Are caterers SUPPOSED to do tastings?

[IWantAMilkshake]

Ours never offered to do one, but we kind of want to know what we''ll be eating. Is it weird for us to ask? Thanks!

 

[enbcfsobe]

yes, most do. ours is the exclusive caterer for the venue, but they still do tastings. i had to ask -- they didn''t offer. they''re busy with other things. most caterers offer a number of choices from which you select your menu, and it is a good idea to try a few of the things you''re leaning towards to see if they work for you.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Absolutely. Some do them to entice people in but many don''t. However, any caterer should be willing to let you try your menu before you give them any money. Its not wierd at all and you should definitely ask.

 

[CrownJewel]

I also had to ask about ours, and asked to include it in the contract.

 

[Class n Sass]

My caterer does not offer tastings. I was actually quite surprised and didn''t think to ask about it until after we booked the venue. It''s not the worse thing in the world for me even though I would have liked to have one.

 

[monarch64]

I would definitely ask to do a tasting. Our venue did group tastings, which was really nice because we got to see the tables completely set up, and got a feel for how the room(s) looked full of people as well. They even gave us two extra "passes" for guests, so we had my SIL and MIL come along for additional opinion-gathering purposes, lol.

 

[zoebartlett]

I know it can be risky booking a venue without tasting the food but I don''t think it''s the end of the world if it doesn''t happen. My parents and my FI and I went to what I thought was going to be our tasting at our venue (a restuarant that''s usually only open for dinner) after booking for our wedding. We sat there in the meeting with the venue''s coordinators and kept waiting and waiting for the food to be brought out. We went on another tour of the venue and again, waited for food. We hadn''t eaten anything because we thought we''d have a sampling of their food. Nope -- didn''t happen. We ended our 90 minute meeting and hurried to another place for lunch. I guess they figured hey, if you want to check out the food here, make a reservation like everyone esle. We were disappointed but we''ve since gone back and have had really great food.

 

[bee*]

Our venue doesn''t offer tastings so we just went and had lunch there ourselves one sunday and it was delicious. Any people we know that have been to weddings there have said that the food was amazing so I''m not worried at all.

 

[lucy.lucy.80]

we insisted on it...and it is definelty not weird to ask. Unless you know several people that have used these caterers before and highly recommend them, I would ask for a tasting.

 

[HollyS]

You know, it occurred to us -- after the wedding!! -- that we had merely picked out the food. We never had a tasting. And, it was fabulous!

But, if your venue is high dollar, and you''re expecting wonderful food for that price, by all means, insist on a tasting. Nothing is worse than the usual ''hotel'' style fare of rubber chicken and frozen veggies. Or worse, rubber seafood.

Also, be sure they can provide photos of previous events so you know how your food will be presented. Some places seem completely incapable of creating an appealing buffet (for instance). A line of chafing dishes needs some pizzazz to make it attractive to your guests.

 

[LegacyGirl]

I agree with Holly! You want the food to taste good and look pretty too!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Ours charged us extra but it was worth it.