with a caterer that doesn't want to let you know get a taste of their food in advance....that's just ridiculous. You're paying for taste! How can they not let you try it out in advance! I would keep looking until I find someone who will not only let you taste the food, but will wow you! Good luck! :)
Several of the local caterers in Tampa have "open house" type tastings where they set up a buffet with many choices and invite brides/grooms/families to attend free of charge. Then if you are interested you can go back for a private, more to your request tasting for free.
We found that restaurants were just as affordable and provide tastings free of charge when they knew we were really serious. We left great tips and decided on a restaurant in the end.
So... It sounds like the magic saying is "Show me the money"???
I agree that its crazy to not get to try the caterers food first... I really think your best bet is to offer to pay for a tasting so they know you're serious. If they want to charge you a lot MAKE SURE that money goes towards your overall cost of the event. Sign a contract stating that.
We ended up going with a restaurant we LOVE that has some of the best food. We know what we're going to get & it worked out to be about the same price as some of the caterers we first looked at.
Good luck in your search!
Thanks for the replies!
@ETwedding- I will add D'Absolute to my list. I think I saw them recommended on Yelp, too.
To me, a venue is more than just the space. There's parking, staff, location and FOOD. A lot goes into making a venue the right choice.
One of the caterers said he would talk with me tomorrow "to see what we can do". yay!
if you try to look at the business side of the catering, of course like you, they want a guarantee of off premise catering servcie contract before they freely give something. You might want to try referrals first. You won't be wrong with it.
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I personally would not go with a caterer without having them "bring it". I have to see if what I'm wanting to invest in is worth my hard earned money.
No different than having your stockbroker take the time to show you a prospectus and spend a good while doing so.
No different than realtor taking you inside the house you want to buy potentially.
If a venue does not offer a tasting, move on to someone who does. Also, never sign a contract with anyone who will only let you taste after you book them. Pay money if you have to in order to get a tasting but never book them before you get that opportunity. Any caterer who truly wants your business will offer a tasting. If they don't, then move on to someone who does. It's really no different from test driving a car before you buy or walking through a house with a realtor before you buy. No one expects you to purchase those without knowing exactly what you're getting, and a caterer is no different.
If someone doesn't offer a tasting at all or says that you have to book them first, they have something to hide as that is bad business practice for the above reasons (the realtor and car dealer as examples). If you book someone before you taste them, and they turn out to be terrible or mediocre, then you are stuck with them and cannot back out without losing a large amount of money that the deposit cost. If you get a tasting before booking, you are only out the money that the tasting costs (if anything).
If the caterers you've already spoken to are snotty with you, move on to someone who really does want your business. Businesses know that they have to be welcoming in order to gain clients and those you have already visited clearly don't want your business at all. Keep looking because friendly reputable businesses do exist. If they are non-existent and the three you have looked at are truly all that are available in your area, then think outside the box and contact your favorite local restaurants since most of them will cater with no problem at a fraction of the price that a regular wedding caterer charges and you actually get more for your money.
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I've contacted 3 caterers about tastings and they have all been kind of snotty with me!
One venue only works with one caterer. I called the caterer and was told I could taste after I sign my contract with the venue.
Another venue I'm looking at works with any caterer so I called a couple places and got similar "after you sign a contract with us" answers.
Why would I sign a contract without tasting the food? I understand they don't want to give food away to everyone but they didn't even say "OK, but there is a cost." They just said no!
I also looked at some banquet halls and they all were eager to schedule tastings, some for up to 6 people.
So how did you battle tasting resistance from a caterer? Or did you even get resistance?