Five of One Catering

06/22/09

Could not have asked for more

by massportsmgmt at Citysearch

We had planned our wedding through a planner. The planner did a less than noteworthy job and I was highly disappointed. The only thing that they did right was enlighten us to Five of One catering. We worked with Tonya from Five of One catering and she was nothing short of phenomenal. When the planner we were working with did not do her job, we let Tonya know and she went on to help us plan the wedding and correct all the problems caused by the previous planner. She went above and beyond the call of duty on numerous occasions. Aside from the best service we have received in any situation ever, the food was as good as can be. We found out Five of One has a test kitchen to recreate family dishes and they worked with us and got my mother in law's cooking down perfectly. Even my father in law couldnt tell the difference. The serving staff could not have been more professional and person and Tonya also attended the reception to make sure everything went as planned, which it did.

Our budget was the biggest problem we had and Five of One and Tonya made sure to work within that and give us much more than we could have expected for what we had to work with. It cannot be an easy job planning and catering a wedding for 200 people, but Five of One made it look easy. I cannot recommend them enough to anyone getting married.

• Pros: went above and beyond for everything
• Cons: no cons at all, they were perfect

08/07/08

Sorely disappointed

by sogol at Citysearch

We hired Five of One to cater our downtown black tie wedding. Initially, they seemed very willing to work with us to make our multicultural event work. We had four "taste kitchens" with them, including two with my mother and grandmother to perfect the rice dish that was the entree. We finally got it right at the last tasting.

Unknown to us, the chef that we had been working with left town the day before our wedding to cater another wedding.

The rice dish on the day of our wedding was a disaster. It tasted terrible! We watched plates of it go back to the kitchen untouched by our guests. My husband and I were mortified. We had so badly wanted to showcase our different cultures in the food, and we were so embarrassed that our guests did not eat well that night.

Other issues included very slow service that put the reception one hour behind schedule. My husband's family was served last (45 min. after the first table had been served). This was noted by the other guests as well. My family does not drink alcohol for religious reasons and we had specifically noted which tables were champagne vs. sparkling cider tables. Needless to say, my family's table was served champagne, leading to some very unhappy older family members.

Also, as our dinner was a seated dinner, we had specified that tea and coffee should be served at each table. Imagine our surprise in hearing that this had never been done. Our guests carried their coffee cups across the room to serve themselves from a coffee/tea station that we also had set up.

Five of One managed to negatively affect our wedding reception in many ways. In speaking with the owner about our concern and disappointment, she apologized and was willing to take the blame, but unwilling to discount us much for the bad food and service (she gave us $400 off a $7,000+ bill).

She mentioned that in catering "things like these sometimes happen". I wish that someone had warned me about this company. Hire another caterer.

07/28/08

Extremely good customer service, and easy to customize your menu

by JaniceRic at Citysearch

This company went above and beyond the call of duty with their service. Almost everything I needed and/or wanted for my wedding they were able to produce. Our wedding menu was American/Indian, and the test kitchens they offered really helped make the Indian appetizers authentic and tasty. Great company yo work with!

• Pros: customer service, very easy to work with