Every Thanksgiving, my friend usually orders a fully cooked whole turkey from Mariano's for her family. This year, she invited me to join them. As we talked about the menu, I told her that my brother randomly met Jenna, a Catering by Michaels culinary analyst, at a restaurant right before the holidays last year. She told him about how fabulous their confit turkey legs are so he ordered them, and now his whole family are addicted. I'm a dark meat lover too so I was sorry I missed out on trying them! I guess my turkey description made an impression on my friend because she kicked Mariano's to the curb. She ordered the turkey breast, two confit turkey legs & the gravy. Let me tell you - everything was FANtastic. "Out of this world" as my friend & her family gushed!! They traditionally make their own sides, but this turkey was so delicious that they are planning to order the whole shebang from here next year. The fully cooked turkey breast & legs were so easy, no messy carving necessary. The leg skin was crispy & both white & dark meat were unbelievably juicy. My brother & now my friend both thank Jenna for her confit turkey legs recommendation! We are all stuffed hahaha! read more

Catering By Michaels - Caterers Near Me - Morton Grove, Illinois

Planning a Chicago wedding while living in California was a challenge - especially for choosing a caterer. Shannon from Catering by Michaels was so helpful and responsive and very accommodating of our limited availability in Chicago. The food was delicious. The appetizers were unique and delicious and easy for guests to eat while standing around mingling. The dessert bar was so much fun and so tasty, too! The entrees were to die for. The beef tenderloin was actually what sealed the deal for us - my husband said that was the meal he wanted to eat at the wedding! We didn't originally love the salad options we first tried at our tasting but Shannon and the team were so open and responsive and crafted a chopped beet salad that was exactly what we were hoping for. Shannon was also super helpful as we figured out options for kids' meals and guided us to the most economical option. Throughout the entire process, Shannon and her team were super responsive and kind and we ended up with a delicious meal and wonderful experience. We definitely recommend Catering by Michaels for your Chicago wedding! read more

Catering By Michaels - Caterers Near Me - Morton Grove, Illinois

Fantastic Wedding Catering! I cannot say enough good things about Catering by Michaels. What was I looking for in a caterer? Good food, straightforward to work with, reasonably priced. What did I get in this caterer? I got delicious food (people still are commenting to me after the wedding about how good the food was) that had many options and were completely supportive of finding delicious food for folks of all dietary needs. I got an amazing person to work with. Stacey was super responsive, clear in explaining things, helpful to keep to our budget, friendly, knowledgeable, and with us every step of planning. And the price point was really fantastic. Should I have any major catering event to plan again, I would not hesitate to immediately see if Catering by Michaels was available first. Thank you to Stacey and her team for helping make our wedding such a joyful and delicious event! read more

I have nothing but amazing things to say about Catering by Michael's. We worked with Emily for our March 9 wedding at the Garfield Park Conservatory. From the first time we met she was very helpful and kind. She really wanted to help make our day perfect and she did. The tasting was amazing, they made us feel so special and the food was wonderful. After that I still was not 100% sure of our main item choice because my family has a lot of picky eaters. They let me come back to taste a few other items to finalize the menu, which made me feel so much better! I could not decide on tables and settings and am a visual person, so Emily let me meet her at the studio where they get the linens, that was also so helpful and way above and beyond! Our day was perfect and it was in a huge part to Emily and Catering by Michaels. I do not regret using them for one second, we got so many compliments on the food (especially the short rib), I highly recommend them! read more

