Working with Componere as our wedding caterer was hands down one of the best decisions we made. It's been one year since our wedding at the Asian Art Museum, and every time it comes up in a conversation, the incredible food by Ethan and his team invariably take centre stage. The high-quality ingredients, delicate flavours, and impeccable service helped make our wedding a truly exceptional experience for everyone present. (Even our wedding planner, who doesn't usually eat during weddings, told us she had two salads because it was the best salad she'd ever had in her life). Ethan and co's creations were so good that even now, one year later, I still regret not gobbling down every morsel of food that was on my plate that day. Ethan, if you ever decide to open up a restaurant, know that you have two very willing regulars eagerly waiting in the wings :) On top of their outstanding culinary creations, Componere also offers top-notch service every step along the way. At our tasting, the room was tastefully arranged, and we had a wonderful time meeting the team. Ethan personally walked us through every course, explaining the seasonality of the ingredients and offering advice on the appropriate beverage pairings for each hors-d'oeuvre. They even surprised us with not one, not two, but three versions of His and Hers Cocktails, one of which perfectly captured Crater Lake, the site of our engagement. On the day of the wedding, the service staff were warm and professional, and the culinary team prepared each dish to the same impeccable standards as the small-scale tasting. And to top it all off, they thoughtfully put together a handwritten card and custom picnic basket for us to take with us at the end of the night, complete with a slice of our wedding cake to enjoy at home. What more can anyone ask for? In a nutshell, if you love great food and have the budget, GO WITH COMPONERE. This is a dream team that you don't want to miss out on. They will blow your mind, one bite at a time. read more

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Componere is one of my favorite go-to caterers for high-end events. Their level of hospitality, impeccable presentation, and delicious cuisine consistently exceed expectations. Every detail is thoughtfully executed, from creative, tailored menu options to attentive, professional service. Their pricing reflects the exceptional quality and care they bring to each event, making them not only a trusted vendor but also an invaluable partner in creating memorable experiences. read more

We didn't have the chance to thank Componere personally at our special event, so I'll do it here: Thank you x1000000000000000 for the most memorable and flawless evening! My helpmate and I are snobby epicureans who have dined at some of the most renowned restaurants in the world. Needless to say, we have fastidious standards when it comes to food and service. Componere happened to be the first tasting we scheduled. We had such an enjoyable experience (we really felt like we were eating at a fancy restaurant instead of in a tasting room next to the commercial kitchen!) that we decided to forego all other caterer tastings and move forward with the team immediately. Ethan, Alex and Christine were so kind, accommodating and easy to work with throughout the whole process that we never once wavered in knowing that we had chosen the best caterer for our event. Since we wanted to serve food that would appeal to all different palates without compromising our own preferences, Ethan recommended incorporating some "adventurous" elements in the hors d'oeuvres and keeping the entrees more traditional. Genius! So many of our guests remarked at how amazing the food was and that they felt like they were being treated to a fine dining experience from the moment they walked through the door. From the refreshing welcome beverages to cocktail hour where trays of hors d'oeuvres were rolling out left and right to the formal sit-down dinner, there was never a shortage of delectable food! One would think that quality might be reduced when serving a large group of people, but not when Componere is in charge! The food at the event tasted even better than we remembered from our tasting! I almost jizzed when I took a bite of gnocchi. The nitro ice cream station was a big hit. Our guests marveled at the liquid nitrogen steaming out of the mixing bowl and snapped tons of photos. Adding our own toppings was so interactive and fun! Even my 93 year-old grandma was excited to have some. I did overhear a few gluttonous guests lament that they wished the ice cream scoops were larger though. We also asked Pastry Chef Courtney to make our cake, which she did an amazing job on. We didn't taste it beforehand but settled on a buttercream vanilla cake with poppy seeds and fresh berries. Many guests told us it was the best cake they had ever tasted. One friend captioned it "the best wedding cake I have ever had" in a Facebook post and had to refrain herself from requesting a second slice, while another asked me for information on where to buy this cake from. Courtney also baked our caramelized banana bread favors, which were unbelievably moist, springy and perfect for breakfast the next morning. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, the downside to Componere is that they are a catering company and not a restaurant. Where the hell am I supposed to go now if I want THE BEST green garlic sformato, octopus, short rib croquettes, carrot burrata salad, black cod, truffled mushroom gnocchi, cake and banana bread all washed down with a glass of apricot ginger fizz?!?! Life is just cruel! I almost forgot to mention - we were gifted with an incredible picnic basket at the end of the night full of leftover cake and gourmet goodies. THANK YOU AGAIN, COMPONERE!!! read more

