Catering By Design

Jeff was great to work with. I would say that sometimes him and Kathy can be difficult to get a hold of. They don't always return their phone calls right away or respond to emails. They will usually get back to you within a week of leaving a message. They get better at responding to you when your wedding date is actually closer though.

They did a great job with my wedding. They were willing to accomodate my changes, even at the last minute. They were very helpful with set-up and kept everything on schedule with the cocktail hour and dinner portions of my wedding.

The only reason I gave them a 3.5 stars for value is because their prices are a little expensive, but that was partly due to my venue (the Art Center) which makes the caterers charge a 15% fee on all food items and an additional 35% fee on all alcohol. So it's not really Catering by Design's fault, but it would be nice if their prices were a little lower so that the overall price wouldn't be so high once the Art Center adds their fee on top of everything.

I liked the food, it was presented well and there were a lot of different options. Not your standard wedding food. I also liked how they were willing to make anything you wanted pretty much. I didn't want a vinagrette dressing, they were able to change that. My husband and I wanted special meals, they changed that for us. We wanted larger pieces of cake - done! We wanted to serve a special apple cider drink to all of our guests - no problem! Jeff had many creative ideas for menu and drink options. I appreciated his input and suggestions. He really helped us navigate the wedding planning process and the logistics of the cocktail hour and dinner portions of our event.

Overall I would highly recommend Catering by Design. Especially if your event is not at the Art Center (saving you money because you avoid those extra fees).
They have a very professional team. Since they are local and family-owned they really depend on word-of-mouth recommendations for their business to stay alive. I will be happy to recommend them to anyone I know planning an event in the Rochester area. I don't think you will find a better caterer in Rochester, especially for a wedding.

Great food, very flexible (can make anything you want to have basically), professional, and on time. I only wish they had responsed to voicemails or email messages sooner. Other than that, they were an easy vendor to work with and offered high-quality food (albeit a little on the pricier side compared to other places in town).

I thought the tasting was better than the actual dinner. This could be because of making it in mass. It was still good. I would have liked a little more communication throughout the night.

Catering by Design was absolutely remarkable, very friendly and easy to work with. They spent over three hours with me taste testing and answered all of my questions. I truly felt relieved by their services and my guests still talk about the food that they prepared and served. It was amazingly delicious!!