Catered by Design

Super friendly, great staff, the food was delicious. The tasted was fun, and they were willing to work with our tastes and preferences. Great deal. I highly recommend.

My husband and I used Catered by Design for our wedding this past summer (July 30th at Portage Theatre in Chicago) and had a truly outstanding experience with Sam and his staff. I have NO excuse for waiting this long to post a review, but I can tell you that six months after our wedding, we are STILL receiving compliments on our delicious food and exceptional service staff. Our wedding was non-traditional (around 400 guests in a working theatre with a wide array of passed hors d'oeuvres and a serving station in place of a plated dinner), and Catered by Design cooperated fully in helping us create the experience we desired for our guests. Sam gave suggestions based on his experience but was more than willing to be flexible to help us create a delicious and appealing menu (the theatre did not have a full working kitchen, but Catered by Design was able to create a cooking and prep area in a very small space). The food was delicious and unexpected - food that was meant to be warm was served "straight out of the oven," salads and shrimp were pleasantly chilled, etc. When we first contacted Catered by Design, the quote they gave us was slightly higher than the other vendors we had spoken with. After speaking with Sam several times and meeting once in person, we felt confident that his experience and versatility were well worth the slightly higher charge, particularly because we were the first large-scale wedding at our venue. We are SO thankful that we trusted our instincts, because Catered by Design exceeded our expectations and worked with us to create a price we were comfortable with. Finally, I have to note that the service staff at our wedding went above and beyond all reasonable expectations. The service was truly above par - several of my friends told me they did not have to leave their highboy or theatre seats all night because a kind server kept stopping by to drop off food and even take orders. The Catered By Design staff was kind, polite, and friendly, and went out of their way to ensure our guests were enjoying themselves. I highly recommend Sam Gray and the Catered by Design staff for your special event. Based on my experience, I can say that you will not be disappointed!

Our reception was at the Lakeview Room in the Glenview Park Center. Catered By Design is the onsite caterer at this location. The food was amazing! After the wedding we had so many people telling us how delicious the food was. And the presentation of the food was beautiful as well. Presentation is something that CBD prides itself on, and for good reason. The only disappointment was that the butternut squash ravioli meal only came with a handful of small ravioli, so guests were not satisfied. But, the ravioli was made with orange and black striped pasta because our wedding was on October 30th, so that was quite a fun surprise! We had originally discussed bringing in our own liquor for a signature drink, but in the end we were told that we were not able to do that. Because of this we opted for the full open bar which was a good decision. But, it was a little frustrating to be told that we could do one thing and then in the end be told that we couldn't. Overall, the food is delicious and beautiful and that is really what mattered!

Bonnie was great to work with. She will guide in a strong manner because she knows her stuff. She provided a beautiful opportunity to taste the menu and my mom and dad and I were sold from that point on. The groom was very pleased with our choice! Although the Redfield Estate has inherent challenges with space, the staff did a great job!

Everything was great. The groom and I didn't get to eat much, but all of our guests raved about their meal. We had several vegetarians/vegans and Catered by Design were very accommodating. Our guests told us it was the best veggie meal at a wedding ever!

My husband and I used Catered by Design for our 7/24/10 wedding at the Woman's Club of Evanston. We worked with the owner, Sam, up until the week before the wedding, and then finished up with Bonnie. There were a couple times when Sam did not respond to e-mails I sent, so I would follow up again and then he would get back to me right away. I didn't e-mail him often - I was a pretty easy going bride. This was the only issue I had with them, and I think it's fairly minor. From the start, they were great to work with. Sam spent a ton of time with us working out the details of our weddings, and showing us examples of floor plans. You can tell that he is proud of his business and strives to keep his clients happy. The private tasting that we had (myself, my husband, and both sets of parents) was incredible. The chef even came out and talked to us personally, and they made some adjustments to the menu (the beef dish we chose typically comes with a sauce over the top, but we had them put it in bowls on the table, so that people could choose if they wanted to use it). I have very severe food allergies, and as such, my food had to be cooked separately from that of our wedding guests. CBD was very accommodating, and I felt very comfortable eating the food they provided me with at the reception. Our captain was Naty, and she was great. I didn't meet her until the reception, and she was warm, yet professional, and it was obvious that she takes her job seriously. We didn't have a single problem that I was aware of, which tells me that she just handled everything. Everyone raved about our food, and they made the wedding planning very easy on me, so I definitely recommend this company!

The food was great, great menu for the food, was not the best catering serves but was not the worst it was just in the middle! but i would use them again!

Food and presentation were exceptional.Their staff was phenomenal and our guests will not stop talking about how amazing their food was!Everything ran smoothly, and we were well taken care of by the staff.

