The Catering Outfit

Had a wonderful experience working with The Catering Outfit for my wedding. The food was amazing, of course, and we had a wonderful experience doing rentals through them as well. But I am most impressed with their staff: every single member of the team was present, pleasant, and professional, even throughout on and off thunderstorms. Would absolutely recommend to anyone in the area!

A few months ago, we had TCO cater an event for us, and I can’t express enough how amazing both the food and service were. Beyond that, Talia—who I spoke with often, made the entire day easy and hassle-free. Thank you TCO & Talia

We just hosted a truly breath taking wedding at King Family Vineyards and TCO made it happen!! The staff, food, presentation and attention to details was truly incredible!! Our guests are still talking about it :) I chose TCO because they were very transparent of the rentals that would be needed which I very much appreciated, not all caters were when first getting quotes. Nina, our event manager, worked closely with us to make sure our vision came to life and the food was incredible!! So thrilled I chose TCO and you will be as well!! Highly recommend!! Type A MOB truly grateful!!

What a fantastic King Family/Catering Outfit wine dinner -- a perfect evening of wonderful food and wine, all locally sourced. I would recommend The Catering Outfit to anyone looking for amazing people to work with -- and of course delicious food!

We went to the Food Bar for breakfast and it was delicious! I got a bacon, egg and cheese and it came on a toasted bun. The food was fresh, perfectly prepared and filling. The cup of fruit satisfied my sweet tooth too! The kitchen is immaculate and speaks volumes to the cleanliness of the entire facility. Our server/cook was Mike and he was very professional and courteous. This place is a must try if you are close to UVA (about 1.5 miles). I will be visiting the Food Bar again every chance I get!

My daughter recently got married. The Catering Outfit’s food was spectacular. They were also very accommodating to many changes. Tastings were fun. They were and are terrific

TCO is absolutely top notch! I have had the pleasure of working with these fine folks many, many times over the years and they never disappoint! The staff is incredible and efficient, the quality of their work is outstanding and aesthetically beautiful and MY GOD, the TCO hammies (ham biscuits) are just perfection! Whether you’re looking to cater a small gathering or a large wedding or anything in between, you will not be disappointed in the decision to work with The Catering Outfit.

We chose The Catering Outfit for our fall 2024 wedding for their variety of elevated food and cocktail options. My husband is vegan but I am not and we wanted there to be a balance of food options offered that met some of these dietary restrictions. We were incredibly impressed with the vegan offerings and were very excited to add on an espresso and gelato bar for dessert. If you want impressive food and service they will undoubtedly deliver. Everyone on the day of our wedding could not have been nicer. They also served our brunch which was delicious and offered a myriad of grab and go bites for our guests.

Leading up to the day communication at times was quite difficult. Once Nina took over as our point of contact things went much more smoothly. Overall, we were really pleased with our TCO experience and felt like they offered us one of the most elevated catering options in the Charlottesville area.

I was the recipient of the Thanksgiving dinner for four promotion and I have decided I'm never cooking again. While that may be far fetched, please don't hesitate on hiring them to prepare an amazing meal for whatever your occasion may be. I picked up my winnings a couple days before Thanksgiving and was greeted by a lovely person out front at a table with an extensive list of people scheduled to pick up. This alone shows me that this place is good at what they do. With all this said, the meal was next level. The flavors were more than there. They had detailed instructions for reheating everything and when I say everything, there were a dozen different items. All the way down to the little tub of butter were not only delicious, but presentable. The food was beautiful. I could have never prepared a spread like this. Thank you to The Catering Outfit. 100% recommended and not because it was free, but because it was exquisitely delicious.

We should have known TCO was a disaster from the day of the tasting, when the food was cold and they mixed up which cut of meat was which.

The Catering Outfit failed to fulfil the basic requirements of a wedding caterer in more ways than I have space to list here, but here are some highlights:
* Throughout the planning process, from the moment we paid, TCO was extremely difficult to reach; we often had to send 3-5 emails in a row before we got a response, and the response was often “we are busy and will get back to you”, which they never did. Even our planner commented to us that TCO’s conduct was extremely unprofessional and difficult to work with
* The ‘roasted broccolini with parmesan’ on the menu was instead served as limp steamed broccolini
* The french beans were supposed to be served with a compound butter which was entirely absent
* The salmon, which was delicious and heavily encrusted with pecans at the tasting, was bland, overcooked, and barely had any crust at the wedding itself
* The officiant (my best friend) never got her meal and the mother of the bride didn’t have a chair at her table
* There was supposed to be a water station at the ceremony but it never arrived
* Despite knowing that we had ordered 450 slices of cake, they only rented 110 cake plates(!!) When we asked why there wasn’t more cake being served, we were told that the plate count was on the final rental order – but they didn’t send this to us until 5pm the night before the wedding, by which time we were already at our rehearsal dinner
* Despite serving us wine at the tasting and displaying a wine glass at the sample table setting when we booked rentals, they did not serve wine with dinner. Their response was that “it was not on the BEO”, but the BEO was sent to us full of many other errors just three days before the wedding, did not contain the dessert wine service (which was in fact served), and did not contain any information about the glassware rentals (which, again, was sent to us at 5pm the night before the wedding, at which time we were already at our rehearsal dinner and no longer able to check their work).
* They fed the tables in entirely the wrong order, meaning we couldn’t start speeches on time

