Catering Works

an do that!" and the first quote looked how it needed to look. We had recently been to a wedding catered by Rocky Top who we felt failed to reach guests with apps- so, out of process of elimination of the two most reputable catering companies, we went with CateringWorks and signed that first quote. CateringWorks was entirely deceitful throughout our wedding planning. The following deceptive business practices are likely intentional: We were told we got a discount if we used their bakery, floral, and catering triplex. While we didn't want a cake and had no intention of doing a cake cutting, we agreed as we felt that this "discount" would offset the cost of the cake anyways. We came to learn that this discount was not a real thing, but not until the final vendor meeting. We did not like one of our meal selections at the tasting and asked to look at the catalogue to find something in the similar price range to replace it with. We were told that this information "is available online". ....What? I'm writing you a 20k check and you can't go upstairs and print me a copy so we can get this done and over with? Having sources available to make quick and informed decisions will cost them, so they... make sure the information you're looking for is harder to find. If you opt in to also use either BloomWorks or their bakery service, the quotes get intentionally jumbled on one merged contract. This is deceptive. If you have enough time on your hands to go line by line, you'll see that each new printed quote has new line items and costs. As a seasoned legal compliance technical writer, this complicates the ease in comparing quotes between updates even for someone who is paid to do this all day. There is a 0% chance that CateringWorks can't afford contract software, so I'd call this deceptive as well. Make sure you're keeping your own paper record as once they update each contract/quote, the last one *disappears*. How cute and convenient. I was frustrated to see that all fees in our final quote were doubled since we used both BloomWorks and CateringWorks- this included a 20% service fee and new delivery fee despite coming from the same building. This came to nearly an extra surprise $3k. I was told that there are a separate slew of fees because CateringWorks and BloomWorks are "two separate companies". A quick search on google shows that they operate under one singular EIN (tax ID number), meaning that they actually are the same company and are taxed that way accordingly. The quotes/contracts use conveniently vague terminology and undefined terms. Contracts should always have defined terms in them, if they're real lol. The "service fee" of $1500 described as "transportation costs, staffing fees, kitchen fees" appeared as $500 on the next print and was suddenly described as "the fee's we pay the food and floral distributors". LOL- those are wildly different definitions under the same vague title, but I obviously didn't make this a thing cause I was spared $1k here. CateringWorks manager Kelly and her staff delivered exactly what was defined in our contract without any issue. We cannot say enough good things about how skillful florist EW is. He is wonderful to work with and makes time for things that are important to you. We laughed a lot with him and appreciated his personality. The food was delicious though, but nothing tastes that good after you've been punked for the last 8 months. If your wedding is budgetless and you don't care when people deceive you, use CateringWorks. Ours *kind of* was budgetless, so all of this hurt *less*, but I still have adverse reactions to deceitful business. $20k is a big bill for a company who quite simply doesn't keep it real. This review is poetic justice.

lad were standouts. Thanks for being part of our special day :)

to respond to all of our questions, and such a delight to work with! She was so patient, kind, and helpful when it came to crafting the perfect menu, and she was flexible when we wanted to make menu changes along the way. She and her team showed patience and determination with setting up the space on the wedding day- it was an insanely windy day, so I know there was a lot of setting and re-setting, but they worked hard and did everything with a smile! They were well staffed and professional, and the food was delicious and displayed beautifully. Kelli did a great job of relaying the timeline and event details to her team, and the team was on top of it! The food service was punctual and smooth, and they had great team members like Rebecca that day checking on us (bride & groom) throughout the evening to make sure we were well taken care of. My guests told me how great their bartenders were too- one guest even said the bartender knew her drink order by the end of the night- that’s truly fabulous service! I highly recommend hiring Catering Works to cater your next special event! (In terms of our food recs, we looooved the French Grazing table and would absolutely recommend! It was a big hit for cocktail hour! The other big hit our guests were raving about were the Pinot Braised Short Ribs which we had at one of our dinner stations!) Everything was fabulous! Thank you Catering Works!

was very kind.

ny comments about how much everyone liked it. Pricing wise, Catering works was one of the most affordable in the area. I highly recommend!

