Schumann's Four Seasons Catering

Caveat: We didn't use Schumann's for our wedding. I'm only basing this review on our tasting.

Schumann's gave us a big list of dishes on various sample menus to choose from before the tasting. We had tried some of their food before at a Brazilian Room bridal fair like onion puffs, and thought they were good but not amazing (GBNA), and wanted to try some new stuff. They served us many of the apps we suggested as well as the onion puffs. At first I was disappointed to seem the ol' onion puffs, but then I realized why they push them so much. They were by far the best appetizer. That's when I realized - there's a reason caterers push certain dishes.

Schumann's let us try several appetizers. The curried chicken triangles had too much puffed pastry. The chicken satay was served cold, and overlooking the fact that the meat was still only okay, not nearly as good as what you could get in a restaurant. The accompanying dipping sauce was terrible and tasted like peanut butter instead of a peanut sauce. (We had tried the chicken satay at Ann Walker Catering two weeks before and this paled by comparison). The bruschetta suffered from out of season tomatoes, so as a result it was hard to judge. (But really they shouldn't have served it to us.)

The appetizers we liked the most were the curried carrot soup shots. They were GBNA, but we thought they would be fun to serve at the reception. The boyfriend liked the ahi tuna on crostini, but I thought it was only fair to middling. The mushrooms stuffed with pine nuts and pesto were my favorite. And of course the onion puffs shined after the poor showing of the satay, chicken curry triangles, and bruschetta.

The best dish we tried by far was the spring greens with candied pecans and pears. It was one of the best salads I've ever had. Even the boyfriend who isn't a big salad fan and doesn't like salad dressing, liked the salad and dressing.

The caprese salad of tomato, fresh mozarella, and lettuce was only okay. Again, the tomatoes were out of season, and I don't think there was any basil to punch up the flavors.

We also tried sides of asparagus spears, saffron risotto, and broccoli with pinenuts. Of these, the asparagus spears were the only ones worthy of continuing on to our potential wedding menu.

The entrees were unimpressive. The seabass with fruit salsa and chicken in a mushroom wine sauce both tasted like bad hotel food.

While tasting the food, one word kept popping into my head: "amateurish." That's how I felt about many of the dishes - especially the unfortunate appetizers. And I wanted a caterer where I felt I would pay for their food if they had a restaurant. I did not feel this way about Schumann's.

The brothers Schumann are super nice. The tasting is in their office which is super cluttered with books and papers on every piece of furniture. They offer some of the lowest prices for catering around. We're super into food and dining out, so we weren't as impressed with the food, but for a bride who's trying to save a buck this is a good option. And I've seen many good reviews for them online.

Frank Schumann was very easy going and accommodating throughout the whole process. There were no problems if we wanted to bring some homemade breads or ask for things not on the menu such as fruit slushies which was a hit. During the reception, Frank was very attentive to us. My husband requested an ice coffee drink which wasn't on the menu, and Frank happily and quickly got him his drink. The food was excellent and we got a lot of compliments about it. The filet of Chilean seabass with a mango salsa was the standout dish.

We had a buffet with lots of items: 7 passed appetizers, 11 different non-alcoholic drinks including the fruit slushies, assorted breads, assorted fruits, assorted cheese, grilled asparagus and peppers, brocollini, oriental salad, wild lettuce salad, baby red potatoes, bowtie pasta with marinara and pesto sauces, chilean seabass, and prime rib. This price included the linen rental, flatware, stemware, service, labor, food, and tax. There were no additional costs for cake cutting and corkage. We definitely got a discount for having our wedding on a Friday.

Sometimes I felt Frank was too easy going because he lacked formality in the contract. His contract had typos and each time he sent us the contract, he didn't put our apartment number but it still got to us. Because of these little things, I was a litle worried about the day of the wedding but he pulled it off successfully! I felt stupid having any doubts. He and his brother have been in catering for years and years and is on many other vendor's preferred list. The contract asked for 25% deposit but he didn't enforce that and let us put $500 down. That's how easy going he was! Excellent caterer and highly recommended.

Paid $7600 for 100 people

To be honest, we didn't have much contact with the caterer. We knew they had tons of experience and nothing but great reviews, but we were a little worried about how little contact we had. But, in the end they came through big time. Guests raved about the food and the service. And they made a special effort to make sure I got to try all the appetizers (try the tuna on wonton crisps and giant shrimp cockail). The great thing about Schumann's is that they are a full service caterer, they arranged the rentals (glassware, chine, chairs, tables, linens, cake stand, heaters, etc.) and took care of all the set up (including our menus, etc.). And everything was perfect. Their beverage services was also gracious and unobtrusive. In the end, we couldn't have been happier, but they're probably not the best caterer for someone who needs a lot a of handholding throughout the planning process.

I worked with Frank Schumann for our wedding. What my DH and I love about Frank is that he's very experienced and because of his experience, he has complete confidence to do just about anything. He's confident, but not cocky. He doesn�t get phased by anything. We felt like he could make sure everything happened smoothly no matter what might happen to try to screw things up. But not only all this, the food was *excellent*. We got a lot of compliments from our family and friends. We had some grilled chicken breasts, and you could *possibly* say they were a little dry, but hey, it's hard to keep boneless skinless chicken breasts moist when they're not surrounded by gravy no matter who you are. But I think the best part about this company is how very helpful the entire staff is. They always made sure the bride and groom were happy, and I hear they were always attentive to our guests, too. They are very professional and hard working. I'm now trying to think of other parties (even small ones) I can have just so I have an excuse to have them cater it! =)