About this vendor
We are an event services firm located at Black Swan Venue in downtown Lakeland Florida.
Details
Cuisine
- American
- Latin American
- Seafood
Dietary Options
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Vegetarian
Food & Catering
- Buffet
- Catering Clean Up
- Catering Delivery & Setup
- Chef Stations
- Family Style
- Menu Tastings
Awards and Affiliations
2021 'Best of Weddings'
Best of Weddings
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.018 reviews
Absolutely wonderful in every way – Strongly recommend.
We recently contracted Essential Catering Solutions to cater an event for about 40 Guests. Let me start by saying I was deli...
nquent on planning this party and Essential Catering Solutions saved the day (and our party!) With less than a month’s notice, Dorcas and her team expertly designed and crafted the truly essential elements of our event; décor, food, and service. They really delivered a phenomenal party within our budget and small timeframe (YOU ROCK ECS!)
We found them after looking for a Lakeland local catering service and I was thrilled to learn their office was literally across the street from our venue. Ottalie was our coordinator who I contacted me throughout the few weeks prior to our event to ensure all the details were clear and ready to go. She was a reassuring contact prior to our event.
Day of, and ECS was onsite to get set up and going! The décor for our event was Vampire dinner party and Susan, the designer, set the most elegant and beautiful tables for us. She understood our vision and really translated it into a rich scene that enhanced our party’s venue and made for beautiful photography. Thank you, Susan, for bringing our theme to life!
The food – was – amazing. All our guests raved about how delicious the food was and we had more than enough. We went with hors d-oeuvres and bite sized desserts, and it was perfect for the flow of our party. We wanted our guests to wander the venue while eating and drinking as they pleased. Everyone returned for the meatballs…more than once.
My husband and I provided the alcohol (which we will NOT do next time and will instead have Essential Catering Solutions provide the bar for us) but ECS provided two servers who were FANTASTIC. Attentive and engaging, they took the best care of our guests and our party. They were dealt a DIY bar set up and just smoothly took over and provided a pleasant and professional experience. Like I said, next time we will have ECS take care of the alcohol – but oh am I glad that I requested the service of two servers. One tended the “bar” and the other engaged the guests and bussed the tables. They were both great and we appreciated their service.
The food was great and the service was awesome!!! Essential Catering team was very professional and made sure everyone was taken care of throughout the night!! Thank you for all of...
hard work! You guys made our wedding day a night to remember!!
Honestly Essential Catering Solutions were a dream to work with! Such a kind company in the middle of wedding chaos. I would highly recommend their company to others looking for ...
a caterer for a wedding. Unfortunately after all our working together, the bride and groom decided to go a different route in the end.
I can't express how wonderful Dorcas & her husband are to work with. We had a very fluid event. Not knowing how many guest you are going to serve is stressful. But she came thro...
ugh like a shining star. I heard nothing but praise on the quality of her product. We will be keeping this catering relationship going for my future events. Thank you all so much for rising above a very challenging event.
Essential Catering owner (Dorcas) is an amazing place to work. Dorcas is very professional and Efficient in Organizing Events. Each event I have work everybody raved about how gr...
eat the food and service were. I highly recommend Essential Catering to do your next event.
Dorcas is amazing my fiancee jay and I had a chance to have a tatse testing of her food last year it was so delicious we loved her food and her team is amazing we can't wait to se...
e our big day on October 23, 2021!
Dorcas is AMAZING she made our day phenomenal from the first tasting to the wedding. I can’t wait to have another event (obviously not another wedding hahaha) to work with her agai...
n!
Dorcas and the Essential Catering Team are a 5 Star Service! They went above and beyond the call with helping us with the menu, planning and making sure we were happy during our s...
pecial day! We will recommend Essential Catering whenever catering gets mentioned. Thank you Dorcas for being super amazing!
Working with Dorcas and her team has been a blessing. From the moment I met her, she became a great partner for our nonprofit, the Compassionate Hearts UNITED Foundation, Inc. She ...
not only donated food for a group of homeless children that we were supporting, but she has also donated her time and expertise while preparing delicious food for families in need in the Polk County area. We are so happy to have her not only as a partner, but also as a friend. As we always say... it is people like Dorcas and her team who make our mission a complete success.
Dorcas and her team were great to work with! She was patient as I built my food order, swapping out one item for another to meet our needs and our budget. The food was delicious! I...
t was beautifully displayed and guests were impressed.
Lastly, she is a delight in person and so gracious!
Top notch!!!! Sometimes it’s hard to find excellent service, quality food, and budget friendly...but Essential Catering has met all my expectations plus more. She has a whole team ...
of vendors, so any and everything you need for your wedding, celebration, or gathering she can provide you with unlimited services. I have to brag about her food, the food is so delicious. She can do everything! I’m so happy that I found Essential Catering.
Excellent Service and Very Professional.
I had the pleasure of using, Essential Catering Solutions, to cater my wedding reception. This company by far is a cut above the rest, they worked within my budget allowing me to u...
se a payment plan to pay for the package that I wanted. The staff worked with me from day one, communicating with me and ensuring that all od the thingd that I wanted were customized to my liking for my special day. From the ability to create and design a menu which included adjusting the recipes to meet specific dietary requirements. The Essential Catering Solutions staff was flexible and arrived ahead of time to ensure that everything was set up and ready to serve my family and friends. I obtained the package that included the design of the venue, the location was turned into the most elegant and beautiful scene, something beyond my wildest dreams, it was more than I could have ever imagined it to be, brought to life. I will advise anyone who wants to have the best wedding experience to use, Essential Catering Solutions. Thank you for making my day so special. Your staff showed such professionalism, I will be using your catering company again in the future.
We hired Essential Catering Solutions for a family event we needed catered. The food was amazing and the service was exceptional. Not only were we able to have such a detailed menu...
that we were able customize with the Team at ECS, but we needed a photographer for our event and they helped us with a great company they work with, Mrs. Dee and her team are such a dream to work with, she is very understanding and informative throughout the full experience. My girlfriend calls is a full " turn key" catering service!
My experience working with ECS was great. Mrs. Dee and her team are very attentive and so hospitable. We have been fortunate enough to work with her on many projects, expos, weddin...
g and even home going services. A very professional team with great leadership, from the contractual agreements, to being paid early! We would work with Essential Catering Solutions 100 times over!
Partnering with Essential Solutions, my experience has been satisfying to know Dorcas seeks quality foods that matches her events, and appeases her customers. She is professional, ...
detailed, and provides services to diverse groups, which brings out the best in me. I’m proud to be part of a business with such great characteristics.
This catering company is the best that I've ever seen. Almost immediately after the ceremony, we were served are food and all the workers were properly protected . I'm sure that it...
's not easy doing all this especially with what the world is going through at this time but they made it look effortless. I'm so glad that my friend had them at her wedding and I was sure to get their business card so that I could contact them in the future. If Essential Catering Solutions is reading this I just want to tell you guys to keep up the good work! (Two thumbs up!)
Professional, Organized and Punctual Service. Food was tasty and plentiful.
Contact
112 E Pine Street, Lakeland, FL | Lakeland, Florida
Essential Catering Solutions