Anyone Know or Tried These Caterers?

sharpe88

Has anyone tried these caterers? Most of them are our venue's preferred caterers. TIA!

Food For Thought - www.foodforthought.ca

On The Move - www.otm.ca

Cibo By David - www.cibobydavid.com

Unique Catering - www.merlynsuniquecaterers.com

BBQ Gourmet - www.bbqgourmet.com

ring_pop

A couple of years ago, my company had a Christmas party at The Great Hall where On The Move is the in-house caterer. The food was OK, not amazing, not bad, but nothing to write home about.

I've only experienced BBQ Gourmet's very low end catering i.e. hot dogs and hamburgers for a company bbq, but I have to say that I was impressed by how organized they were!

amme5832

I've booked at Heintzman House, and we had similar caterers listed as our options.

I'm not sure what your budget is like, but we were advised that since we have a lower budget, we should check with Cibo by David & Merlyn's Unique Caterers.

We're getting what I would consider a great deal from Merlyn - around $50 a head for setup, linen, clean up, servers, bartender, 6 hors d'oeuvres a person, a four course dinner and softbar (so all juices, ice, softdrinks and non-alcoholic things for the bar).

I'm certain that price will depend on what sort of rentals you need, and the type of food, but we had a sample tasting last weekend, and the food was all really good!  We made some requests to change the base quote a little (i.e. change one of the hors d'oeuvres to jerk shrimp skewers, add more garlic and basil to the sauce, etc)

Good luck!

sharpe88

Thanks guys!

So Amme, when's your big day ?  I'll definitely consider Merlyn's then...

Are you doing ceremony on site too ?

amme5832

Oh we're only ... 451 days away! haha It's August 2012 that we're marrying, but I want to get the big things out of the way first so we can:
1. Book with cheaper pricing
2. Pay our deposits now and work on saving up the rest of the money that we need to have
3. Not having to worry about it all next year, since days seem to be quickly disappearing on us!

We actually booked the venue last November, but I was hesitant to contact the caterers because I was kind of scared it would be impossible to get an affordable meal.

We got good vibes from Merlyn, and he was very easy going about switching things on the menu and not up-selling items. 

The tasting was the full menu (excluding dessert), and he brought out full size portions of the food so that we could see the options. 

Below is an example of one of the entrees (salmon with a lemon-dill sauce, accompanied with wild rice and grilled vegetables), to give you an idea.  I didn't take a picture of the salad or the pasta portion, but did get the entree.


As I said above, everything was very tasty, so if you are on a budget (or want to save some money somewhere), merlyn was very accomodating, and I was quite happy with the price we're getting.  He even threw in an extra that if we end up with more yes-es than we have anticipated, then any additional meals will be half price, plus the $4 chair cover rental, which was a great addition (I think).

Whoever you end up choosing, enjoy your free tastings! 

When is your date?

amme5832

Oh, and yes, we are doing everything onsite - I want to make things as easy on us and our guests as possible!.  We decided to go with a Friday to save some cash, so the wedding ceremony will be early evening (around 5:30-ish), followed by cocktail hour and reception after.

Are you also at Heintzman House? 

sharpe88

Hey, yes we are at Heintzman's as well. We're pretty much the opposite in timing as wedding is in Sept. and we haven't booked catering yet.. :P

By the way what do Heintzman's chairs look like? Are they pretty old and worn they much need chair covers ? (I haven't been to the venue myself! I'm from out of town so I had a cousin do that.)

The information is helpful... thanks again!

sharpe88

Oh, I didn't know most caterers offer free tastings... I'd heard that most offer the tasting for 2 after deposit is given!

amme5832

I'll upload a photo of the chairs tonight - they aren't really pretty, but I'm still debating on whether the chair covers fit the budget.

I don't actually know if other caterers give free tastings.  I guess I just assumed they did.  Merlyn did a free tasting for us for 6 people including us, and we paid our deposit after the tasting.

Also, look up Heintzman House on Facebook - there is a group with photos posted online from weddings.  Again, I'll attach photos tonight though.

amme5832

And the chairs ...

This picture is tiny, but you get the idea.  As I said, they aren't old and ratty looking, but they aren't a "pretty chair" either.  I have a better pic of the chairs, but fiance is making a monster face in it, so I don't want to post it! haha

I'm assuming your cousin took some pics for you, but just in case, here are a few pics as well:
ballroom - other angle (from by the solarium):

Solarium plants


Living room area with the fireplace


Groom's room to get ready:


Bride's room (but the furniture has been redone, so it won't look the same)

And the view from the balcony:


If the wedding is late September, you might get lucky with the changing leaves!  We were there the Thanksgiving weekend.

ring_pop

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_canada-toronto_anyone-tried-caterers?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:613Discussion:0b0eddd7-d042-4576-870d-906ba3bb901bPost:cd655811-aca0-4529-be1d-13c95fa64232">Re: Anyone Know or Tried These Caterers?</a>:
[QUOTE]Oh, I didn't know most caterers offer free tastings... I'd heard that most offer the tasting for 2 after deposit is given!
Posted by sharpe88[/QUOTE]
I actually found that most caterers I talked to didn't offer free tastings.

A lot of them had tastings that you had to pay for, but if you ended up booking with them, then they discounted the tasting fee from your final bill. So it was "free" IF you went with them.

sharpe88

Thanks Amme!  My cousin took a lot of pics as well for us.  What colours are you going with? Heintzman's facebook page has some interesting ideas from events past.

Ring_pop.. yes that's what I've heard.

amme5832

Sharpe, I'm aiming for bright bold colours that pop!  Fuschia, and blue (for fiance) are definites, but I'm itching for a plethora of colour...

How about you?

sharpe88

I'm thiking of different shades of pink. Wanted to have red and white to go with the Victorian look of the place, but the SO doesn't like. 

Planning on outdoor ceremony? I've seen some couples do their ceremony on the balcony, which is pretty cool. But kind of far from the guests

amme5832

We're hoping for an outdoor ceremony, but it all depends on the weather.  If it's really hot, or raining or really windy, I'll probably just do it indoors.  I'm not spending all the time and money to look awesome (nor are guests!) to simply end up with bad hair and rain or sweat running down my face! haha 

Regardless of where it happens, I feel that the interior is still elegant and nice, so I'll be happy either way.  There are some lovely pictures of indoor ceremonies,  and I think it would be nice with all the sunlight coming in too.

I just want some sunset pics!
How about you?

sharpe88

You're right. We're thinking the same.