We had a small 50-person wedding where we wanted the emphasis to be on fantastic food.... and we…read morecould not have chosen better than Jason and his team. Service was exceptionally attentive, presentation very attractive and the food amazing.   Even a few weeks after the wedding, people were still raving about the food and how delicious it was.  Some are asking for the recipes and the amazing choice of interesting ingredients that satisfied the taste buds of our friends (including vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians and the plain picky eaters). The Sumac salmon was especially a hit.  Interactions with Jason and Tanya were pleasant, timely and professional. We may just decide to get married all over again, to have Jason cater the next one!   We could not be more pleased or recommend them more highly

Jason and his team catered my wife's 50th birthday party for 18 guests. From initial contact to…read morethe final course I was thoroughly impressed by Jason and his team's attention to detail and professionalism. As enthusiastic foodies our expectations were very high and Jason met them all with a fantastic canapé menu and 4-course meal. Several guests commented it was by far their best catered meal ever! Special thanks to the staff who were congenial and entertaining while maintaining absolute professionalism. It was a fantastic experience - I would recommend without hesitation and will call Essence first for any future catering events. Thank you Jason & crew for a memorable milestone evening!

Excellent service when the fam and I popped in before closing. They did not have many cake…read moreslices/baked goods/prepared items left before closing, but we ended up grabbing a couple salted caramel cheesecake bites, a chocolate chip cookie and a london fog. Service was excellent and friendly. Patio seating was quaint and relaxing. Cheesecakes were delish.

Thank you to Sam at Thyme and Again for taking the "Thyme" out of her busy schedule to help me with…read moremy vegan order for Thanksgiving. I really appreciate it!

You would never know that this barbecue place was hidden in an office park. My family ordered a…read morefamily barbecue platter from this place. We got the signature pulled pork and premium pork ribs. For sides, we got the tater tots, pasta salad, and corn bread. Both the pulled pork and pork ribs were very tender. The tater tots and corn bread were good. I was very surprised with the pasta salad which was made with elbow macaroni, and red onions. It was delicious! One of the best pasta salads I have had for a while.

Best BBQ on the planet…read more I've been to a lot of barbecue joints in the US but I haven't had anything that's as good as the barbecue here. I did the takeout and chose beef brisket and a pulled pork sandwich and they were amazing. I like that they pay attention to every detail. Everything is top notch from the buns they use on the sandwich to the salads, coleslaws and fresh cut fries. No sloppy sides here. I hear the onion rings are to die for. Another thing I liked about this place is everything isn't drowning in barbecue sauce. It's so hard to get pulled pork that isn't swimming in sauce. They just put a little bit on the bun which was perfect. You actually got to taste the meat and as you'd expect, the sauce itself was ridiculously good.

What an experience from start to finish!  Aram and I had the pleasure of booking culinary…read moreconspiracy for our wedding day.  Moishe and Derek met with us for the first time to craft a customized menu with delectable tastings including plenty of options for dietary restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, gluten free).  We had my wife's parents join us for the first visit only to have Moishe and Derek act extremely professional yet making us laugh over some of the variances in opinion across the table.   Culinary Conspiracy had the unfortunate first encounter and partnership with a rental/labour vendor that introduced us.  This vendor did no show up on the day leaving both CC and us short staffed and in the dark as far as next steps.  Moishe and Derek being the reputable and honourable men that they are delivered above and beyond expectations.  They pulled through with extra rentals that the other vendor failed to deliver.  The meal they provided for our 100+ guest was plated beautifully, hot and seasoned exquisitely.  They were faced with many challenges including space between tables for servers to navigate, a venue without a kitchen and a vendor partner that did not show up all of which they overcame.   Derek is an absolute work horse.  This man and his team pulled through helping move tables, setup stations and coordinate the bar.  Throughout the day he constantly checked on the wedding party insuring we had food and drinks and were not left out because we were across the field taking pictures.   We had CC also provide a late night snack of poutine and smoked meat.  Wow was this a hit, from the moment we had these stations open up we had guests coming to us saying how deliciously crispy the fries were and how tender and flavourful the smoked meat was.  Whenever I passed the station I would see repeat guests in the line which made it obvious these folks were doing something right.  Moishe put together these fluffy, velvety, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes that our guests were talking about for weeks after the wedding.   We cannot express our gratitude enough in this review to Moishe, Derek and their team.  You all pulled through for us on our very memorable day not just with the amazing food but with your hard work, professionalism, attention to detail and heart.   Simon & Aram Vogelsang

