Simply Gourmet

Chef Larry and Jamie Barrett were an absolute joy to work with. We enjoyed every step of the way with them. From the moment we finished our initial tasting with them our mouth watered in anticipation for the wedding night. The process with them was very easy and it allowed us to just enjoy the road to our special day. The day of our wedding neither of us wanted to eat much for lunch because we knew what was to come for dinner and they delivered beyond our expectations. Our guest, however, had no idea what they were in for and we were so happy to hear all the compliments on how delicious the food was and how nicely presented the fruit bar was during cocktail hour from all of our closest friends and family. We chose to have a table served dinner rather than a buffet style dinner and were so happy with the serving staff and their professionalism. Simply Gourmet is amazing and we would recommend them highly to anyone seeking a catering company that will take great care of their guests and provide food that is to die for. Thank you to Chef Larry & Jamie and to your wonderful staff.

Everything was PERFECT for my wedding day!!! Kathy with Simply Gourmet was by my side every step of the way I could not have done it without her. Her decorating skills are out of this world she made the ceremony and reception everything I imagined it would be. I would highly recommend Simply Gourmet if you are looking for a stress free wedding Kathy and her staff will make it perfect. Thanks Simply Gourmet, Kathy and staff.

My husband and I were so happy with the quality of the food and service from Simply Gourmet. We are very picky about the quality of food and knew that it would have to be a highlight of our event, especially after experiencing so many expensive but mediocre meals at weddings. We chose to do a cocktail style heavy hors d'oeurves reception in a lounge like setting and an international variety of foods. Everything was absolutely delicious just as it was at our tasting. Kathy and her staff were incredible. Acting as our Event Coordinator as well, Kathy was everywhere we needed her, and she set up the reception room perfectly. We couldn't have asked for a better overall experience. Thank you Simply Gourmet! ~ Mr. and Mrs. Wilkens

Simply Gourmet was one of our favorite and most-reliable vendors. I'm vegetarian and very sensitive about chef's comments and suggestions about my diet. We interviewed and tasted with four caterers in town, and one caterer said my request was "too vegetarian" and another didn't even make the vegetarian dinner when we showed up for the tasting!While the other caterers were busy offending me (the bride) and suggesting boring not-from-scratch pasta dishes, Larry and Jamie from Simply Gourmet pulled me aside and asked me what vegetarian dish I really wanted. I said I wanted pumpkin raviolis, and Larry was very excited to make them. These were from handmade dough and had the most delicious savory and sweet filling imaginable. My entire family was also very pleased with their flavorful fish and meat options. It's actually funny how long their catering option list is because Larry can literally make anything perfectly. The salad with the berries and candied nuts also comes with the most delicious homemade dressing. The food was even better at the wedding than at the tasting! The food was also very reasonably priced for the quality and presentation. Their servers were perfect, friendly and professional. They also had a host-bar option so the open bar was affordable. The rentals get VERY expensive, but Simply Gourmet charges the normal market prices. All in All, Simply Gourmet is the class-act you want at your wedding. From consult to the day of, everything comes out as promised.

My fiance and I both love good food, so finding a good caterer for our wedding was a must. We tested out our first caterer and were rather discouraged. Simply Gourmet was the second place we tried and boy, what a difference! It was important to both of us to create a unique menu rather than serving traditional wedding food and Chef Larry was fantastic at making that come true. All of our guests could not stop raving about how delicious the food was!When we walked into to Simply Gourmet we had no idea that we would walk out with not only a caterer but also a planner! Kathy was absolutely amazing. She was instrumental in making all the many pieces of our wedding come together into a magical day. We can not thank Kathy, Larry and Jamie enough for helping us to create the wedding of our dreams. Thank you again!

Our guests, many of whom are in the food business, all said it was the best dinner at a wedding ever. We were very specific in our needs, changed several items along the way and even asked Simply Gourmet to make up an appetizer so we could use special caviar from Mote Marine. They were gracious and responsive all the way. We definitely felt like we got more than we paid for.

Simply Gourmet is simply perfect. Their food is AMAZING. They customize anything and everything you want. We had vegan, dairy free, and vegetarian food at our reception and even sushi! Chef Larry is magical for sure. He had tons of different ideas to make a very versatile menu. I worked with Jamie and she was so patient with me and was super responsive with any questions I had. (our gmail conversations would be huge!) The staff is super professional and nice and the house made sangria is delicious. It is a bit more costly than other caterers, but if you want people raving about your food, are in need of really unique eats, and you have a higher standard than other bland and boring catered food, look no further. You will love Simply Gourmet. A+... <3 Anna and Joe

My now husband and I could not have been more pleased! Not only was the food incredible (presentation, taste, everything about it) but Jamie made the wedding run smoothly during the event, as well as helped with major planning details. She is a wonderful source to go to with any event related question and was a very calming presence! Simply Gourmet took my wedding to a whole new level!

I met Jamie at a wedding vendor event and immediately scheduled an apponitment. My groom and I were so impressed with her professionalism and knowledge of local venues and other vendors. She was able to take the ideas in my heaad and transform them into a detailed map with in a matter of an hour. I later scheduled a tasting that my mother and I attended and we were blown away by the flavors of the food. Jamie made every detail seem elegant, simple and yet matter of fact. She even was available to come to the rehearsal to help us see everything through. The day of the wedding was priceless. Jamie and her staff were visible, friendly and attentive to every detail. The guests were talking about the food for days after the wedding and Jamie made sure to follow up with us a few days later. I can't imagine anyone else providing the service and quality that was given to us through Simply Gourmet.

