Catering is more than just food.

Catering is More Than Just Food (But the Food’s Damn Good Too)

If you ask me what catering’s really about, I could give you the polished answer—flavors, creativity, bringing something to the table you can’t just whip up at home (unless, of course, you moonlight as a chef in which case, I tip my hat).

But the truth? It’s people. It’s the moments that we wish we could forget! Or more importantly the ones that we’ll will want to always remember; the stuff that doesn’t fit on a menu but sticks with you way longer than the taste of the food.

This all came to me today when reading a review on Yelp by a great couple whose wedding, I’ll never forget. Then other stories came to mind and I had to laugh, and that inspired me to write about it. Here are a couple of my favorite example stories.

The Ramen and Kool-Aid Incident

So picture this, we’re at the final meeting before a wedding. Bride and groom, everything’s good, just tying up the loose ends. The groom hands me the last check, cracks a smile, and drops this line: “Welp, Chris… it’s ramen and Kool-Aid for a month for us!.”

I laughed because yeah, I’ve been there before. But something about it stuck. I couldn’t let it go. So on the wedding day, after all the food was prepped and ready, I showed up with this little extra gift for the couple.

A case of ramen, a case of Kool-Aid, And a $50 movie gift card because hey, if you’re gonna live cheap for a month, you at least deserve a night out. That groom? He lost it. Bride too. Best part? Probably the cheapest thing I brought to that wedding, but the thing they probably still talk about 😂

Here’s another of my favorite stories that within a conversation with the groom, I made an instant decision that will live in memory for the couple for a long time.

The Hospital Delivery

Another wedding, different couple, different curveball. Groom’s mom got sick right before the big day. Stuck in the hospital. Couldn’t make it. They asked me to save her a plate. You know, wrap it up, one of the cousins would swing it by the hospital later. But I couldn’t do that, not when I knew everyone else would be digging in while she sat there, missing out.

So while my crew handled the dinner service at the reception, I hit the road—plate in hand—and got that meal to her right on time. Same food, same moment, just a different table. Here’s what Zack had to say about it (I’ll let him tell it):

That one? That’s a forever memory for me.

No Big Moral Here

I’m not telling you this to pat myself on the back. Honestly, I’ve got enough on my plate (pun fully intended).

I’m just saying this stuff matters. The food? Yeah, it’s gotta be great. But the connection? that’s the real magic. And sometimes it means dropping off a wedding dinner at a hospital room to make them feel closer to what they are missing out on. Sometimes it’s handing over a box of ramen and Kool-Aid to a groom who dared to joke about it. And hey—if you ever book me, just know…make the wrong joke, and I might just make it come true.

But at least I know where to get the good ramen.