Good food, but their catering business features hidden fees…read more I was planning on having culinary conspiracy cater my wedding. When we met with the chef initially, we were impressed. He seemed genuinely excited to create a custom menu that would cater to our needs. They sent us an estimate for the cost. One of the things we asked for was that we be able to provide our own alcohol, and they said that this was fine, we would just have to pay for the bartender's wages. The bartender's wages were included in the quote, and there was no alcohol included, so we were sure that they understood what we wanted. So we signed up for a tasting, which we had to pay for, since we hadn't signed a contract yet. This was fine. We got to the tasting, and the food was delicious. After requesting a few minor changes to our quote, we were ready to sign a contract. So they sent us a contract, and all of a sudden, they told us that if we wanted to bring our own alcohol, we would have to pay a corkage fee: $10 per bottle of wine, $15 per bottle of spirit, and $12.50 per case of beer, pop, water (!), or juice. This would completely negate the savings that we would get from bringing our own alcohol. There was no need for this, as we were already paying for the bartender and the rentals, and they kept this fee hidden from us until we were about to sign. So we asked them to waive the corkage fees, or, if they couldn't do that, to remove the bartender from the quote, as we could always find our own bartender. All of a sudden they weren't interested in working for us anymore. Fortunately, they returned the money we had paid for the tasting, so at least they only wasted our time, and not our money! Don't trust that their quotes are accurate, they will try to add more fees.

Landwaterfork is a catering company started by Justin Faubert. Full disclosure - I play basketball…read morewith him - which is how I got to know him. He put together an incredible spread for our "Jersey Shore" themed Christmas party. It had a customized menu, incredible snacks, and he served it all up with great professionalism. Justin also left us signature spices. If you're looking for cut-above catering or in-home multi-course meals at very reasonable prices I highly recommend him.

From the owner: Landwaterfork Foods Inc. is a Ottawa, Ont. based, private chef service and sustainability…read moreconsulting company, whose goal is to provide high quality, professional, personalized service for every client. Whether it's an intimate dinner for that special someone, a party for a group of friends and colleagues or maybe even a weekend brunch with family. When it comes time for your special event, a custom menu will be created with your preferences in mind. Local and seasonal products are used whenever possible.

I was in the area for an appointment today and stopped by to grab some lunch. Overall the food was…read moregood, but expect to wait in a small space during peak hours, and it's hard to find parking nearby. This place is in an industrial park and there are only a few parking spots reserved for their customers and when I went around noon they were all full. Nearby parking is reserved for other businesses, so I had to park along the street, but even a spot there is hard to find. I circled around a few times until I saw someone pull out then I had to parallel park real fast, lol. They are caterers, but they open for breakfast and lunch takeout. They do have 4 tables of 2, so can technically seat 8, but the place gets really crowded with people ordering takeout, so unless you don't mind people milling about like 4 inches away from you, you may want to take it to go as well. Even though it was super busy, staff were well organized and very pleasant. The wait was a little bit long, but I got something made to order. They have a "grab and go" section with premade sandwiches, salads and snacks, so if you're in a rush you can get those. I got the Jerk Chicken Wrap Combo ($10.95), which came with fries and coleslaw. The wrap had jerk chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese in it. It usually has mayonnaise, but I asked them to hold the mayo. The jerk sauce had a spicy kick to it. The chicken was lean pieces of breast meat, which I liked. I thought the wrap would be served hot, but it was cold. It was a good size and on its own I think would make a satisfying lunch. However, I'm glad I got the combo because the fries were great. They were like chip wagon fries. Very hot and well done. The coleslaw was vinegar based and a bit sour for my tastes, but I was happy that it wasn't mayo based. You get a good serving of fries and coleslaw in the combo. I liked that no styrofoam was used. The wrap was wrapped in paper and the fries came in a cardboard container. The coleslaw came in a plastic container. Overall, a great place to grab lunch if you're in the area. I'm a big eater and the combo was actually too much food for me; I had leftovers (not complaining). Just parking is a pain.