he service costs the same as inflation went up. The food was very tasty. We mostly worked with Kayla who was patient and thorough. She also was always quick to respond. Our guests told us that the food was excellent, in particular the desserts. I posted a photo of our beautiful and perfect cake in the review - we chose it as part of the $399 special for the cake. I would absolutely recommend the company and Kayla.

g the way. We ended up using Catering Works for the food, dessert and beer/wine. The team also handled most of the communication with the rentals company. Having all these things consolidated made things so much easier to plan. Our guests would not stop talking about the smoked gouda mashed potatoes :)

with us through every step. She fully understood our needs and offered solutions to help us along the way. Not only was Catering Works a joy to work with, but the food was AMAZING! Highly recommend the chicken and waffles! Kelli understood the type of vibe we wanted and helped us build the perfect menu while staying inside our budget. They were even able to accommodate a vegan guest that was added pretty late. We loved working with Catering Works! Thank you!

served throughout the night was delicious, and I will definitely work with them again if the opportunity arises!

ent which was complimented by a beef tenderloin station and mashed potato bar. Everything was delicious. We had hush puppies stuffed with bbq, mini chicken biscuits, mini chicken bao buns, duck confit with corn cake, tuna wonton crisps, etc. plus roasted oysters. Everyone loved it. We went to five weddings in October (including ours) and Catering Works stood out as the best food we had at any of the weddings by far. I'm so happy we chose them.

without ever having a tasting because their reviews were so good and we were not disappointed. Everything was great and our guests are still telling us how good the food was. My husband and I opted to eat inside the venue alone during cocktail hour and they were so accommodating. They even brought us up each type of appetizer. All of them were great, but the pork buns were perfect. We did 2 signature drinks and both were amazing. The bartenders were fun and efficient. The also got everyone through the buffet line in great time. At the end of the night, they sent us off with plates of food, boxes of our desserts and a bottle of champagne. It was so nice to have them there to make sure everything ran so smoothly. Hire them! You won't be disappointed.

been to a lot of weddings and have been disappointed so many times. That was not the case at all with Catering Works’ unique menu that made my foodie heart flutter. We also did our cake and flowers through the company. Our (totally gluten free) cake was one of the best cakes I’ve ever had and my father in law was so impressed that he wants to see about getting the same one for his birthday. We worked with EW on our florals and they were absolutely incredible. He was able to capture the traditional yet whimsical look I was going for perfectly and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

ed Catering Works for our Labor Day weekend wedding, and we couldn't be more pleased with how everything turned out! We are still receiving compliments on how delicious the food was 2 weeks later. We had an in-person consultation with Kelli, and we worked closely with the team via email to pare down what we wanted our menu to look like. Kelli and Jill were extremely helpful and patient while we decided on what our final menu would look like. It helped that they were also familiar with our wedding venue and had previously worked with a number of the other vendors we selected. All of this, combined with their professionalism, helped everything run seamlessly. Having never planned a wedding before, Kelli was extremely helpful in offering suggestions for the menu and even ideas for how things would be plated/presented on our big day. In the end, Kelli and the rest of the Catering Works team planned and executed: 2 cocktail hours, passed hors d'oeuvres, plated salads, a beautiful buffet-style dinner (with everything clearly labeled), bananas foster station, and our wedding cake. We were able to do tastings prior to our big day, and the food was incredibly delicious and thoughtfully presented - even during our tastings. We'd also like to take a moment to point out that as we made our way to our sweetheart table at the wedding, one of the Catering Works staff members came right over to us with two sampler plates of food. They had gone above and beyond to make sure we were fed first so that we wouldn't have to worry about getting our own food! They also checked in with us throughout the evening to see if there was anything else we needed. Little, thoughtful details like this made such a huge difference - especially when you're caught up in the emotions of the day and facing tons of distractions. Additionally - at the end of the evening - I was lamenting the fact that I didn't get to have seconds on some of the food... Well, didn't you know that after we had our sendoff and had gotten to our hotel, we discovered that Catering Works had put together a beautiful basket full of neatly packaged food from our wedding!! It was one of the most thoughtful things. We are incredibly grateful to Catering Works for helping to make our big day so memorable. Food is such a key part of any big event - especially a wedding (believe us - we've been to our share of bad weddings where people complained about the food). We wanted our guests to be well fed with only the highest quality food and beverages, and that is exactly what we got. Thank you, again, to Kelli and Jill and the rest of the Catering Works team. We will be forever grateful, and we will sing your praises to anyone who asks. We highly recommend Catering Works for your next big event! With gratitude, Janelle & Greg Studdard

