Caterers Part 8

[krisffee]

ok ba feedback ng towns delight? we're stuck between juan carlo and towns delight haha! tagaytay wedding kami sis. parang wala masyadong feedback for towns pero nice yung crystal chairs and styling 

[cheezums]

Attended the GFT of Hizon's last Sunday in Light of Love. Marami akong nangustuhan na food vs di nagustuhan. It's the 2nd FT we've attended, first was CVJ's last week.  Over-all feedback we like Hizon's better - set up and food. My parents came w/ us yesterday and they liked the food also. Kaso wala yung inaabangan kong Truffle Mushroom Soup and Thrice-cooked Pork Belly (carving on station).

Jorina, our AE, informed me that they will launch a new look book with new thematic set ups hopefully by January 2015, and with no additional charge unlike sa CVJ na may 20k per 100 guests add'l if you "upgrade" to their theme set ups. Lalo ako na-excite w/ Hizon's!  Jorina gave me lots of freebies na rin. I haven't booked yet. I want to attend FTs of other caterers muna. Might book a caterer January na. Dec 2015 pa naman wedding namin.

Any other feedback sa Hizon's? TIA!

[Mr.Punch]

Brief reviews with all the caterers we've had food tastings with:

1.  Legend Villas - in-house caterer; venue to small for 150 guests; a bit overpriced but already includes a lot of stuff and freebies
2.  Juan Carlo - food ok but not too impressive; madali kausap si Myleen (AE); offers considerable freebies for on the spot bookings
3.  Hizon's - Masarap food (for me); definitely not a budget caterer; AE (Kristine) is ok but sounds like she memorized a script
4.  Ma Del's - disappointed with food quality during FT; office where FT was held was hot and humid; affordable caterer, many freebies but ability to attract clients needs improvement
5.  Verleo (our 2nd choice) - MASARAP ang food; styling is ok but not too impressive; AE (Rio) is ok and if she's not available at the moment, other AEs approach you to answer quick questions
6.  Tamayo's - Considering their reputation food quality is very disappointing; one dessert used stale bread (ugh); AE (Nadine) didn't seem to interested in talking to us
7.  Robert Camba - marungis ang venue & buffet tables; but food quality is okay; Robert seems bossy and mayabang, but not pushy
8.  Eloquente (maybe our 3rd choice) - ok food presentation, quality is ok too; AE (Joann yata) is very informative and explained things clearly; red tea was too sweet
9.  Julio's Catering - venue hard to find and masikip; AE (Sharon) very helpful and positive; wedding cake provider not too good in terms of styles
10.  The Royal Caterer - Good presentation but food quality, not so much, considering it's Chef Boy Logro's catering business; venue HARD to find; packages are overpriced
11.  Purpledish (WINNER) - Walang hindi masarap; Shayne and Chef Velmor were good in explaining stuff; 20% discount

[fionaapple]

^ nakabook na ako ng caterer pero curious lang ako. magkano packages ng Purpledish?

[Mr.Punch]

Exactly as advertised in their website, except that may 20% discount and some freebies kami.

http://www.purpledishgroup.com/#!pd-package/c20dt

[shrek250190]

Hi mr punch.  ano anong freebies nakuha mo?

[j.adore]

There's a long thread about Purpledish sa W@W and I suggest you go read up before booking para alam kung ano yung mga watchouts sa kanila. Ok naman yata yung recent feedback pero mabuti na yung sigurado.

[Mr.Punch]

^Uy, baka ma-warn ka niyan for promoting another site, haha.  Yun ngang free Excel file thread ko ni-lock without explanation. 

[shrek250190]

Hi sis j.adore.  ano ba yung mga review sa kanila dun?  Ang hirap hanapin sa other site.  bigla naman ako kinabahan. :-(

[j.adore]

Really? Even in other threads that's mentioned, a lot, especially on negative reviews at wala naman warning ah. Maybe because that's not really a public site and members only?

But anyway, it's still negative feedback on a caterer.

[love_alvarez]

Yung nega feedback is actually partly fault din sa part ng bride since ang pagkakaintindi niya is once booked free na ang FT meaning unlimited FT which is hindi pala kasi 2 FT lang free once you booked. I am a PD bride and I also know yung rule na yun. Not naman on the wedding day itself ang rant nung bride

So yun nung kasal nya na maganda naman ang reviews nya sa PD about food. Actually all the recent reviews ng PD sa WOW are positive ang mejo may di raving reviews is yung ka tie up nila na stylist which is STYLENTO. Pero may isang wedding na since super hands on sya and she specify what she wants and where to put what decor super nice ng naging styling sa kanya. I guess need mo lang talaga bantayan and be specific with what you want sa styling. It pays to be makulit. Sa food wala naman ako nakita recently na panget na review.. If you are not a WOW member di nyo makikita yung mga reviews kasi for members only yun.

Anyway I dont regret booking them.. Sulit ang 20% discount and all my questions are being answered promptly. Dami ding freebies..