The repeated failures to provide basic food service significantly impeded our ability to enjoy the day and our memories of the event. We strongly urge anyone considering TCO to avoid them at all costs.

Also, an update: TCO had my review removed from WeddingWire, so it's unclear how many others may have had similar experiences.

We got SO many compliments on the food & the service for our wedding. TCO flawlessly served / fed over 160 guests & staff without a hiccup. Nina & Courtney were super responsive and helpful during the planning process right up until the last minute when we made adjustments for rain. Would recommend them!

The Catering Outfit is phenomenal! 10 out of 10 recommend. My wedding venue at The Seclusion uses the Catering Outfit as a preferred vendor for catering and they were fantastic, the day of and prior the service has been spotless, professional – the food and drinks delicious – the attention to detail is outstanding – there wasn’t a fork or spoon out of place. I hired Courtney Hildebrand as my wedding planner from the Catering Outfit and she was an absolute gem! As it got closer to the wedding day and as a Bride, she handled big and small details so I could truly relax and enjoy my big day. Courtney put a lot of work and effort into making the day of as smooth as it could be – from the outside looking in – it was a perfect operation. During the planning stages Courtney offered such great design ideas such as what linens and colors to us, place settings, table layout, recommended fabulous vendors etc. and helped me plan a beautiful dream wedding! I trusted Courtney and the Catering Outfit on such an important day because they have the expertise and experience within the wedding industry, also experience within my wedding venue to plan and coordinate my wedding. I again and again will recommend Courtney Hildebrand – the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Catering Outfit to plan your wedding AND the Catering Outfit as your caterer. ?

The Catering Outfit is phenomenal! 10 out of 10 recommend. My wedding venue at The Seclusion uses the Catering Outfit as a preferred vendor for catering and they were fantastic, the day of and prior the service has been spotless, professional – the food and drinks delicious – the attention to detail is outstanding – there wasn’t a fork or spoon out of place. I hired Courtney Hildebrand as my wedding planner from the Catering Outfit and she was an absolute gem! As it got closer to the wedding day and as a Bride, she handled big and small details so I could truly relax and enjoy my big day. Courtney put a lot of work and effort into making the day of as smooth as it could be – from the outside looking in – it was a perfect operation. During the planning stages Courtney offered such great design ideas such as what linens and colors to us, place settings, table layout, recommended fabulous vendors etc. and helped me plan a beautiful dream wedding! I trusted Courtney and the Catering Outfit on such an important day because they have the expertise and experience within the wedding industry, also experience within my wedding venue to plan and coordinate my wedding. I again and again will recommend Courtney Hildebrand – the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Catering Outfit to plan your wedding AND the Catering Outfit as your caterer. 😊

The Catering Outfit is phenomenal! 10 out of 10 recommend. My wedding venue at The Seclusion uses the Catering Outfit as a preferred vendor for catering and they were fantastic, the day of and prior the service has been spotless, professional – the food and drinks delicious – the attention to detail is outstanding – there wasn’t a fork or spoon out of place. I hired Courtney Hildebrand as my wedding planner from the Catering Outfit and she was an absolute gem! As it got closer to the wedding day and as a Bride, she handled big and small details so I could truly relax and enjoy my big day. Courtney put a lot of work and effort into making the day of as smooth as it could be – from the outside looking in – it was a perfect operation. During the planning stages Courtney offered such great design ideas such as what linens and colors to us, place settings, table layout, recommended fabulous vendors etc. and helped me plan a beautiful dream wedding! I trusted Courtney and the Catering Outfit on such an important day because they have the expertise and experience within the wedding industry, also experience within my wedding venue to plan and coordinate my wedding. I again and again will recommend Courtney Hildebrand – the Director of Sales & Marketing at the Catering Outfit to plan your wedding AND the Catering Outfit as your caterer. 😊

We used The Catering Outfit for our wedding on a private residence in Goochland. They did an incredible job with everything from specialty cocktails and appetizers to a crab cake and filet dinner. Highly highly recommend.