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Here is my belated review for an intimate backyard dinner party for 9 from this past Labor Day. I worked with Emily, who was incredible and made the whole process so easy breezy beautiful. With Emily's guidance, we curated a meal based on different menus from past events for inspiration. We ended up with a charcuterie board for my family to snack on before sitting down for dinner. The meal was a plated poached pear salad with bread before a family style dinner of flank steak, salmon, potato gratin and asparagus. We also did some petite sweets for dessert. We did a combo of rentals (linens and plates) and used some of our own glassware and platters. We also provided our own booze, which saved on cost. Full disclosure, this wasn't cheap. I knew that going in and thought it was 100% worth the cost to have an elegant, peaceful dinner with my family. The food was delicious (complements to the chef!) and Barbara and Robert (the on-site staff) were lovely. They set up in my garage and cooked everything on site. Plus my spouse had to clean out the garage beforehand to make space so that was an added bonus. Overall everything went so smoothly from the deliveries to the meal itself. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about was the set-up and clean-up. They pretty much cleaned my kitchen even though they didn't use it and packaged up and put away all the food (including the chicken nuggets that I made the kiddos who did not sit down to dinner with us). Would definitely recommend Catering by Michaels! read more

Catering By Michaels - Backyard dinner party - Caterers Near Me - Morton Grove, Illinois

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We hired catering by Michaels and had Jamie as the event coordinator for my daughter's wedding, and they truly went above and beyond in every way. From start to finish, Jamie was outstanding--professional, organized, and fully in charge to make sure everything ran smoothly. The wedding was held in Kenilworth in an historical building, which required the space to be completely flipped after the ceremony, and her team handled it seamlessly. They worked so hard behind the scenes to make my daughter's vision come to life, and the result was absolutely beautiful. The food, service, and attention to detail were all exceptional. I can't thank Jamie and the staff enough for helping make the day so special. Highly recommend! read more

Michaels catered our daughter's wedding and it was fabulous! The set up, appetizers, dinner all so great! I will say my husband and I were skeptical that the chaos inside our home would disappear in the 2 hours we were gone for mass/ceremony but Jamie assured us to relax and all would be perfect. Thank you Jamie Quinn...you orchestrated a fairy tale wedding. You were on top of everything, dropped glasses, wait staff coordination, handing a drink to my husband after his speech, never was frazzled, always calm, accommodating and pleasant. She stayed late and was back the next morning. Great experience from planning to execution! Highly recommend Michaels and Jamie! read more

Michael's catered my 70th birthday party on August 24, 2024. I cannot say enough about how wonderful the whole experience was. Emily Kater my event coordinator was pitch perfect in helping me plan my party. And she was always accommodating when I would make last-minute changes. The day of the party was perfect. Thank you, mother nature but also thank you Michael's catering. Jasmine Israel and Robert were the best waite staff. I couldn't have asked for better. The set up of the yard was perfect from the chairs to the tables and food stations. They came and went, but you hardly knew that they were there. Then came the food. It was outstanding and all my guests couldn't stop raving about it. Finally, the cleanup was taken care of so quickly hardly knew there had been anything that went on in the backyard after they were gone. Thank you, Michael you exceeded my expectations! read more

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The homemade chips were a hit at the potluck! And the cottage cheese dip was amazing! This company puts extra efforts into making everything above & beyond expectations. read more

From the perspective of a wedding guest. The staff was great. The appetizers were wonderful. I have a dairy allergy. I kiddingly asked the server to direct the non dairy trays my way. And she did! Turned out that others at my table wanted dairy free. My meal was a bit different as I requested a dairy free dinner. By George it was. The veg and potatoes were great. Chicken dried out after a bit. read more

This was our 4th year catering thanksgiving from Michael's everything worked great and tasted good. Easy pickup at highland park recenter. Highly recommended. Try it you won't be disappointed. read more

The absolute best catering service you can imagine!! Professional service, quality food, spectacular presentation and great prices! We loved the food. read more

We booked Catering by Michaels for our wedding after having multiple family friends recommended them and they EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS! Communication with Michaels was seamless and working with our coordinator, Stacey, was a dream. She was so on top of it in scheduling our tasting, attending our final walk-through, and making sure everything was perfect on the day of the event. First and foremost the food options they offered were TO DIE FOR. It was so hard choosing what we wanted at our wedding because everything sounded so good. I went into choosing a caterer just not wanting bad food and they provided everything and more that I could imagine. The tasting was one of our favorite parts of planning. We had such a great time trying all the food, making notes, and playing around with place-setting options. Truly we were blown away with every food item we tasted. When it came to the walk-through Stacey came prepared and asked us all the right questions, even about things we hadn't thought of or discussed. I was thoroughly impressed with her knowledge and professionalism. On the wedding day, Stacey and all the Catering by Michaels staff were TOP NOTCH! Our guests were also blown away by how delicious the food was - from apps, to dinner, to dessert. Multiple guests have reached out to us post-wedding to rave about not only the food but also about the staff and service they received. read more