to our menu. My husband really wanted some authentic indian dishes and there long list of options was a pleasant surprise. The chef even worked closely with him to make sure the dishes tasted as authentic to my husband as possible. The day of the wedding went so smoothly with the caterers as well. There was plenty of food and they even gave us a to-go basket full of our food and cake! Side note: go with their cake baker/decorator. The cake was AMAZING and I bake and decorate cakes as well and I know the work she put into our design took a lot of hard work. The cake was so moist and delicious...there wasn't anymore of the cinnamon swirl left by the end of the night!

rom that they offer us an AMAZING menu to serve us and our guests. They have so many options to choose from whether you want plated, buffet, or stations. All the alcohol options or just keep your event dry. They were able to set up a bacon bar for us, and let me tell you, that was the tastiest thing I've ever come across. If you want the food to be unique and show off to your guests a little, this team is your best bet.

e most, we were able to customize it further by adding/subtracting certain items. They were extremely accommodating and I loved that they were able to do the cake as well. The staff that worked at my wedding was incredible. All of them were so sweet and attentive to our guests. The food was delicious, but unfortunately I did not have much of an appetite and mostly just had a bite of everything. The staff took note that I barely ate, so when the wedding was over, they gave me a basket with a bunch of leftovers (as well as a bottle of champagne!) I was extremely grateful because of course, I was starving by the time we left. I highly recommend this vendor, not only for your wedding day but any big event you are planning.

ight changes to a couple of menu items. I also really appreciated all of her help in coordinating our rentals with Party Reflections. Catering Works gave us great options to come up with a unique combination of themed stations that reflected our personalities and the food at our wedding was absolutely delicious (all of our guests loved it)! We were also delighted that they packed up a basket of food and wedding cake for us to take with us at the end of the night given how busy we were throughout the evening- so thoughtful!

he mark perfectly with smoked brisket, pecan encrusted oven fried chicken, pimento mac and cheese (my favorite), and others that were equally creative and delicious. Instead of cake we had pie and we were blown away by not only the variety but by the taste of each treat. We had a biscuit bar during our cocktail hour with hors d'ouevres including more pimento cheese and some different spreads and dips. They even included some gluten-free options! Overall a resounding hit at the wedding, and I would happily recommend them to anyone looking for a caterer in the triangle.

are still mentioning it to me! The mashed potato bar, brie and raspberry phyllo cups, and shrimp and grit fritters were all a total hit just to name a few, and all of our guests were impressed that it wasn't your "typical wedding food." I worked with Kelli from our initial consultation onward, and she was an absolute joy the entire time. She was incredibly patient with us when we changed our minds many times or wanted to explore other options. The pricing was very reasonable for both the food and the cake. The staff the day of were just wonderful, especially the catering manager who not only prepared dinner plates for my new husband and me, but went out of her way to come ask us what our preferences were. Not to mention that they sent the two of us home with a basket FULL of food and cake in our "getaway" car! I will definitely be using Catering Works for all of my future catering and cake needs!

, and then tweak things to our liking once we tasted them. We also wanted to change our vegetarian option after our tasting, and she sent us home with a giant take-out container of ravioli (which was AMAZING). Anyway, Nicole was super organized and made everything so easy. She came with us to pick out our plates and linens, and kept in contact with us all year as we worked out our timeline, guest count, and menu details. The waiters also made sure everyone got their food in a timely manner. The only issue was that there was a miscommunication, and not everyone got champagne at the same time. Otherwise, the service was amazing and we got tons of compliments on the food afterwards!

ptions for us. Kelli was on top of it from the beginning and made things SO much easier throughout the process (especially when I had no idea what I was doing!) The day of, the staff was courteous, helpful and positive. Highly recommend them for wedding catering needs.