I am working on an event that requires catering. After asking around for recommendations, and…read moregetting quotes, settled on Grenfell. Went out to see the facility and talk thru the menu and other points. They are tucked away in an industrial park. It's an industrial kitchen and the décor is what you would expect. Met with Christine who is absolutely wonderful! She helped us identify a few details we might have missed and made some great suggestions on the food - all while keeping in mind we have a budget to stay within. Since they also serve breakfast and lunch Monday to Friday - mostly for the workers from other businesses around them, we ordered lunch while we were there. I had a grilled pulled pork and carmelized onion which was great! It was however over-shadowed by the daily special, a Brie Burger, which went beyond great to amazing! Also tried the poutine - which had a thinner than usual gravy so I had to mix it a bit - but very flavourful. Last but not least, we took Nanimo Bars to go and had them later in the day with coffee at home. Perfect. Straight Nanimo Bars with traditioinal ingredients just like mom used to make. So happy the folks at Grenfell know when *not* to mess with perfection. :-) So: For Catering: Would I recommend: At this point yes, but proof is in the pudding and I'll know more in September. Would I return: Same answer. For Lunch: Would I recommend: Yes Would I return: Yes - wish they were open on weekends though!

On Sat. Aug 16 our friends in Rockcliffe Park suggested we go to Edpicuria to get sandwiches for…read moreour drive back to Toronto. My husband got a very nice Roast Beef with Ancho & Chimichurri sandwich and He got me a Herbed Egg Salad sandwich. Both cost $9.25. I must say the egg sandwich was not a quality sandwich. The egg was very thin and the lettuce very sparce and the top was a DRY thick other half of the bun. ...very disappointing and over priced. Thought this comment might help improve with this item that you sell. Thanks, Shannon

Epicuria's donuts are so buss man they are fire. The service is W and the staff are absolutely…read moreGoated. The Ambience is really cool and I can smell the yummy food!

I've attended 2 functions that were catered by Tulips and Maple so I am strictly commenting on the…read morefood and the service I received as a guest. The events were a birthday party at their old location (on Merivale near Slack) and a work-related luncheon at their new location in the Nepean Sportsplex. The food was good at both events, but very different, which shows the range that Tulips and Maple can accommodate. At the birthday party, the food was mostly appetizers and hors d'oeuvres. They were beautifully presented and the food was very creative/innovative. At the work function, the food was buffet style and more benign in flavour. Obviously I am not faulting the company for this as firstly it was the organizers who selected the menu and secondly when feeding a large group of people with varying tastes, levels of "adventurous-ness," dietary restrictions, etc. it's safer to be less creative and more mainstream. I was very impressed how their regular buffet was able to accommodate most dietary restrictions in the group (celiac, various allergies and intolerances, etc.) and they were able to provide separate meals for the remaining restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, no red meat, and Halal) - I believe a vegan meal covered the rest of the restrictions. Service was very professional and courteous. Apparently, the have cafes in the Ingenium Museums, called Maple Cafe, and they also have a branch in Kingston, ON. I think it's nice to have a resident caterer at the Nepean Sportsplex, so if you have an event there, they are already on site. Looking at their website, prices range from reasonable to a bit on the pricey side, so I think they can accommodate a variety of budgets, tastes, etc. I neither live the kind of life nor work the kind of job where I am regularly requiring the services of a caterer, but I would definitely consider Tulips and Maple should I ever be in need of a caterer. And the great thing about them being at the Nepean Sportsplex is that there's lots of free parking ;)

Quality of serving staff - training and professionalism. Planning was poor - no proactivity on the…read morepart of the team captain for the event. Disorganized, did not know the menu of canapés, and just seemed totally disinterested in their tasks!