Simply Gourmet made our wedding so perfect! Jamie really went above and beyond and I felt like she did much more than you would expect from a caterer. She really got me through the day and I can't be more happy that we chose them for our catering. Not only was the food and bar really affordable but it was absolutley gourmet and fabulous! Guests couldn't stop talking about the food and how wonderful the wedding was (which was all thanks to Jamie and her staff)!! My expectations were exceeded by far!! Choose them if you want your day to be as perfect as mine was!

We can't say enough about the pros at Simply Gourmet. From the first phone call we were wowed! We emailed back and forth for a few days, responses were always timely, with some ideas of what we were looking for and menus for the wedding reception. Kathy and Larry provided us with menus and pricing and were quick to say that we could make any changes we wanted.From there,we were invited to meet with them and were welcomed with a beautifully set table and had a "luncheon" featuring foods from the menu. We sampled foods and sat with Larry and Kathy to discuss the reception down to the smallest details.Kathy did a site survey about a month before the wedding to see how we wanted the event set up.On the evening of the wedding, Kathy showed up and gave us a brief run down, introduced her team of professionals. They were outstanding, the food was great, their bartenders were personable and extremely effecient. Kathy also did a follow up call on Monday to be sure that we were satisfied and asked for feedback.Thank you Kathy, Larry and your amazing staff.Leslie Wells,Madison Wells White

I started working with Simple Gourmet over a year before the wedding. We selected Kathy as our day-of-coordinator almost immediately. We went through several different dinner menus just to match our budget, which we were successful in doing. They had no issue changing things around to accommodate our budget and that was such a relief. The closer we got to the wedding the more we met with Simply Gourmet to make sure everything was perfect!Our guests LOVED the food! And even better, I loved the food! We had a pasta bar and it was so much fun for our guests. The tables, chairs, and place settings were set-up wonderfully and everything was so perfect and beautiful.The staff day of the wedding was so wonderful. They escorted my husband and me to the buffet and filled our plates for us. We didn’t have to do anything. They treated us like VIP and always brought us our drinks, extra food, cake, etc. During our formal pictures they brought over passed appetizers for my family and bridal party. Even after the wedding they packed up the rest of the food to-go and helped my parents clear out the building. I would definitely recommend Simply Gourmet for your wedding catering. They do so much more than just food!Day of Coordinator: Kathy Taylor of Simple Gourmet Kathy was amazing! She was with us from the beginning of our wedding planning right up to the end. She knew everything about my wedding and was always there to help. She was more of a month-of coordinator, which we desperately needed! The week before the wedding I started to stress and she was always there to tell me why I shouldn’t be stressing, or to help fix the issue I was stressing about! Day of the wedding she was calm and collected and took care of everything. I didn’t even have to think about the time schedule or what comes next in the day. I didn’t even know what was going on outside the bridal room. Kathy simply approached me when it was time to do something, and would always ask if I was ready or if I would like to change something. She was wonderful!!!

Jamie made our day exactly as we had planned and discussed. We even made some last minute changes and she was able to adapt her timetable to please us.The food, drinks and especially the service was outstanding.Thank you Jamie for helping to make our day so special.A & W.

We can not say enough about Simply Gourmet. They provided us with a coordinator (Kathy) who was absolutely spectacular. She worked exceptionally well with my now wife and we are forever gratefull. The food...perfect. Chef Larry knows his food and truly enjoys what he does. When we met for our tasting, you could tell he wanted you to enjoy the food as much as he enjoyed making it. Anything we wanted, he did his best to make it happen. Simply Gourmet is a smaller company than most and prides themselves in the relationship and commitment to their clients.

It was a pleasure working with Cathy and her crew, with the help of Bee Ridge Florist, they made my reception site a dream come true!!!! thanks!!!

We considered several caterers, and Simply Gourmet blew them all out of the water! We had a lot of requests, but Kathy Taylor knew that we were on a tight budget. Knowing that, she helped guide us in the right direction with our food and rental choices. We ended up with a fabulous wedding menu at a very reasonable price. The food was absolutely phenomenal--we had several guests come up to us to tell us how amazing the food was and to ask if they could get seconds! And many were foodies from New York City ;) Additionally, Kathy was our day-of coordinator, as I did not have a wedding planner. She was ESSENTIAL in making sure everything happened correctly and on time. What a life saver! I wish I could give Simply Gourmet more than 5 stars.

I hope I have enough room here! My husband and I chose Simply Gourmet as our Caterer after attending a friends wedding, and receiving their recommendation. After our trip meet with Jamie and Larry, we totally hit it off and decided to book them. We met for tasting the Chef Larry, blew us away with his menu, his food is AMAZING!!! We decided to have to completely different menus for our wedding, one Yank, one Brit to reflect our nationalities...Jamie and Larry went over the top to provide organic food and two fabulous original menus. Both Jamie and Larry, are unbelievably professional, and just are really good people! As far as service, you will not find two people who are more passionate and love what they do. An awesome team and would be a perfect addition to any wedding.....Cheers!

Simply Gourmet was fabulous. Of all of the vendors at the wedding, they were the easiest to work with. They food was delicious and Kathy was very accommodating especially since I was planning from out of state. Thanks again Simply Gourmet!

Many Thanks for all you did to make our wedding a success. The tables looked lovely, the food presentation ws inviting, and the the food superb. Our guests commented how perfect the wedding was in everyway. We are very happy we chose Simply Gourmet to cater our special event.Bob and Stephanie

Jamie is amazing to work with and she went above and beyond. Not only does Simply Gourmet do catering, but they also serve as a planner to keep things moving and organized at your wedding. Jamie is on time and very professional. She goes above and beyond to get exactly what the bride wants. I highly recommend Jamie if you value organization and an eye for detail. Jamie will get it done! I also have to mention that her food is phenomenal. People were actually coming to me after the wedding and commenting on how awesome her food was. It is great food if people remember it! Thanks Jamie!