Catered by Design offered an enormous menu to choose from for our wedding dinner. The display and presentation of the food was perfect, and the staff who worked the wedding were very kind and professional. CBD was really great in accomodating special needs - like no bacon on salads for those vegetarians, etc. Delicious food, probably the best I have had at any wedding.

We approached Catered by Design because they were on the preferred caterer list of our venue--The Redfield Estate. We booked them, though, because they offered flexible dining packages; an extensive menu of choices for each element of the meal; a complimentary tasting to help us choose; friendly, enthusiastic service; AND thorough knowledge of the venue's floor plan, capacity, etc. We were entirely satisfied with our choice, start to finish--the entire staff, led by owner Sam, cheerfully adapted to changes in our original estimate of guests, our initial choices of food and drink, and even to arrangements on the evening of the event when the weather turned too chilly for cocktails outside between the ceremony and reception. Simply: perfect!

No problems at all. The food was excellent and my guests were very happy. Sam was very easy to work with and was very helpful on planning our wedding menu. The day of the wedding they handled everything regarding setup and take down. Bonnie was the staff coordinator and was available and responsive to all our needs. She had everything under control and we didn't have to think about a thing. Everything just flowed beautifully.

We only had a couple minor issues with Catered By Design. They didn't cash our deposit when they said they would-- which was really just a minor inconvenience, but one I could've done without. Also, they forgot to bring the champagne tree we specifically rented because they raved over it. Mistakes happen, though, and they gave us a prompt refund for that item. BUT, the good far outweighs the bad; I'm just stating everything here, to give a fair review. Now for the good stuff! The food was THRILLING! A number of our guests said they'd never had better! They are a bit pricey, but they're true artists! Definitely worth it! Also, the service was EXCELLENT. Enough staff, always made sure I had a full glass, quick table setups, very accomodating overall! Catered By Design is a real gem!

I knew someone who said they ran into some difficulties with this caterer, but I couldn't disagree more! They took care of everything, nothing was wrong or not as we wanted it. The location (Winnetka Community House) was amazing, and the coordination the we received from Catered by Design with the venue was outstanding. It really took a lot of pressure off of us! The food, of course was remarkable and I am still getting comments on how good everything tasted/looked over a month later! Wonderful business!

Their food was ok but pricey and we felt that much of the menu was too heavy for an outdoor summer wedding in Chicago. They did, however, accomodate our requests for off-menu items such as gazpacho, proscuitto and melon, and grilled vegetable skewers. Also, they forgot to serve the wine until the meal was more than halfway over, which was upsetting. In addition, we had asked them to offer our guests sparkling apple juice as an alternative to champagne since many of our guests do not drink alcohol, and they did not do so. I think if I were to do it again, I would have shopped around more to find a caterer whose menu was more imaginative and whose service was more personal.

Sam Grey at Catered by Design was wonderful. I told him what i wanted, and then i could basically consider my wedding planning finished! I chose my menu, picked my colors, and he took care of the rest. Their food is absolutely delicious. I went to a tasting, and then chose my menu with Sam. He was extremely helpful and was good at helping me choose when i couldn't decide. During cocktail hour, appetizers were served butler-style. For dinner, guests had a choice of 3 entrees. Dessert was a wedding cake and cookie spread that was to-die-for. Catered by Design did all of the set-up, change-over, serving, clean-up, everything for my ceremony and reception! I didn't even have to worry about renting anything. Many of my friends and family have told me that this was the best food they've ever had at a wedding.

Overall, we were quite pleased with the food package and service we received on the day of the wedding. We ran into some communication problems with our representative. Everything for the reception site needed to be coordinated through her, and she made some big mistakes with the linens we ordered, as well as one of the other external vendor rentals. Karen is a kind woman who knows a lot, but it was difficult to feel 100% comfortable that she knew exactly what we wanted for our special day. It seemed like she just had too many events happening. Fortunately, I am a planner and everything worked out! I will also say that Karen was willing to assist in correcting the problems as best she could, but they could have been avoided completely with the right planning. Their food is wonderful, and the wait staff was polite and efficient.

Catered by Design worked with us and provided great options for our brunch wedding. A few of the back tables didn't receive one of the dishes. Wait staff were professional and efficiently cleared away dishes in timely manner. The special barista for espresso coffees was a great touch that we and the guests really enjoyed, but it was pricey and would be better if it could be charged "by the glass" similar to alcohol instead of a flat per-person cost. Overall, we were satisfied and happy with their service.

The food was great. The menu was extensive and gourmet and presented very well. The servers were so kind and helpful. It seems that they have gotten rid of Karen, which was the stem of all of my complaints. With a talented coordinator, I would completely recommend Catered By Design!