I hired this place for my wedding and needless to say it was a nightmare from beginning to end. I trusted a manager by the name Emily to ensure my wedding went smoothly. Needless to say Emily ruined my wedding with her disorganization and horrible attitude. Rude staff. Low grade food. Late delays and broken promises. Steer clear of this company for your next event. Run far away from Micheal's Catering. read more

My (now)-wife and I agreed when planning our wedding that the food had to be a priority. Both of our families are massive foodies, and I have a number of close friends who are vegan (and I refuse to make my friends eat nothing but salad at my wedding). Suffice to say, Catering by Michaels delivered. Have you ever had steak at a wedding that wasn't terrible? Because CBM pulled it off. Have you ever tried a vegan key lime pie push-pop? Because it's freakin delicious. Shout-out to Moriah for being an incredible coordinator. Couldn't have done it without her. read more

Catering By Michaels - Caterers Near Me - Morton Grove, Illinois

I hosted a luncheon engagement celebration with food provided by Catering By Michaels. The main entree, Greek chicken, was inedible, as after following their heating instructions (heating for 45 minutes), the chicken was raw, and needed to be cooked for another hour, at which point the guests had finished their meals. I called Michael's emergency line from the luncheon, and never received a call back. I then provided pictures of the raw chicken and requested a refund for the two pans of chicken which were never eaten due to Michael's not cooking them through prior to delivery. After 2.5 weeks of "review" of the situation, I was informed that a refund for the chicken wouldn't be provided, and I was offered a gift certificate towards a future purchase, amount undisclosed. I live in another state and have no use for their gift certificate, nor do I appreciate the less than professional manner in which this was handled. They never apologized and blamed me for the raw chicken. Additionally, their sales associate with whom I worked, advised me to order quantities of food items we'd selected in what turned out to be in excess of what was needed for the number of guests. We had pounds of leftover asparagus and roasted potatoes, a whole unused salad, in addition to the uneaten chicken. The food itself was mediocre and the way they handled the raw chicken debacle is more than disappointing and lacks professionalism. STAY AWAY! read more

I am so disappointed to have to write this review, but this company was recently purchased by new owners, Jeff Ware and his wife. The owners need a lesson in customer service. Without one conversation, they decided they will not cater any longer to my family and did not have the decency to have a conversation or handle things professionally. By way of background, I have used CBM for the last 12 years for every Jewish holiday and recently for my daughter's mitzvah at the end of April. About a week ago, I emailed the sales associate that I normally go to and asked about ordering for the upcoming high holidays again. I received an email back from Jeff Ware telling me that he has reviewed his notes and they no longer want to work with me because twice (in 12 years), I didn't take a fruit platter upon pick up that was rotten (April 8, 2023) and 2.5 years ago, they attempted to overcharge me by 1/2 hour (their staff left after 3 hours and they billed me for 3.5 hours). Keep in mind my daughters mitzvah luncheon ($10k) was after these two events at the end of April. On both occasions, I didn't want to take a food product that would give my family food poisoning and I stepped in when they tried to over-bill me. These events were about 2 years apart and multiple events in between with my family still utilizing their services. Fast forward 3-4 months: I received zero communication about either of these two issues until the new owner's email to me to drop me yesterday (August 2023). This is not the way to do business. Mr. Ware has not yet returned a phone call or returned an email to me despite my ask to speak with him about the way he handled this situation. At this point, we are done with the Ware's. For an owner of a business, I certainly hope he learns a lesson or two about how to treat people. Good riddance!!! read more

They did a great job of providing appetizers for our wedding. Our reception with the big meal was the next day, but we wanted to have a few appetizers for the short ceremony day and went with Michael's. I worked with Megan several months before and she was super helpful. The food was delicious and the display was very nice. I'm going to use them again for a birthday party in a few weeks! read more

Highly recommend. Catered cocktail party for 40. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Delivery was right on time.