imes better. We did just that with hiring Catering Works. I honestly don't know where to begin with my thanks to Nicole and Catering Works for everything they did for our wedding. We first reached out to Catering Works in April 2016 for our September 2017 wedding. Nicole was extremely responsive from the beginning and was patient with all my neurotic bride questions and frequent menu indecisiveness. We went in for our first tasting in July 2016 and the food was both delicious and beautiful! We had some suggestions for minor tweaks, and Nicole was open to all of them. She really wanted to work with us to put together our dream menu. Nicole was also our lead vendor in terms of managing the flow of our wedding day. Prior to the wedding, we mapped out the exact schedule with her team doing WAY more than what a standard catering company does. They are really full service including setting up our ceremony chairs to setting up all the tables, bringing the linens, taking out the trash, and breaking down the tables. On our wedding day itself, everyone was excessively kind and accommodating. We had so many guests comment how CW was the best catering team they have ever seen. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable. We seriously could not have asked for anything more. Mimi deserves a special shout out as she was the drink delivery wizard of the night. I was under the impression she was catering to only my husband and myself, but it turns out she was personally catering that to the entire bridal party (22 people). She was insanely amazing. She would just appear (before and after the ceremony) with our requested drinks and was so friendly in doing so. The evening was nothing short of sheer perfection, and the CW team contributed in such a large way. Going with CW was one of the best decisions we made! Save yourself stress and disaster and hire CW for your wedding or event!

s that I really don't know what we would have done without her. We definitely recommend Catering Works! We also used their florist, Bloom Works, for our flowers and we were very satisfied. E.W. did an absolutely beautiful job!

t. She was early to every appointment and helped us pick out all of the necessities for the big day. Her professionalism was impeccable. Christina helped make the reception relaxing and enjoyable! She was always watching out for Cameron’s and mine every need. At one point, he needed a band-aid and two seconds later a catering work team member appeared with one! The bar staff also kept a special stock of Cameron’s favorite beer so he could have it when it ran out for everyone else. I also personally loved E.W.’s garland heart that was in front of our sweet heart table! I also was in love with my bouquet! The flowers were better than I could’ve imagined! We heard nothing but great reviews about the food! Guests have ranted and raved about the barbecue, chicken ’n’ waffles, and banana pudding (especially Cameron)! We also loved that they boxed us a togo basket with champagne and food from the night! We were able to eat it back at the hotel and actually enjoy it together! Everything was perfect and we cannot thank the Catering Works team enough! It will definitely be a day we remember forever!

actly what we were looking for in our cocktail hour hors d'oeuvres and our reception dinner. There were a few last minute items that we needed to add on, and Catering Works accommodated our needs with ease. Our family and friends raved about the food on the day of and in the days after our wedding.

ring director, was by far the easiest and least stressful aspect of planning the whole wedding. She was incredibly responsive and helpful during our communication, and had some great suggestions for making the meal both delicious and budget friendly while still being special. As far as I know, everything went extremely smoothly on the day of, and our guests absolutely raved about the food. The catering staff was even kind enough to bring some food over to our babysitting team, as well as packing a to-go box for my husband and me that included a bottle of champagne! They also made sure my cake top made it home in one piece. I am so glad I used Catering Works for my wedding and would definitely recommend them without hesitation to anyone getting married in the Raleigh area who wants a friendly, professional caterer who is dedicated to providing high quality service to their clients. Thanks again!

compliments on our food from the wedding!!! We also did our cake through them & loved it!!! So pretty and delicious !!

commend Catering Works!

ted - wonderful flowers and decorations!!! Bill was provided by Catering Works. He was wonderful! Everything ran smoothly and he was very professional. He always got back to me and finalized with me before the big day! Highly recommended!!

heir food is phenomenal and all my guests were talking about it--still are! There was not one problem with making sure we had vegetarian/vegan options on the menu, making sure there was enough food to go around, and making our menu reflect our personal tastes. They also did our cake, which was out of this world! Their flavors were so varied and different from all the other cakes I'd looked into. They did an excellent job decorating and serving it as well. They do EVERYTHING if you really need them to: Food, Cake, Flowers, DJ, Planing, Rentals, etc. They are an incredibly impressive company and I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to get it all done in one place. They are willing to work with any budget and will do as little or as much as you want. E.W. Fulcher was our lead, and Catering Works did our Food, Cake, and Rentals. Everything was so effortless. We just told them what we wanted, tweaked the menu after some tastings, and picked out the plates/linens. It came together so well and they hauled it away at the end of the event. If you are even remotely interested in them, they have "open house" type tasting events where they show off all that they do--it's like a mini reception!

