Jim is wonderful to work with, I have used him on several occasions for both personal catering and for company events. He is personable, listens and makes great suggestions. His food is delicious and he really cares about you as a client. read more

It's easy to spend a it's easy money in Silicon Valley and wonder what you got or why you chose that vendor. In the case of Jim Wells, you'll be delighted with the catering and also feel like you chose the best supplier, one who actually cares and provides the service that so many other caterers and suppliers lack. Jim regularly caters high end events on Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto as well as charity events at local schools. J Wells catering is extremely well suited for your next big event or your regular in-office lunch on Fridays. read more

We chose Jim as our caterer for our rustic farm wedding. We were going for the farm-to-table feel with fresh, flavorful food. The quality of the food has to be really good. We had to choose from a list of about 10-15 caterers and initially we thought it would be an easy task to vet the caterers. But, like goldilocks it seemed like each company was wrong for some reason: some were too pricey, others had sub-par food, still others felt corporations with no soul. We honestly didn't think we were the picky type, but about 8 caterers later we met Jim, the owner of J Wells Catering. We instantly felt a great connection with Jim. He is straightforward and gives you his opinion while guiding you toward the right menu for your event. Throughout the whole event planning process Jim was responsive, friendly and accommodating. He came out to our venue about three times (man, we sound controlling!) to understand our vision for the wedding. I hadn't realized how many emails, texts and phone calls would go into the planning process, but he stayed good humored throughout it all. As for the actual wedding, it went very smoothly! The service was seamless and best of all everyone LOVED the food. I received a lot of unsolicited feedback from my friends and family about the quality and flavor of the food. "The salmon was incredible" my mom said (she is extremely critical and an amazing cook herself), "the vegetables were perfectly flavored" said one of our family friends with good taste. This is all to say that Jim and his team were wonderful to work with, and we would use them again in a heartbeat. read more

We had our wedding the summer of 2015 at Hidden Villa's Duveneck House, and had decided to do our own wedding design and planning. All we needed was a florist, band, photographer, day coordinator, and most important of them all, a grade A caterer to help us connect all of the logistics. We did our homework and shopped/tasted around. We were not awestruck by the food or the presentation, and didn't really feel much of a personal connection with any of the outfits. One high end outfit even wanted us to rent a convection oven for $500 for our theoretical menu and provide our own libation (what????). So we put on our walking shoes and kept on looking. Then we revisited Hidden Villa's list of approved caterers and saw Jim Wells Catering and decided to give him a call. Personality wise, we all instantly connected. Jim is detailed but does not get hung up on the details, which is very important to us. He is a straight shooter and gets the big picture. Jim has a great sense of humor and will (metaphorically) bend over backwards to accommodate any curve balls or special requests, even up to the last minute. We originally had 70 guests slated for our event, but a week before surprised him with our grand tally of 100+ dining guests. Not even a flinch! Queen tables were a rarity this close to event, but luckily he made it work. We even put in a request for extra umbrellas after realizing that a third of our guests would be in the sun for the ceremony, and that was no problem. Jim worked with us to define our menu which we steered in the direction of Southern style, and made creative recommendations and dish alternates on the fly as we discussed our tastes, likes and dislikes... creating a menu from scratch. He didn't nickel and dime and definitely helped us get the best bang for the buck. Jim was not the cheapest in town, but for what we wanted, he was absolutely reasonable. Perhaps the best value... Even though Jim does not offer "tasting events" he did arrange an opportunity for us to swing by another event and had us taste a few items. We had the faith in his abilities, and although we didn't taste the actual dishes we had discussed, it was clear that Jim "gets it" and we went all in on Jim. Jim is a team player and worked very well with the Hidden Villa florist Lannette and the event coordinator. On the day of the wedding, Jim's service team was a bright group of positive, professional individuals who kept a good vibe. Happy hour noshes alternated among Pulled pork sliders on Hawaiian rolls, crispy crab cakes, ahi tuna and the quintessential mini bruschetta. The platters, garnished with artistically carved fruit, made for a great presentation. Jim made the rounds at the event, ensuring that all details were carried out with precision. I won't bore everyone here with the minutiae of our wonderful meal with the exception of the second course, which was a somewhat complicated shrimp and grit recipe of mine. He made it just perfect! The execution and presentation in martini glasses was very nice as well with a shrimp accented the edge of the glass! All other dishes had been recommended by him and were all excellent. The additional dessert in the form of mini pecan tarts and lemon bars were outstanding. At the end of the night, he asked if we wanted leftovers wrapped up or taken to a charity that he frequents. We chose the charity which we later kind of regretted. LOL. We don't call ourselves "foodies" but we are very particular about our food and its presentation... we eat out quite a bit and have developed a real taste for perfection, and we found no flaws in Jim Well's. Our photographer who commented how this was the best catering she has ever witnessed and many of our guests wanted Jim's contact info. To sum it all up, we would absolutely recommend Jim to anyone that wants to make a great impression on their guests! read more