We just used Catering by Michaels for a bridal shower in our home. They were AWESOME! I started working with Michele several months ago. She was extremely helpful in walking me through the process from discussing needed rentals, to selecting the menu and even recommending a signature cocktail! The day of service was excellent. Our team of Rebecca, Dulce and Merlon, in addition to the chef and his assistant, worked so hard to make our event a great success! The food was spectacular. Innovative flavors and beautiful presentation made for a very memorable meal. I would highly recommend Catering by Michaels! read more

Attempted to book an event at Independence Grove using this group and had a horrible experience! This group failed to return numerous phone calls and email for 3 business days. Moreover the cost of over $125. a person for a brunch without any alcohol seemed rather exorbitant! When I voiced my disappointment with their customer service to their management she blamed their lack of service in the "supply chain issues!" I fail to understand how "supply chain issues" prevents a business from returning calls? Do yourself a favor and book your event elsewhere - if this group cannot handle phone calls it should not be trusted to arrange an event! read more

Catering by Michaels exceeded our expectations for back-to-back events in the same weekend, one casual and the other formal. We worked with two different event coordinators (Moriah and Megan) due to the style, menu offerings, price point of each event; both were attentive to detail, clear communicators, and collaborated well with our other vendors (venue, decor, planner, etc). Michaels' ability to customize and make creative suggestions made the whole process feel personal. If your event affords the opportunity to sit for a tasting, their central kitchen and attendant service is an event in and of itself. Seriously! Hearing the chef's perspective, coupled with the coordinator's creative vision, made the process far more fun than stressful. Most importantly, of course, is the actual execution. Our guests raved about the quality and sophistication of everything, from tuna push-pops to a room of decadent desserts...and everything in between. Entrees were timely, warm, and beautifully presented. The waiters, managers, and unsung heroes in the kitchen were all on point to deliver truly flawless events. We would absolutely work with Catering by Michaels again and will refer friends to the them at every opportunity. read more

They recently catered our wedding and I cannot say enough good things about their service and the team at Catering By Michaels. Stacey was an amazing partner, managed all of the details, and was always quick to answer questions. The food was fantastic and we received so many compliments from our guests. It was such a good feeling knowing that we never had to worry about anything and that everything would run smoothly when it came to our catering team!! read more

My husband and I are so happy we went with Catering by Michaels for our wedding in Chicago. Moriah was an absolute dream to work with throughout the process and helped answer all of our questions along the way! She was responsive, accommodating, kind and a calming presence during the stressful planning process. My family and husband had such a fun time at the tasting and the food did not disappoint on the day. Our guests raved about everything - from appetizers to the dinner to the dessert and late night snacks (pretzel bites for the win!). Would 100% recommend Moriah and team for any wedding. read more

I decided to make a last minute surprise party for my husband for a small group of friends. Spent a bit of time reviewing the menu and came up with a plan and reached out on 11/22 to megan at 1:00 PM She explained that due to covid they have a limited menu which I understand ( they should remove the menus that are not available) so I had to start over with my menu. I was informed during this call that I had to have my order in by 5:00pm or I would be charged a holiday surcharge ( the party was 12/4). Needless to say I could not make a decision and wanted to speak to a few people and asked her to give me until 9:00 am the next morning which she declined to do. Bottom line, they do not need my business or they would have given me that courtesy. We are expected as customers to be understanding during these times with staff shortages. I would expect the same in return. read more