the night was great as well. I would suggest using them only as a caterer though, as we looked at using their florist, but the flowers were quoted way too high and what he was describing was fancier and more elaborate than I wanted (in fact, I said simple and he wrote "elaborate" on the quote). I ended up using Fallons Creative Flowers. I did not use them for cake or even try their cake as a friend/bridesmaid of ours was making our cake so I cannot review their bakery.

f you want to actually sample the meals you've chosen, you can do that for a fee. We declined to do that, and just had EW put together a menu based on our likes and dislikes. So the food was a complete surprise and we never had tasted it before. Well, it was outstanding! I had several guests come up to me to tell me how good it was. We brought our own beer/wine/liquor and Catering Works bartenders were awesome. Our point of contact, Rebecca, was fabulous! I hadn't mentioned it to the caterers, but they made sure that while we were taking formals, that we had water and food brought out to us. She checked on us during service multiple times, and anytime I had a question or a comment, she was always available and had an answer. The basket at the end of the night was a sweet, wonderful cherry on top of an awesome caterer.

ed so much. I have a special diet so all of the employees worked with me to make sure there were gluten free items there.

our vision a reality. Catering Works did an exceptional job with our food. All of our guests are still raving about how much they enjoyed our selections. The cake was amazing and the linens and rentals (CE Rental coordinated through Catering Works) made the room! Couldn't be more pleased with our decision to hire Catering Works for our special day and would recommend them 100%!

ions while sticking to our budget. I ignored guests until I had eaten every single thing on my plate. Joseph did our floral arrangements. We've received so many compliments on how beautiful everything looked. I was able to sneak a peek at the reception hall while I was still getting ready and my eyes filled with tears. You can't go wrong with Catering Works. Everything about them, including the staff, is wonderful. I wish I could hug every single person that worked our wedding. It was a dream!

iminated potential confusion. I can't say enough good about the quality of the food and flowers. The prices can be a litte steeper than other caterers, but the service and quality make it worth the extra money. However, they have some flexibility with pricing and can work with you to stay within a certain budget. I liked that they had a flat rate per person for alcohol-most caterers charge per hour for alcohol. We made our own centerpieces for the wedding and the staff was willing to set up for us prior to the reception. My husband and I did not worry about anything at our reception, which was a huge relief thanks to Catering Works!

. I had a very difficult time getting many of my questions answered with many of them just completely unanswered. The lack of communication really astounded me. My primary planner showed up at the venue (a private residence) several times unannounced with the expectation of having access without ever asking if anybody would be there. The food and day-of service was excellent. Aside from the lack of communication my 2 primary complaints are with not providing exactly what was agreed upon. Although beautiful, the flowers were not the color(s) they were supposed to be. Also, after a fairly specific conversation about the plates that were to be used, I did not get the ones I requested. All in all I was extremely satisfied with the end product, but extremely dissatisfied with the lack of communication. The day ended up being even better than I had imagined and I think I actually liked the flowers I got better than the ones I expected. I did not include the price per person since the price they geve me included all the services provided (flowers, rentals, as well as food and service).

two menus that were dead-on. His ideas were better than what I had in mind and so creative. Italian Wedding Soup (We're Italian!) in shot glasses. Seafood Risotto in soup spoons for pass-arounds. I could go on and on. AND - the catering staff at our reception was seriously some of the best I've ever met. The manager that night insisted that we sit down and he would serve us dinner. He personally plated food for us and brought it to our table. The waitstaff was awesome and there was PLENTY of food. CW also did our cake/cupcakes and did an superb job. Five stars, guys, five stars.

s, I entrusted she would do an excellent job, but she and the team went beyond our expectations. Many of our local guests professed how they will use Catering Works if such services were needed for one of their events! The decor, food, service- everyting- was fantastic.

a few of my fave items) shrimp and grits appetizers served in asian spoons, collard green won-ton appetizers, southern-fried catfish, and grilled rosemary and lemon chicken. We topped it off with a cheesecake wedding cake that my aunt from NY City said was the best she has ever had!!!