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Ethan and his staff at Componere served us the most amazing food for our wedding. I don't pretend to know what is common in the catering business, but I do know that even though our venue did not have a kitchen, Componere was able to set up an outdoor kitchen that produced a meal that our friends and families are still talking about. Many of our guests said that our wedding served "hands down, the best food ever served at a wedding" and I completely agree! We wanted "elevated comfort food" served family style at our wedding. Ethan took that idea and ran with it. In addition to blowing our minds with his menu suggestions for our cocktail hour and sit down dinner, Componere also suggested mini-pies with milkshakes as a delicious dessert, which was a huge hit with our guests. Everything was just so delicious. We've been trying to think of another reason to throw a big party just so we can hire Componere to put together another amazing meal for us! read more

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I discovered Componere because it was on the preferred caterers list at our wedding venue, The Julia Morgan Ballroom. After reviewing proposals from many well-known SF Bay Area based caterers I decided to book a tasting with Componere because of Ethan's impressive background. Due to our limited availability to schedule meetings with other caterers, Componere was the only vendor I met with for a tasting. We booked Componere for our November 2012 wedding. The guests were impressed and thoroughly enjoyed the everything from the passed appetizers, three-course meal with entree choices of sea bass or strip loin and the staff's quality of service . read more

Componere Fine Catering - delicious sea bass with beet gnocchi - Caterers Near Me - Emeryville, California

Working with Componere Fine Catering is one of the best decisions you can make. Ethan and team are creative, kind and blow catering out of the park! There is nothing they can't do and do it well. Thank you for everything you bring to the events world! read more

The only bad thing about Componere Fine Catering is the fact they are a catering company and not a restaurant. (Although that's probably a good thing for my waistline.) I attended a party last week where I enjoyed the amazing lamb; so, so, so, SO good. The best part, hands-down were the chocolate covered, bourbon flavored ice cream, with caramel corn pops. Those were amazing. Plus, it was fun to watch them make them on the spot. They had the ice cream already on the stick. Then, they dipped them in chocolate, then a quick dip into nitrogen to help them set, then a gentle, light covering of crumbled, salty, caramel corn bits, and finally in my mouth. Ok, they handed them to me first, but it gave a new meaning to hand to mouth. I helped myself to, well, I actually lost count how many I ate. Bottom line: hire Componere to provide your event with these ice cream pops. read more

They catered for the company party I was at, 1000+ people. All the food and dessert was great, heard and read many positive sentiment from coworkers. Highly recommend for events. read more

Componere catered our wedding last year. Even though we had a destination wedding, out of their normal service range, the event couldn't have been smoother. We had the opportunity to visit their farm before our wedding and see some the produce growing, as well as their bee hives and chickens, which was very cool. The food they served was more like what you'd get at a top Michelin starred restaurant than a catered event, and the service was perfect without being snooty or pretentious. Definitely recommend!! read more

we had the extreme pleasure to work with componere for our fairy tale wedding at the Asian Art Museum. from the moment we sat down for our tasting to the end of our wedding, these guys rocked it. i knew from the moment the first items came out for our tasting, componere would be the folks we want to do our wedding. ethan and his staff see food the way anyone working your event should see it. modern, tasty and most importantly, fitting who you are. we had a wedding in sf, guestlist included chefs and restaurant owners alike and way too many wanna be food critics i call my friends and everyone was very happy with the food. in fact, many people have told me this is the best food they have ever had at a wedding. even now, i still get comments from friends "those where the best pork cheeks ive had" "that salmon was better than the salmon i have at restaurants when we go out" "i had seven servings of the pork cheeks"... the tasting we did? while with other caterers, the tasting felt like a tasting for a wedding, the tasting at componere felt like a dinner out. we werent the easiest to work with, but componere did an amazing job to make us happy. i cant thank them enough for the fantastic job they did. our wedding for 200 was an amazing event and componere was a absolute essential part of it. if you have any questions about this, feel free to pm me. read more

Ethan and the team at Componere Fine Catering are incredible and always up for a challenge! We have worked together for many years and they always amaze us. Everything they do is innovative, delicious and custom for all of our clients and events. Their event execution is top notch and everyone on the team is so great to work with. If you are looking for a top notch caterer - they are it! read more

i can't believe that I am the first to write a review about componere. we just had our wedding at the harvest inn up in st. helena and they did the most amazing job. ethan and his team created a beautiful custom menu for us that made our event feel creative and unique; we flipped over the mini fish & chips and yorkshire puddings that we had during our cocktail hour, and the entrees of fish, lamb, and porcini ravioli were delightful. the serving staff were delightful and attentive to all of our guests. we hope to work with componere again in the future, feeding more of the special events of our lives : ) read more

If you want a catering service that places the quality and taste of food above and beyond everything else, Componere catering is the company you're looking for. My fiance and I recently met with one of the owners (co-owners, I guess) for a taste test, and we immediately fell in love with each and every bite offered to us. Food is a big deal to us, so had it not been for the high-end price, we would've gone with this company for their high-end eats. read more

Amazing! That is what my client said about the food served at their wedding at the Merchant's Exchange in San Francisco last month. Every dish that came out was not only creative and beautifully presented but very tasty. Ethan and his staff did a great job of meeting all of the guests needs. Five stars to Componere!! read more

