Carven Catering Service

Carven Catering gets my vote! The owner, Judy, is very easy to work with, and her creative dishes are out of this world! She has the expertise to suggest the right dishes and the right amounts for your gathering, and then she sets up in such a creative way, which makes the food looks even better. I’ve used her services for 3 relatively small family parties and will do so again. Having the party catered takes a lot of the stress away!

Over the years I have attended several events and private parties that were catered by Carven Catering. The food was always delicious and the presentation top notch. Judy truly understands we eat with our eyes first. When the company I was working for was looking for a different option for meals during proposal season I suggested we contact Judy and I’m so glad we did. Everyone was thrilled. She brought us wonderful, healthy meals so we weren’t eating the same pizza and take out each night. It was great to be having «home cooked» style meals even though we were working around the clock. I was so pleased by the food and service she provided that I reached out to her again when I needed a helping hand with a couple of my family celebrations. She was wonderful, not only with putting together a delicious menu within my budget but in showing me how to set up the buffet and bar area to help with the flow of foot traffic. She definitely knows what she is doing! If you are looking for a local caterer that can provide you with a delicious menu for anything from a casual back yard BBQ to a Black Tie dinner and everything in between then look no further, Judy Carven and her team can get it done.

I have enjoyed Judy Carven’s delicious culinary creations at many local functions. Her artistic presentation and quality of ingredients have always been both admired and quickly consumed by our guests with rave reviews. We found her easy to work with and flexible when necessary with our budget and timeline. Highly recommended!

I have not used Carven catering personally, but I have as a member and current president of the Chelmsford Garden Club. The Club has had numerous occasions to feast and enjoy Judy’s creations. The food is well prepared, creatively presented and has been enjoyed by and has satisfied our members. We are a large and diverse group in terms of age, background and culinary expectations so that is no mean feat! We will continue to welcome and enjoy Carven’s catering services.

Unbeleivably disappointed in Carven catering services. Which is a total bummer because I had been so excited about her food and company since I found her. The tasting she offered my husband and I months ago was perfect– her ideas were perfect.
But the day of was a disaster. I paid 2500 dollars and it was a nightmare for me– which really sucks! The servers were rude. I got a snude comment as to why I got the portion I got– and I’m the bride. They were handing out a small piece of steak tips, a small spoonfull of pasta and a small spoonful of bowties/​veggies to all my guests, and my husband and I included. I looked at the server and smiled when I held my plate up to be served, and the comment I received was «You requested portion control.» The worst part about this– I had about 50 guests throughout the night complain about the amount of food. The amount of food I took home would have fed at least 30 people! So why weren’t my guests fed appropriately??? I did not need to take that food home! Doesn’t make sense to me.
I paid for 5 hours of services with Judy. I got 2 hours from her servers. I paid 425 dollars in service charges alone — and my agreement for this was they were to monitor the food line, serve the food to the guests, clean up the plates when people were done eating, and help rinse the dishes at the end of dinner. That’s reasonable, no? 425 in service charges– and they left after 2 hours and never helped with dishes! I was mortified when I found out! My guests and myself sat around when everyone left and cleaned plates! At my wedding! I was mortified, humiliated, embarrassed, and stressed out from this.
I spent 262.50 on shrimp cocktail– gone in 15 minutes. I spent 120 $ on scallops wrapped in bacon– they disappeared so quickly, I never got to try one. I had 115 guests. That price was for 10 dozen scallops! Cheese fruit and crackers, I spent 150 $ worth– they were also gone within 15 minutes. One of my guests compared the cheese and cracker plate to the small pre packaged ones you get at market basket.
Not to mention, they were late. Food was supposed to be out and ready by 3pm. Ceremony began at 3 30. Cocktail and heurderves were supposed to be there for the guests at 3– which I had coordinated with Judy. My wedding coordinator came running in my bridal suite after 3 pm saying they just arrived and the dinner was cold and that Judy hadn’t consulted with the hall about ovens, and that I needed to pay additional. It was a sloppy mess and I was so overwhelmed and busy with everything else that I didn’t know what to do but to hand over my credit card and say– do whatever is needed!
Judy had approached me once throughout dinner to ask if I was happy with everything. I was so happy and emotional, and hugged her and let her know, thank you for being here. About an hour later, there seemed to be some confusion about dinner plates and clean up, and I heard about Judy arguing with my officiant and my coordinator, so I ran over to find her. I asked her if everything was all set, to see if I could be of kind assistance, and I was assured that everything was ok. Shortly after that, I had found out they were gone– and I was SHOCKED.
Since the wedding, I have called practically every day– if not every day, then I would call the next. I tried from my house line, my cell phone, my husbands phone. No response. I sent a follow up email to her the day after, asking to rectify. I think the services were unacceptable. I don’t want to complain– I am in the business industry too. After my follow up email, I allowed a few days to pass– no response. Sent another email, and called a couple more times– no response. I called from my sisters phone 2 nights ago, Judy answered and snapped at me. «I am not doing this with you, I don’t like confrontation, you got what you paid for.»
Well, you just lost a referral and respect from me. I tried to communicate with you and if you don’t want to rectify, I think that’s really bad for business. We all make mistakes and sometimes things happen out of our control. But customer service is in your control, and this day was the happiest day of my life, and I entrusted you as my vendor to participate and help make it magical. And you ruined dinner. I did not pay you all that money for you to tell me I got what I paid for! What I paid for– was five hours of service, tips for your servers and enough food for my guests. And I certainly didn’t get that. And calling you wasn’t me trying to be confrontational, it was trying to find a common happy medium! I’m not happy.