We hired Five of One to cater our downtown black tie wedding. Initially, they seemed very willing to work with us to make our multicultural event work. We had four "taste kitchens" with them, including two with my mother and grandmother to perfect the rice dish that was the entree. We finally got it right at the last tasting.
Unknown to us, the chef that we had been working with left town the day before our wedding to cater another wedding.
The rice dish on the day of our wedding was a disaster. It tasted terrible! We watched plates of it go back to the kitchen untouched by our guests. My husband and I were mortified. We had so badly wanted to showcase our different cultures in the food, and we were so embarrassed that our guests did not eat well that night.
Other issues included very slow service that put the reception one hour behind schedule. My husband's family was served last (45 min. after the first table had been served). This was noted by the other guests as well. My family does not drink alcohol for religious reasons and we had specifically noted which tables were champagne vs. sparkling cider tables. Needless to say, my family's table was served champagne, leading to some very unhappy older family members.
Also, as our dinner was a seated dinner, we had specified that tea and coffee should be served at each table. Imagine our surprise in hearing that this had never been done. Our guests carried their coffee cups across the room to serve themselves from a coffee/tea station that we also had set up.
Five of One managed to negatively affect our wedding reception in many ways. In speaking with the owner about our concern and disappointment, she apologized and was willing to take the blame, but unwilling to discount us much for the bad food and service (she gave us $400 off a $7,000+ bill).
She mentioned that in catering "things like these sometimes happen". I wish that someone had warned me about this company. Hire another caterer.
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