Blue Plate Catering

06/20/08

The best.

by bocuse at Citysearch

I'm very surprised at some of the older reviews.

I have yet to be disappointed w/ Blue Plate. They are simply the best catering option in Chicago. I didn't say the cheapest, but they are the best. But who wants to screw around and cut corners when it's your event on the line.

• Pros: Professionals.

09/14/07

Going out of business

by foodcritic996 at Citysearch

I do not hear good things, think maybe they could go out of business. I think they lost their chef about a year ago and have no one..... :-(

07/10/07

Avoid Blue Plate at all costs...

by misterlain at Citysearch

I approached Blue Plate with a very simple menu. My wife and I decided on a "Ravina-Style Picnic" theme for our wedding reception and I communicated this to my representative at Blue Plate. I hesitated to mention the event was a wedding reception as I know, from being in the industry, that most businesses use the wedding reception as a chance to increase their profits.

My rep was nice enough and assured me that the menu would go as we agreed: Summer sausage, three cheeses, strawberries, grapes, almonds, French bread and a cracker assortment. We would have a busser, head waiter and bartender as the necessary staffing provided.

When she discovered the fact that this was a wedding reception, she explained that she would normally have three bartenders on to "maintain the standard of excellence of Blue Plate." I explained I was in the business and assured her one bartender would handle the event just fine (which he did.) Going into the day, I felt confident the $11.00/head light hors d?oeuvres would be sufficient based off our conversation.

When the food arrived, I was devastated. They supplied deli-slice-style salami with American cheese, chicken-in-a-biscuit crackers and hard-as-a-rock French bread. There was no garnish and it appeared as though the "chef" had thrown each item onto the plates without care as to presentation. On top of the horrible quality, there wasn't nearly enough for my guests, which came in 20 people short of the 170 we planned for. Several of my guests even took the step to order 25 pizza's from a local parlor to make up. Over-all, it was embarrassing. The staff refused to cut the cake, which was ultimately done by my guests and I received several questions as to who was responsible so they could avoid the same problem.

Blue Plate's response was akin to "too bad, so sad" and refused to do anything short of cutting their hidden fees out of the invoice.

If you value your guests, DO NOT use Blue Plate Catering.

• Pros: They talk a good talk.
• Cons: No follow through, attention to detail or care to fix a bad situation

02/21/07

Huge variety of service, everything is customized to your needs. Wow!

by papua2001mk at Citysearch

In my experience of Blue Plate, your event will be exactly what you make it. If you want a lavish affair with amazing decor and ambiance and a creative, trendy menu - Blue Plate will create that event for you. I have experienced their service most often at weddings, but if you need delivery/drop off boxed lunches, they'll do that. Talk about some creative menu items, my favorites are their passed hors d' oeuvres, some of which are listed on their sample wedding menu on their website. I love their crab cakes, and their "fire crackers", which seem to be shrimp and sticky rice with an asian sauce wrapped in colorful rice paper. Those are addictive!

• Pros: Variety of service (weddings, events, meeting planning, direct catering), great culinary team, lots of experience
• Cons: They can be above my budget at times

01/29/07

Blue Plate going downhill

by springray at Citysearch

I've been in the Chicago hospitality industry for several years and have worked with a broad spectrum of caterers from high-end private parties to posh galas. I started out as a big fan, however I think they've expanded too much too soon and have forgottten the basic principles of excellent food and good client service. They have been sorely lacking in following up on leads, have repeatedly made mistakes on menus, have delivered cold and overdone food, etc. What is happening there?!