Rustic Gourmet Catering

I want to take the time to write my opinion in regards to my catering experience with Rustic Gourmet. My husband and I got married this past May (2010) and had one of the worst experiences ever. Our reception was being held at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens so we had to choose from one of the caterers on the list. The Botanical Gardens gave you a wide variety to choose from, totaling a number of 11-12 different companies. We chooses Rustic Gourmet because they could do what we needed and the price fit our budget, it is also a family run business and we liked that. Through out the year of working with Todd I started to become a bit nervous because it seemed difficult for him to find time to meet with us when we wanted to discuss some items and it seemed that he did some work last minute. I still tried to keep my confidence up though because he was on the NBG list and I knew that it was a lengthy process and you had to be good in order to make it on their list. Needless to say my gut feeling was right. Rustic Gourmet utterly embarrased my husband and I. Nearly 50 people did not get fed that night (they ran out of food), only one tray of Hors d'oeuvres were passed for a reception of 200 people, he arrived late to the gardnes only allowing himself 1.5 hours from the arrival time to the start of the event to step up and cook for a reception of 200 people, this also delayed our cake deliver and decorators who were told to come at 2:30pm because the tables would be set up, his wait staff was rude and told my dad he could not take a strawberry and further rolled their eyes at him when he proceeded to take one, no starwberries were ever actually placed on the cake table, he changed the set up of the room, when we had already assigned tables, leaving to brides parents table now in the rear of the room, he did not follow through with the number of cocktail tables in gazebos, and ran out of water at the bars. I could go into way more detail, but I will spare you. The cater never apologized for his mistakes and when we wrote a letter to the him expressing our concerns, he only replied with a letter pretty much stating we were wrong in every point we made. That he had done nothing wrong and no monetary refund would be given. I would at least like to money back for the 50 people who did not eat!!!I do want to states that though this was an awful experience and Rustic Gourmet functioned in a very non-professsional manner, the food that was eaten was delicious! Perhaps if he could run his business appropriately than he could be a huge success because Todd does know how to cook!!!

Todd and Rustic Gourmet were recommended by our banquet venue and overall I was very happy with their service. He put together a special menu for our event, and took care of details like the liquor license, cake table, table clothes, etc. Everyone raved about the food, its presentation, and service. I'd definitely recommend them and use them again.

Todd is obviously an "artiste" in every sense of the word. While his food has been raved over and I have no doubt it is delicious, Rustic Gourmet Catering has several customer service issues to work on.His contract is vague, at best. And full of contradictions. It implicitly states that floating candles are not allowed (as he provides the linens and will not allow you to provide them yourself) and yet when we asked him for centerpiece recommendations, he stated that floating candles were fine.Don't bother trying to use any kind of coordinator with Todd. He is, apparently, the almighty God of weddings. We were required to hire a day of coordinator because we were getting married at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, and they won't let you not have one. So we hired one. Todd immediately tried to implement a "Martha Stewart Fee" ($500) for using a coordinator. This is in his contract, however, it does not say you will get charged simply for using a coordinator but if they "persistently advise" him on how he should set up. Our coordinator did no such thing (quite the contrary, she was trying to make sure he got all the preferred resources he would need at the reception site and made sure other vendors weren't going to get in his way). Todd sent us a nasty email when we asked if he would be available to meet us at the reception site with the coordinator to go over a few things. Mostly to ask him what he needed so that we could plan accordingly. He said he never met with clients unless they came to him and he would do so under no circumstances. He did not ask what information we needed. A simple "I can't make it," would have been sufficient. I'm perfectly capable of doing business dealings over email. Todd then raged a bit about us hiring a coordinator (we had hired him a year and a half out and hired the coordinator 3 months out) and said we "lied" to him about hiring one. We had not told him one way or another about it and I don't think I'm required to tell someone I'm paying $7000 what I'm choosing to do with our event. But I digress. He then demanded the coordinator call him and when she did, he told her she was extremely rude for calling and said if she "wasn't too annoying" he would consider refunding the $500 "Martha Stewart Fee".I was looking forward to the all-inclusive services he would be providing and was more than happy to let him do almost whatever he wanted with the reception. But there are other vendors to consider and the opinions of the bride and groom should certainly factor into his psyche. They most definitely do not.Clearly, Todd has his way of doing things. However, being an arrogant jerk to your clients is not good for business. He would do well to remember that. We're currently in the process of firing him (3 months out!!) and I will make sure he gets nothing but negative recommendations from me. He has literally been the only stressful part of this entire process and I completely regret hiring him in the first place.

Todd With Rustic Gourment has a really great menu and attitude. His food is great and the customer service is good. Call and try for yourself

Our niece decided to get married in August of 2014 with less than 90 days prior to the event. Another complication was no one lived in Virginia beach including the bride. We had to find a caterer fast, and Rustic Gourmet Catering was there to the rescue. Even though, we were planning the wedding remotely there was no detail left to chance. Chef Todd made sure the menu was pleasing to the bride as well as the guests. We needed a wedding cake, and he referred the best baker in VA. When we arrived at the venue the Rustic staff was there to greet us and made sure we were pleased and if there was anything else they could do for us. We, of course were late, so the staff helped with last minute decorating details while we attended the ceremony. Rustic Gourmet was flexible, kind and above all provided 5 -star service. If you are planning a wedding by family committee (as we did) or have a party planner. This caterer is for you. HINT ! if you are coming from out of town rent a house for guests and have a wedding or family function there. So many rentals to choose from wish we thought of it!