[lakwatsa]

ang naalala kong negative feedback sa PD e yun sa nagkaubusan ng food. pero sabi ni chef V e natagalan lang daw sa pag replenish yun and tinawag naman daw nila yun mga guests na naubusan nun nareplenish na. i don't know lang kung gaano katagal yun waiting time sa pag replenish na yun. kasi kung ikaw yun guest naubos mo na lahat sa plate mo so busog ka na kaya parang tatamarin ka na bumalik para dun sa isang dish. hehe

others commented naman na hindi daw marunong tumanggap ng pagkakamali si Chef V. i don't know if that's true. well, you cannot please everybody. pero mabait naman si chef nun nakakausap namin dati.

ang di ko lang gusto sa PD e wala silang fixed rate for ceremony setup. Stylento na kasi yun may hawak nun, which i believe e wife ni Chef V ang nagm manage. Sa ibang caterers na natanong ko kasi e 17500 na yun pinakamahal whereas sa kanila 30k yun sabi sa kin and possible pa daw tumaas. pero food-wise masarap yun food nila and malaki ang servings.

[j.adore]

Yes, that bride was confused maybe due to inconsistencies in communication that other brides experienced and shared too.
Her main concern was how it was handled. The caterer wanted to refund agad kasi.

Then there were some other finished weddings with negative experience on styling and food.

Better if you can read it yourself for you to have your own interpretation. So far ok naman na daw. Tama yung outcome na mag improve sila maybe because tinutukan din.

But still be vigilant. The most reliable feedback and best source of learnings are always from those who are done with their weddings.
Intent is always for the watch outs and applying lessons baka maging defensive PD clients here

[angelinah]

how bout villa salud catering?

[chocnats]

PD rin caterer namin during our wedding last April and so far puro good reviews naman narereceive namin regarding the food. Masarap daw and nakakabusog. Yung styling, so-so lang and may mga ibang tables na walang frames yung table numbers pero di ko na rin siya pinansin kasi di naman ako gaanong ka-focus sa styling. Basta maganda, keri na! Haha!

Tip lang siguro, sabihan niyo yung servers na make sure na wag masyadong malalaki ang servings ng food na ibibigay sa guests. Tutal, pwede pa naman bumalik sa buffet table para mag-round 2 eh. Sa amin kasi, ang lalaki daw ng servings na binibigay kaya yung mga guests, sobrang busog na raw sila at hindi na nila naubos yung mga food sa plates. Kaya ayun, sayang lang. Ang konti tuloy ng naiuwi naming leftovers kasi syempre di na pwedeng ibalik yung mga food sa buffet. Yun lang naman. Pero at least nabusog ang guests. Haha

[Mr.Punch]

It's good to keep in mind that all caterers have bad reviews (even the all-holy KbyC), and if one will only focus on those reviews, then one will likely get caught up in analysis paralysis.

Personally, we focused on what's important to us - food quality and affordability.  We also believed that if a caterer can't impress during a food tasting, then they can't be expected to impress when tasked to do bigger things.  With negative reviews, I take note of 3 things in weighing them: (1) date; (2) regularity; and (3) quality.  It's entirely possible for a caterer that previously screwed up to improve in time.

Can we be wrong about our choice?  Of course.  But I feel that we've eliminated those caterers that have a higher chance of disappointing us on the wedding day itself.  From this point onwards, we do the thing that we have control over, which is mangulit sa kanila. 

[sourgrapes244]

Mr. Punch, dami ko natutunan sayo. 

[Adam1025]

PD bride here, well not that I regret getting PD as our caterer during our wedding pero siguro if we had more budget and I was there in the Philippines to attend FT etc siguro ibang caterer kukunin namin.

Styling is so-so parang ako stylist ng sarili ko wedding lahat ng ideas sakin galing good thing mabait naman si Ms. Shayne our AE and the wife of Chef V and nasunod instructions namin. Regarding food, panalo ang desserts nila during FT pero yung main course sabi ng sister ko mas nasarapan nila yung sa PC. Pero come wedding day, comment ng sister ko who attended all our FTs with them di daw kasing sarap during FT yung food even yung dessert  hindi ako nakakain nung wedding isang dessert lang natandaan ko and i think tama yung comment ng sister ko.

Pero tama si sis j.adore, the most reliable feedback are those from the brides who are done with their weddings na. Ok naman din ang PD, marami nga lang kelangan bantayan sa kanila  but I'm still grateful kasi lahat ng horror stories na nabasa ko about them hindi nangyari samin, di man sila yung best pero they performed well naman during our wedding.

[sourgrapes244]

Katatapos ko lang magbasa at back read sa kabila, I think misunderstanding lang talaga yun. Sa sobrang sarap siguro ng PD eh gugustuhin talaga ng mga brides na unlimited talaga sa kanila. Very enticing sa pics ng mga food nila, sa pic pa lang yun ha. Ngayon ko lang nalaman na may Stylist pala sila, wala naman bang corkage if ibang stylist ang kukunin at hindi stylento? to think na mag-asawa pala sila so meaning darating sa point na didiskarte sila ng corkage para makuha lagi ang stylento.

[jansalcedo]

Sino-sinong mga caterer kaya ang magpaparticipate sa Themes and Motifs at SMX?