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Just had another top notch J Wells experience last night. The most professional bartender, server and chef delighted my guests with perfect cocktails, delicious food and attentive service. There is a reason to hire the best when you want to relax and enjoy your own parties! read more

I had attended a few events that were catered by J Wells catering, so I contacted Jim to cater our wedding. He was so incredibly professional and easy to work with. He gave us some great suggestions and great advice on making a few adjustments to what we thought we wanted, but also "got us" and made sure that the end result reflected our style. He kept in contact with us right up to the day of the wedding, and everything that day went so smooth! The food looked amazing and tasted even better. Jim read our guests well and knew exactly when to transition from appetizers, to dinner, to the cake. He helped make our special day very stress free so we could relax and enjoy our reception. I would highly recommend J Wells catering for a beautiful event with terrific food. read more

Jim Wells has catered our school's annual auction party 2 years in a row and has knocked it out both times! The most recent event was an outdoor, buffet style dinner for 125 guests. Jim took care of everything including the food, bar, rentals, service staff, set up, tear down, etc. The food was AMAZING, the staff was super professional, and the event was flawless! And, Jim is just a GREAT guy to work with! read more

Jim has an amazing knack for creating superb food. He and his team work their magic and turn ant event into an affair to remember! The food is all anybody can talk about when Jim does the food! He is prompt reliable cost conscious and a people pleaser! We had a medium to large event and didn't know where to go for the food and a friend pointed us to J wells catering! It was awesome. Afterwards he tells us we can get food to go at his store in Menlo Park on El Camino! Lunch and dinner at least 3 times a week from J Wells is brought to our house. The Arguela salad is awesome chicken curry delicious and lots of selections for dinner that are pre made and easily heated. Love meatloaf :). Try Jim's. Promise you can't go wrong with the catering and also let him feed you during the week to keep you going! You'll be glad you did! read more

Jim and his amazing crew recently catered our garden wedding. My, now wife and I met with Jim and we selected him to cater our wedding feeling so confident in him that there was no need to interview anyone else. Jim not only catered our event but took care of all the rentals and ended up being our planner. The big day went off without a hitch and the food (filet mignon and salmon) is still being discussed by our guests 2 weeks later as the best wedding meal they've ever had. I'm a control freak but Jim put me totally at ease and even threatened me (LOL) when I said I would get to the wedding early to help set up. I was calm knowing that Jim had everything under control. Thank you Jim. This was our dream wedding and it couldn't have happened without you. Love Rob, Liz, Emma and Sho-Sho. read more

This catering company is "as good as it gets!" I have used Jim ,and company, for big weddings, large parties, and small dinner events. His food is the best! Jim takes care of all the details and each event has been stress free and fun! My family has a bunch of picky, health-conscious, eaters. Jim somehow makes the menu healthy yet tasty! i am not sure how he does it but everyone LOVES his menus. When I give a big party, I am nervous. Jim, somehow, makes me relax. He is so professional and thorough. Thanks to Jim, I have never had so much fun at my own parties. The food, staff, and service at J Wells Catering deserves more than 5 stars! read more