I've had the chance to taste some of Michael's food recently and it certainly is delicious! Even the veggie sandwiches are good which is surprising. They have everything from sushi to your average tavern food (burgers), to BBQ and high end cuisine so it seems like they're prepared for a lot of occasions. Service is prompt and friendly, they also label all the food so everyone knows what they're eating. Food tends to go pretty fast which is a good thing. They also have homemade chips and dip which are good as wellm. Overall Michael's has been a welcome addition to our events. read more

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We used Catering by Materials for our wedding and couldn't have been happier with the food, drinks, service, and organization! Stacey was incredible to work with - so detail-oriented, thoughtful, and easy to communicate with. Our guests are still talking about how much they loved the food at our wedding, and everything went so smoothly! Would recommend CBM for any occasion! read more

Michael's (CBM) catered our ~30 person family bbq the day after my sons wedding last weekend and put the double exclamation mark on our beautiful weekend! Stacey C, our event coordinator, was flexible working with me and made sure all the details important to us were executed. Food and service the day of the event were on point! I loved hearing audible gasps from our guests over the smell of the steak and chicken on the charcoal grill, and the compliments that came afterward from happy guests from the delicious food, drink (thanks to bartender Ed) and relaxed company (being I wasn't haven't to run around taking care of the details the CBM staff was quietly taking care of!) I will definitely use them again. Worth every dime. read more

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I have a book at home that helps you with all aspects of wedding and event planning. And there, on the first page of the chapter about hiring caterers, is a "Do's and Don'ts" section. The first "Don't" says to never hire a caterer that is not prompt, enthusiastic, or who just mindlessly slaps a proposal together without listening. Looking back on the email correspondence with this company, it is littered with negative words/phrases which should have been a red flag from the start. (we do not necessarily have, we do not do, unfortunately, sorry, etc) However, I left work early one day in order to meet with the coordinator (to work around her schedule, not mine). She was very nice and seemed to listen and take a ton of notes, asking what type of cuisine we liked, the style of the event, etc. She promised to have a proposal ready by the middle of the next week. THREE weeks later, I send a "hey, whats going on" email, and promptly get a rather terse "the proposal is coming along any moment. At this point we are above your budget..." The proposal I get is not only "over budget" (by more than double) but it is extremely weird and nonsensical. A buffet of Indian and Greek food? Hot winter hors d'oeuvres (for a spring event) mixed with dessert style hors d'oeuvres? Plus dipping sauces which I adamantly stressed that I did not want. It seemed like they weren't all that interested in me or my event and just slapped something together at the last minute only after I inquired. I find it hard to believe any business, especially caterers, can be that busy or in such demand they can pick and choose clients at will in this economy, but hey, more power to them if that's the case. read more

I contacted a few caterers when looking for someone to do a simple "disney themed" menu for my children's birthday party. I chose Catering by Michael's since they were the most responsive and the most affordable. AND I happen to love Michael's* in HP, although discovered post party that they haven't been affiliated with them in 15 or so years. Oops. The only thing that Michaels in HP and Catering by Michael's in Morton Grove has in common is that they both make delish food. Emily Proia was the event consultant I worked with and she was great. She always responded to emails and phone calls within minutes and somehow seemed to whip up a proposal within minutes. I had figured out the menu I wanted before contacting caterers and she was very helpful & realistic about what was possible..and what would be too costly. We ended up with the following menu: * Cinderella's spinach dip (served in a pumpkin) * Mickey Mouse's Hot Diggity Dogs (small hot dogs) * Gus's Grilled Cheese (in the shapes of flower and stars, which delighted my daughter) * Jungle Book Salad * Magic Wand Pretzel Rods (they personalized these with my kid's names and they were a huge hit. They seemed to disappear instantly) * Decorated shortbread cookies in the shape of crowns, pumpkins and mickey mouse I had trouble figuring out quantities since you never know how much little children will eat, but Emily did her best to help me figure it out. We probably could have used more grilled cheese and less salad, but for the most part she got it right. The delivery guy was right on time and very helpful in terms of showing us how to setup the warmers for the food. I ended up just taking back the warmers myself to save on the delivery charge, although if I had realized then they were in Morton Grove (vs the Michael's in Highland Park) I may have just paid the extra charge. Being the hostess of the party I didn't get to eat much, but the small hot dog, salad and cookie I tried were delicious. And I'm guessing the grilled cheese and pretzel rods must have been good too since they disappeared faster than the fairy godmother whipped up a dress for Cinderella. I'll definitely be calling Catering by Michael for future party needs! * http://www.yelp.com/biz/michaels-chicago-style-red-hots-highland-park read more

