The Versatile Cooking Mama

I needed a caterer to provide food for my mother’s Celebration of Life. After many considerations, I ended up talking to The Versatile Cooking Mama. I had never had her food but took it on faith that it would be good based upon a conversation I had with her at a block party—conversation was a random interaction weeks before. When preparing for the menu I was looking for, she gave me good advice and I gave her my vision. It was very easy to work with her. She even included a couple of surprises that let me know she understood my vision. The mac n cheese and green beans were “chef’s kiss!” She and her team made the delivery on time and the food was hot! I will order from her again.Note: this was a drop off. She provided everything we needed except ice. The venue had ice!

Food: 5

Service: 5

We contacted The Versatile Cooking Mama for a last minute event this past Saturday, September 30, 2023. When we contacted her back in August our hopes was to cater a brunch meet & greet, Jack & Jill Bridal shower for approximately 50 to 60 guest, who came to attend my daughter and son-in-law’s wedding celebration from all over the United States. We were coming from out of town as well, and we were planning this event to be held at our VRBO (only seen by pictures) so we were putting our trust in her to make this a memorable moment for us. Alhaja was not only available last minute, she took the reins from us, and guided us through the most delectable Southern Cuisine. We had such an assortment of food that all of our guests felt snuggled by the aroma of great cooking. We only met through email and phone calls and couldn’t wait to personally meet her. I have to tell you, she and her staff was not only pleasant, she was a professional with her set-up process, and came prepared with dishware for our guests and champagne flutes for mimosas. All I had to do was get dressed and welcome all of my guest. She left my daughter and son-in-law euphoric and content. If we could have used her for the wedding we would have.

Dietary restrictions: Food allergy.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I got the delivery service. I got the fish plate and my husband got chicken livers. The fish was burnt to a crisp and very salty. The chicken livers was over cook. Overall not good ?I was disappointed because I was recommended to you by a family member.

Food: 1

Excellent food and service! Both the crawfish etouffee and fried chicken livers were delicious. The etouffee was flavorful and savory. The fried livers were a bit plain, so you can definitely taste the natural flavor of the livers. I accidentally ordered from the website when they were closed, but they still made the order and gave a small treat for the confusion although it was my mistake for ordering outside of business hours.

On 08/04/23, I ordered the Pork Chop plate. One side I chose was Butter Beans. They were completely DRY, SALTY and a SCORCHED taste. The Pork Chop breading was not to my liking, neither. I spoke with the owner and she apologized and promised a “partial” refund and a gift card. As of today (08/10/23), NOTHING.She said, “I am a woman of my word”.Please…action speaks louder than words.I will not be returning!

Food: 1

The Versatile Cooking Mama catered my kid's 3rd birthday party. Oh my gosh it was DELISH!!!! We all couldn't get over how tasty everything was! So many compliments!We had mac n cheese, black eyed peas salad, sweet potato corn bread, fruit... It was wonderful!And Alhaja was so great to work with- so experienced, creative, down to earth, and accommodating! She even made me a special gluten-free cornbread. Such a great experience! Highly highly recommend!

Kid-friendliness: The Cooking Mama catered my kid's 3rd birthday party. Tons of experience and ideas to accommodate picky eaters.

Dietary restrictions: She made me gluten-free sweet potato cornbread.

Food: 5

Service: 5

Giving this restaurant a try right now will come back for my review.. as soon as I get my order on door dash and back here I come.. hopefully it's good

Simply the best. Everything she cooks tastes homemade/fresh and it’s seasoned very well. Menu is almost perfect(I wish there was chicken livers w mash potatoes and gravy!) other than that it’s great no complaints. Some of my favs were: chicken and waffles, shrimp po boy, mac and cheese, chicken gizzards and cajun pasta. 10/10 would recommend

Great food. I love the Mac and Cheese. Yum!!

Firstly, amazing customer service, you can really tell heart and soul is poured into the cooking here. As for dishes, I had the Cajun pasta which was seasoned beautifully and perfectly portioned for price. Found my new favorite haunt!

Dietary restrictions: Lots of vegan options from scratch as well!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Cajun Pasta

The cooking mama has some really awesome menu items, like the loaded pizza fries and jambalaya mac. We had a catering order and the cooking mama knocked it out of the park. Simply the best mac and cheese I've ever had (had actual flavor unlike most restaraunts), and the sweet potato corn bread is super moist and tasty. Would absolutely recommend for dinner or for party food

Amazing homemade Southern cooking! Shrimp and grits, collard greens, and sweet potatoes corn bread fantastic!

Listen I tried not to give a bad review because the customer service was good. However, the most important thing is the food is not. The first time I ordered, I got a shrimp po boy. It's nothing like a po boy! There was hardly any shrimp. It was cold. The fries were supposed to have cheese. But they did not. The owner gave me a gift card for my next order.I waited a while and ordered cajun shrimp pasta and cajun chicken pasta with sausage. It didn't taste anything like cajun food. There was no seasoning and the portion was small for the price. I had to add my own seasonings to make it edible.Worst of all, I forgot about the gift card, so I didn't use it. I won't be trying my luck again, so money wasted.

First time customer. Shrimp Poboy is small, overpriced, but worst of all the shrimp was overcooked so bad it was like rubber.UPDATE. The owner has been in contact with me and she was very apologetic. Customer service always wins ?. I’ve updated the rating.

Simply the best. Everything she cooks tastes homemade/fresh and it’s seasoned very well. Menu is almost perfect(I wish there was chicken livers w mash potatoes and gravy!) other than that it’s great no complaints. Some of my favs were: chicken and waffles, shrimp po boy, mac and cheese, chicken gizzards and cajun pasta. 10/10 would recommend