Wisconsin

To taste or not to taste...HELP

We have it down to two. Both caterers give us a great vibe, offer a lot of support, and have good reputation. The proposals we expect to come down to a reasonable amount that we are not going to let a few dollars be the final call. What honestly scares us is that the guy who will most likely cost a little more, we didn't actually taste what they can do. We want stations and Chef Jack seems to have it hands down. We understand that you can't "create" exactly what there would be for a tasting. However, the appetizers we had at the meeting were the least memorable of the four tastings we attended. At Zilli it seem more like an entree at the station with lots of "topping choices" or similar food accessories. However, we had the opportunity to really get the idea of what they cook. Everything was amazing, a scratch kitchen, and the chef really worked to make the food stand out. Unfortunately, we have not attended an event catered by either of our top two choices. Im hoping there are some Knotties out there who can offer up their review to give us a better picture from real life guests or past brides. Thanks, we need to decide by the end of the week. -L. J.
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Re: To taste or not to taste...HELP

  • BackpackersBackpackers member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You sure can decide what you want to taste!! I would call Chef Jack and tell them what you want to taste and try again. I didn't have any of their appetizers, but their entrees are phenomenal. They are VERY willing to do whatever they can to make you happy. I definitely think if you asked for a second tasting and asked for something specific, such as what they might serve at a station, they would do it. In fact, they offered us to come back if we wanted to taste something else. I wasn't happy with the customer service I received with Zilli, so I'm glad to hear they are treating you better! Good luck!
  • edited December 2011
    I have had Chef jack for a sit down dinner a few times. It was always very good.
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  • edited December 2011
    Zilli did one of our holiday parties for work and the tasting went well but the actual food at the event wasn't good at all. Just my two cents :)
  • MidniteSun383MidniteSun383 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I personally love Zilli's.  A friend of mine had Zilli's do their wedding and it was all stations, I thought it was great.  They will also be catering our wedding, but we're doing a sit down dinner.  The chef has also been really willing to work with us to get everything just the way we want it.
  • edited December 2011
    I've been to a wedding (last June), and Zilli did stations (about 100 ppl).  I thought the food was amazing.  We also had Zilli cater an event for my office (over 200 ppl) this past September, we did various appetizers and although I didn't get to try them all, the ones I did were great - we recieved a ton of compliments on them.
  • edited December 2011
    Two different family members of mine used Zilli's for their weddings and both had huge problems! My cousin who got married at Coast also wanted stations and she said Zilli's was really hard to work with. They were really inflexible and the day of the wedding they had made changes to the menu that she never approved. They also added in some extra charges for items that originally were supposed to be included in her package. My Uncle also used Zilli's for his wedding, he had HUGE problems. He ended up taking them to court and was rewarded almost a full refund. Don't mean to be a buzz kill but I thought you should know! Good Luck!
  • edited December 2011
    Keep the replies coming! I am taking note of each one.   Thank you so much to everyone who has posted so far. Those who included dates or years of the events...really helpful. Note to "Backpackr"... I took your suggestion and emailed about Chef Jack having us back to try an entree.  Did you take them up on the offer that you were invited back and/or was that only AFTER you put a deposit and booked?
    Anniversary
  • TinyJeniTinyJeni member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My fiance and I have also been having trouble with Zilli, and to be honest, it terrifies me! We end up calling them every time they send us an updated contract (which has been going back and forth since APRIL!), because something has been incorrect _every_ time. We aren't willing to switch our venue (family ties/sentimental value), so we're stuck with them, but I'm sooo afraid of terrible things happening (i.e. being charged for things incorrectly, which they've already tried to do, or having things changed without our approval)! Just a warning that there is very poor communication that goes on, so check and doublecheck your contracts! I'll let you know how the food tastes when we go for our tasting in 2 weeks, but so far I've heard only wonderful things. Hopefully it will make up for the terrible customer service things I've heard...
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  • BackpackersBackpackers member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    They offered the second tasting BEFORE we put down anything (we did end up going with them). We didn't take them up on it yet, but we will when we choose appetizers.
  • edited December 2011
    I loved Chef Jacks, but we did semi-sitdown buffet. However, DH's aunt went to a station wedding of theirs and said it was great- they loved the mashed potato bar especially. They should be able to accomodate a tasting. They have a huge array of appetizers also, so I wouldn't judge by having just a few that you didn't like- look at the whole selection. I loved our appetizers that we chose, but they weren't any of the standard ones. HTH
  • edited December 2011
    We used Chef Jack's for our wedding & did the semi-sit buffet. I would do what PP said & ask for another tasting. I highly recommend them. We did a couple tastings with them & with the second one we asked them for specific choices. Their customer service & food was phenomenal. We keep hearing compliments on the food & the service. We also were interested in Zilli's but their customer service was so horrible we ended up not even going to the tasting we had scheduled. I don't regret the decision we made for a second.
  • DanicaDanica member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am only going to say that Chef Jack is absolutely, hands down who I would choose between the two.  I've had enough experiecne with them that I have no problem telling people that can't do tastings with them that they will be absolutely fine the day of!  That's how much confidence I have them.  They are superb to work with and the day of is amazing results.
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