Awesome. Jim was great and the workers who ran our event were awesome. Food was tasty, they showed up early to set up - were courteous of our space - and did a great job cleaning up. They made my life super easy which was exactly what I wanted! Will definitely use them again! read more

Jim recently catered our company event and I have to say, him and his crew did an amazing job. They were punctual, friendly and professional - what more could you ask for? This was my first company event and Jim held my hand throughout the whole process. He not only recommended the food and beverage, he helped me with the ideas for the room design and the best part of it all, he was always available when I needed him. The food was amazing! We started off with an important cheese and pate platter, hummus and baba ganoush..it was delicious! Then throughout the night we had mini chicken tostaditas, ahi tuna on gluten free rice crakers with tabiko caviar, hanger steak with chimichurri and peanut dipping sauces mmmm - the list goes on. I would definitely use Jim for our next company event and highly recommend that you do too! read more

J. Wells catered my grandson's Bris at my home. Since the event is dependent on the birth date, Jim had only a few days notice to create a superb menu of excellent food and provide top-notch service. He was most accommodating to all of my family's food "issues" and everyone remarked about the delicious food and the wonderful staff. Now I'm trying to make a list of many more reasons to have a party. He made it so easy! read more

Only days before a company party at Zuora, Jim bailed us out. On short notice, he fit us into his busy scheduled and even personally delivered the food to the venue. All the items were great, yet the Pulled pork sliders, 5 cheese ancho chili wontons and the pepita caesar salad were my personal favorites. Mac and cheese bites with peri peri sauce and the vegetarian samosas were gone quickly. I can't say enough about their food and service, and will definitely use him again. read more

I had the pleasure of working with Jim for a surprise party for my wife. He and his staff did a fantastic job of dealing with all the details in a totally professional manner. Fantastic food (be sure to try the short rib martinis) and staff! This was a totally effortless experience. I would use Jim again in a heartbeat. read more

Fantastic experience with Jim and his crew. They are a very professional group of individuals and took care of everything, food, beverage, setup, breakdown, you name it, they did it! I recommend Jim highly. read more

Great catering company! Jim and his team were communicative and efficient and professional. They catered an event for 110 people at my home with half of them kids. The appetizers were amazing! They also set up a special table of food that was kid-friendly and popular. The staff was very professional; always checking in with me on timing to serve, checking on our champagne toast and more. They left my home cleaner that it was when they got there! read more

My advice is to be very careful about the food he purchases. While the service was pretty good and they are competent people, the dinner he served us was not much more than reheating prepared food from Costco (or similar restaurant supply). The bread rolls he brought were the kind of wonder bread type rolls you'd buy at Safeway (and not even those baked at Safeway which are still pretty bad). The appetizers were OK but nothing special. The chicken breasts were low-end pre-marinated from a restaurant supply and tasted like what you'd get at an amusement park or something. The cookies he served for desert were literally right out of the Costco/Kirkland box (which the guests could see as they walked by the kitchen). It's true that super premium food (e.g., imported Kobe beef, truffles etc.) costs a fortune. But what's frustrating is that just plain good food (e.g., the premium steaks and produce at Costco) just doesn't cost that much more than mediocre food especially in the context of an expensive catered dinner. The best quality fresh baked bread just doesn't cost that much. So why not bring it? Instead of Costco cookies, why not Mrs. Fields or a few quarts of the Gelato across from Aquaries theater in Palo Alto? Premium quality chicken or steaks cost more, but not that much more. So for an extra few bucks per person the food could have been solid (even if not gourmet). The food we got would be what you'd expect at an afternoon birthday party for a 10 year old with catering by two high school kids as a summer job. I'm sure if you insist on a genuine chef and specify the exact ingredients and where to purchase them, then he will get that done for you but you need to specify it very clearly. You might split out the food cost and reimburse that separately so he has no incentive to go cheap. Or agree the food ingredients and buy them yourself. read more