Culinary Creations Catering

To be clear, I have never had an event catered by Culinary Creations. I am reviewing the customer service, which is more than lacking.
I’ve been trying to get ahold of them for a while JUST to schedule a tasting and it has been like pulling teeth. It took her 2 full weeks just to email me back after my initial email inquiry which should have been a red flag. We finally settled on a tasting date after a LOT of email back and forth (which would have been MUCH faster and easier to schedule if she had ever picked up her phone or called me back after the few messages I left. I know I called at least 3 – 4 times at different times and left messages, none of which were returned. I always had to wait 2 – 14 days for an email response to each and every question I had).
There were a few occasions where I had to email twice to get her to respond or else it probably just would have never been returned. I’m not sure how they get clients in the first place with this kind of etiquette.
There’s a lot that goes into planning events, so constantly trying to hound the caterer and track them down adds a lot of stress. If this is what it’s like when I’m trying to secure their business, I’m afraid for what they might be like once they already have your deposit and a contract signed.
Furthermore, once I saw all the less than stellar reviews for the actual food quality, I decided it wasn’t worth it to continue dealing with this terrible service.
As a small service business owner myself, I know that the most important thing is accountability and good customer service. If this business owner is not able to return phone calls or emails in a timely manner she should just hire someone else to do it. A basic assistant to answer phone calls and schedule appointments is very affordable and doesn’t even need an office… they could do it from home. It’s not that expensive and will probably make you back a TON of extra money by avoiding lost clients.

Janine saved the day for me my bride! We were just 4 weeks out from our wedding and I was having a hard time finding a caterer who wasn’t booked. I found her in craigs list and i was a little worried to be honest. We had the wedding and reception in my back yard in San Francisco for 60 people. Janine provided the table setting as well as the food and bar tender. We had tri-​trip and chick on a stick with 2 appetizers before dinner that were served by two of her servers. At dinner we had a self serve buffet table with four types of salads/​side dishes and roasted potatoes (we provided the marinated potatoes). I received rave reviews for all the food, the bartender, and all the servers. They were FANTASTIC and left me with nothing to worry about. The food was completely gone except for a small portion of fruit salad!!! The tri-​tip was amazing! They cleaned everything they used before they left and left my kitchen as it was when the got there.
Thank you Janine for doing such a great job on our special day!

Well, we have mixed feelings about our experience. We recently attended a wedding reception catered by Janine’s ‘Culinary Creations’ and was very impressed with her staff. However, the food tasted pre-​cooked and then warmed up at the reception (leftovers?). What’s confusing is they had a full kitchen on location at their disposal. Why reheat everything when it should’ve been prepared fresh? We noticed most plates were left unfinished and heard a lot of complaints from fellow guests about this. Feel really bad for the wedding families, because everything else was great! Hopefully we can attend another function catered by her someday and have a better experience (and leave an updated review).

Janine was great and the food was delicious for our wedding! Very fresh and everyone loved it. She was understanding when we had issues with our payment the day of the deadline, came to see the venue long before the wedding, and was quick to respond to us. On top of that the rates were unbeatable for us college students. I would hire her again and highly recommend her!

Janine was a life saver! We searched high and low for a reasonably priced caterer for our big day. We talked to many caterers before Janine, many about laughed at our budget of $ 25 pp for food for 150 guests. Janine came to our house and gave us a tasting. It was just what we were looking for– fresh and simple. We chose salmon with dill and bay leaves, rosemary and garlic chicken, and grilled tri-​tip asada for our main entrees, along with sides and appetizers.
Janine was also like a wedding planner for us. I emailed her sometimes multiple times a day about seating, setup, timing, etc. and she’d respond very quickly. She’s been in the business a long time and it shows. She also met us at the venue and gave us a second tasting. And she lent us her own kitchen-​aid mixer for my aunt to use to make our cake. She did plenty of other things too like handling the rental order and providing breakfast items for guests that stayed overnight.
Our amazing celebration of love went perfectly. Dinner and dessert were timely, everyone was well fed, and the bartenders and servers were professional.
Janine went out of her way to make sure our day was all that we wanted it to be. In short, I’ll recommend her and her staff to anyone who wants a catering pro while looking to save a few bucks (weddings are absurdly expensive already).

