Many caterers cook their food in a commercial kitchen and take the food already cooked to the party site. By the time the food is served, it has been siting in an insulated box for more than two hours! This results in dry, hard, chewy and soggy food. At TOAST, we cook the food onsite. We rent a stove/oven if no cooking equipment is available at the event location. It may cost a little more, but we believe in doing things the right way. Our customers appreciate the quality of our food. After all, you some times get what you pay for.

 

Yes we can provide you a full service bar. Bar can be setup as hosted or cashed bar. 

 

No, absolutely not and we don’t understand why some caterers charge for those services!

 

The more servers you hire, the better and faster service you will get. We usually recommend 1 server per 25 guests for buffet and 1 server per 20 guests for a platted service.

 

Do you provide tasting?

Yes, we schedule our tasting sessions on evenings. Tasting is limited to two people with a $70 fee. The tasting expense is fully refundable if you decide to book your event with TOAST. Tastings are applicable for events bigger than $3,000.

 

The final count is due 7-10 days before the event. This count is considered a guarantee. When your party is booked, you will be provided with a contract with the final count date.

 

This is a very hard question to answer! It depends on the kind of event, how many guests, if there is bar or coffee service, if there is a kitchen available, if it’s a platted service or buffet, delivery and pickup time, etc. For the most part, rentals cost more than $15/person for weddings.

 

Is the food fresh or frozen?

After working for some major hotels chains and some catering companies that serve frozen appetizers, we have promised ourselves never to do the same. How do you know if the food is frozen? Well, it’s hard to say. If any doubt, try to stay away from the following offerings: wellingtons, coconut shrimp, egg rolls, spanikopitas, imitation krab cakes, southwestern spring rolls, chicken or crab wontons, potstickers, bacon wrapped scallops, franks in a blanket, empanadas, quiches, mushroom caps, etc.

Hiring a Hotel vs Catering for your special event?
If asking the same question to event planners, most of them will recommend you to go work with a catering company. Having worked for hotels,  we know that the answer is obvious. Hotels are in the business of selling rooms. Some hotels may have a well known executive chef. But those chefs are usually focusing on the fine dinning restaurant attached to the hotel. For the most part, banquets are handled by banquet chefs.