Componere catered our wedding up in the foothills near Yosemite National Park. I am not much of a writer but the main compliment we get about our wedding is always about the food. The quality of the ingredients, the variety of dishes, the skill of the chefs and the overall presentation made the experience top notch. It's a big relief when you are managing your wedding to know that such an important item as the food is completely taken care of. John Wells was our point of contact and made sure every detail was executed to our desired specification and on top of that he was always a pleasure to be around. I would highly recommend Componere to cater any event where you want amazing food prepared and presented in a professional and hip manner. Also plank salmon, plank salmon." read more

I've been to several of their events and the food is always top notch. Ethan and his staff do an incredible job. If you plan an event with them be sure to ask for Annie, she's second to none. read more

Where oh where to begin to sing the praises of Componere Catering and Ethan Mantle's genius? We were referred to Componere along with a couple other caterers by our wedding planner. From the first phone conversation with Ethan, the owner and head chef, it was clear that Componere was the perfect caterer for us and we need look no further. We're San Francisco foodies, and we had a very clear vision of what we wanted from our wedding food -- no dried out sad piece of chicken sitting next to some string beans on a pre-plated dish was going to work for us. The entire process with Componere was a breeze. During the first conversation, Ethan totally understood and embraced the ideas we were going for -- a family-style meal with sophisticated food but an intimate and casual feel. His first menu was so perfect we made virtually no changes -- from mouth-watering canapes (strawberry napoleon with gorgonzola? exploding ricotta filled squash blossoms?!) to the amazing starters (burrata cheese, arugula & asparagus!) through the main course (hanger steak, mirepoix farro, whole snapper, haricot vert!) we were in HEAVEN. Ethan also totally accepted our lack of desire for traditional wedding cake, and proposed an amazing (our guests are still raving) brownie sundae bar with made-to-order ice cream. AND we haven't even mentioned the cheese station. (I should add that we also had budgetary constraints, and he was totally willing to work within them and help us trim things while not losing the character of the meal or the event.) Throughout the whole process, we also consistently felt like Ethan and his representatives totally "got" our vision, were willing to work with us and be flexible about executing things the way that we wanted (even when that was somewhat nonconventional) and simply had one agenda: to give the customer the best culinary experience out there. I get the feeling that this would remain true no matter what kind of meal you are looking for -- formal, casual, family-style, whatever. He and his people just really seemed focus on working with us to execute our dream event. Bottom line: if you love food, Componere is the caterer for you. Oh -- and I almost forgot the best part! I had pretty much resigned myself to enjoying our meal at the tasting only, because let's face it, brides aren't known for getting much of a chance to eat their food. BUT not with Ethan! He made sure to send out our passed hors d'ouevres while we were stuck interminably in photos, and then he ALWAYS had a server at the ready to give us a fresh helping when we made it back to the table in between saying hello to our guests and making the rounds. Then, at the end of the night, we came back to our room to find a picnic hamper with "leftovers" -- which I promptly devoured at 2:30am. AMAZING! read more

Ethan, Kerri, and the rest of the crew at Componere are awesome. They catered our wedding recently, and everyone raved about the food. Ethan really listened to our ideas and thoughts, put together a menu we liked, happily made adjustments, and worked with us when we went back and forth and took a while to finalize some parts. He gave us clear info on which kinds of things worked best, but let us make calls that we felt strongly about - serving family style, bringing our own wine and beer and scotch, etc. The food turned out amazing; everyone loved it. Thanks guys! read more

Componere exceeded all expectations for our recent event at the Yerba Buena Center. From the elegant tasting prepared for us at their kitchen to a flawlessly executed event onsite several months later, the attention to detail and quality of service was unwavering. Annie Calbeck was dedicated in helping us to curate the perfect experience for our guests, down to the last pieces of service-ware.Chef Ethan and his team never compromised quality or flavor while magnifying our tasting choices for a final headcount of 500. Beautifully done, can't wait to work with the Componere team again! read more

Can't say enough good things about Componere. I wish I could give them more stars. Componere was recommended by our wedding planner and was the best recommendation she made. Ethan and the entire Componere staff went above and beyond during the entire wedding planning process and made our wedding an event neither us nor our guests will ever forget. Not only was the food exceptional, but the entire experience of working with Ethan and the entire Componere staff was exceptional. The personal attention Ethan paid to our event and the five star service his staff provided at our wedding set him apart from any othe vendor we have ever worked with. My only regret is that we don't have another event for Componere to cater, but I'm sure we can think of something else to celebrate. Thank you Ethan and the entire Componere staff. -Dana & Craig read more

Ethan and his crew serve up the best event food you'll ever taste! Guests who attended our daughter's July 31 wedding are still raving about them. Creative menus. Great presentation. Easy to work with. Willing to modify and accomodate for special circumstances. Lisa D read more