We hired Janine and her staff to cater a birthday party for 50 people in Vasona Park. It was most enjoyable events I have ever hosted. Janine was really accommodating on menu choices, she helped adjust things so it would fit into our budget. Her assistant was friendly, helpful and good cook. They came early to set up, got things going, served and cleaned up the place when they were done. My guest really enjoy my doughtier Birthday party.

Janine was amazing the food was great! We had our wedding and rehearsal dinner at our house and Janine went above and beyond to make our day perfect! Met her through a friend and so glad to make the connection. She worked with our budget, has affordable prices and always makes more than enough! Another added bonus to not have to cook for yourself after the big day. Definitely would refer her again and again!
And I have to add that months after my wedding she went out of her way to bring me chicken soup when I posted in FB that I was sick. Truly a special and thoughtful person!

I’m very happy and fortunate to have had Culinary Creations Catering cater my party. Janine was patient and thorough and helpfully proactive as we worked through details before the party, even though it was not a huge event. The staff that served and attended were fantastic, attentive and very hard-​working. I’m totally pleased and satisfied.

Janine is fantastic! I am giving her 5 stars due to the service. I had a birthday party for my two teenage girls that were turning 16 & 17 respectively. We rented out a hall that does not allow any meats in the building (Pacific Cultural Center). Janine came up with a fabulous ideas– a fondue bar with various cheeses and all kinds of different breads and pretzels and vegetables for the kids to use for dipping! She brought two types of lemonade– regular and a lovely gourmet strawberry one. She came early and set up everything. She staffed it for 4 hours and kept everything tidy and stocked. She cleared up everything and left all the leftovers in tins for us. The price was very reasonable and the service was fantastic. I definitely with call her next time we host an event.

WOW! Totally above and beyond all my expectations! Amazing customer service, not to mention amazing food!
I cannot say enough about how great it was to use Culinary Creations. I contacted Janine for a fairly large event I was planning for work, and she could not have been better. She was able to make an awesome spread for my budget and the amount of people I anticipated, kept communication going and followed through on every request I made. Even when I was not sure what I wanted for the menu, she was able to provide sample menus and suggestions that were not only cost efficient, but appealing and delicious as well! She was present for the event and made sure everything went smoothly, was great about presentation and upkeep. Set up and take down were a snap, and she even packaged up leftovers so we could keep them.
I got tons of compliments on the food, and I am very glad I chose Culinary Creations to care of it for me. I will definitely use their services again!

Interesting, the last time I checked there were a lot more bad reviews. I didn’t make a comment but I guess now I should since it’s fake! Can you get bad comments deleted if you complain to Unilocal enough? Hmm… stran. ge
Recommendation: NO! NO! NO! Need I say more?! Try at your own risk — guarantee you will regret it.

We’ve used Janine Kiser of Culinary Creations Catering for several events (a Birthday party for 65, a graduation party for 45 and a large memorial service) as well as attended some large scale events that she’s catered. The food, presentation and service have always been spectacular.
Janine brings top notch, seasonal food with a creative flair. She and her staff are very professional and she’s able to make suggestions and accommodations varying budgets. I wouldn’t hesitate to use Janine or Culinary Creations Catering for any future event.

Janine catered our wedding (135 people) in Santa Cruz in 2006. Her rates were very reasonable, and her food was delicious and well-​received. We served a somewhat casual Fall buffet meal.
The staff was very professional and friendly. Janine was very easy to work with, and she even went out of her way to bring hay bales from her previous event (our location was an old farm house and we used them for extra seating) and buffet decorations to match our wedding décor.
i still feel like Janine was a real catch, and I’ve bragged more than once to my friends about the bang we got for our buck when we hired Culinary Creations!

Culinary Creations was the catering company I used for my wedding. Janine worked with my budget, dietary restrictions and space planning to create a wonderful dining experience for me and my guests. She also gave me great references for tables, chairs, tablecloths etc… She was very receptive and made my day hassle free by always making everything flow smoothly. Quick setup and take down and even boxed up the leftovers for us so that the overnight guests could munch on her yummy food later. Good communication and always was eager to please. I recommend Culinary Creations for any event!

Bad experience. Raw chicken will haunt the memory of my wedding forever! Lack of of communication, poor presentation, last minute changes and no compensation given when over half the chicken served was severely under cooked. Complete nightmare!