The very BEST in catering in the Chicago area from their Event planning team, especially Stacey Combrzynski! An absolute delight to work with as well as the. entire team Stacey assembled for our event, from servers, to bartenders to chefs. The food was off the hook! My client was thrilled from start to finish. An excellent experience once again! read more

Catered my niece's wedding; the best wedding food I have ever had, and if they were a restaurant, I would frequent them. Fish, chicken and their salads were 5 star. Rolls left a little to be desired but way low on the list. read more

We've been working with Catering by Michaels for several years and usually order university-style-reception food from them. It is delicious! We have never had any issues with this catering company. The only problem is there're no photos in the menu and you can only guess from their description what you're ordering. Their portions tend to be big and it's easy to order more than you actually need. read more

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After years of having outstanding food from this catering company we were grossly disappointed at the way the company handled a recent issue of sending uncooked main dishes such as chicken and fish when these proteins should have been partially cooked when delivered. As a result despite following cooking instructions the proteins came out raw. They claimed not only that they had precooked the food but that because so many containers were in the oven at the same time it was not their fault. This was a family dinner to celebrate our 50th anniversary and cost almost $1000 dollars. No compensation was made. The quality of the side dishes was marginal. The corn soufflé had very little corn. It was mostly custard. The vegetables were tasteless The brisket was the only meat everyone ate. . They said they would call us in 7 to 10 days. We called over and over. They didn't bother to call us. They said they wouldn't be available due to the holidays. They finally sent a text message that said there was nothing they could do. This treatment for a long time customer was unacceptable. Knowing that our 50th anniversary party was ruined you would think that they would care enough to call We will NEVER order from this catering company again read more

We have used Catering By Michaels for many years for our family holiday meals - three times per year: Rosh Hashonah, Hanukkah, and Passover. We use their delivery service. The ordering is easy. Their phone staff is friendly and helpful. We have never been disappointed. Everything tastes not just okay but very good or even exceptional. The food comes well packaged with clear instructions for pre-heating if necessary. They have never been late. We plan to continue using Catering By Michaels because there is nothing for anyone else to improve upon. read more

I ordered from Michael's for Passover this year! It was absolutely delicious. I ordered beef and chicken, both were delicious; the spring salad had a remarkable dressing and the chocolate flourless cake was the best ever!! ( and I'm old so I've tasted many over the years and this one was subtle, but not terribly sweet and divine!!! Because of COVID I have been cooking a lot these past 12 months non-stop. We decided to order from Michael's for our small Seder this year and we are so glad we did! Karan Weinberg Chicago read more

We loved working with Catering By Michaels for our wedding this past October. The team is great and making accommodations and were very attentive to dietary restrictions. They provided a list of menu items, but we came to them with one of our favorite appetizers and they were able to make it for the wedding which we loved. Throughout the wedding and days after, guests were raving about the food and how great it was. read more

I used Micheals to cater a full Christmas dinner for 10 people several years ago and they did a wonderful job. Full turkey dinner with all the trimmings and appetizers. read more

I don't think I can even begin to describe how amazing our experience was with Catering By Michaels. We just got married, and Stacey and her team were a dream to work with. The food was fantastic (Guests can't stop talking about it), and the staff the night of we're so wonderful. The communication leading up to the wedding meant so much to us, and they completely nailed our vision. read more

Catering By Michaels - Caterers Near Me - Morton Grove, Illinois

This is our 2nd time using Catering by Michaels for our company Thanksgiving luncheon and as ALWAYS all was perfect from the decor to the food!! Highly recommend this caterer for your special event! read more