I placed an order for our company Christmas lunch. We have catered from several places in the last 4-5 years. I had better expectations of Tucker's Catering, as their website looked pretty valid. I ordered roast beef, mashed potatoes, penne pasta, dinner rolls, assorted desserts, and drinks for 27. Below is what was delivered, mibus the assorted desserts and tea (off to the side). Where to begin?
*The reservation and contract were made about 2 weeks ahead of time, and we even paid early, as company billing required all expenses due early. They came 30 minutes late, which means they had to rush to set this up. I even called, texted, and emailed them an hour earlier. They replied once via email and confirmed delivery would be on time. No contact or calls, even after they were late. The two delivery people just kept saying, we only deliver, which I guess meant they were too lazy to pick up the phone and inform me, especially when my contact info was on the invoice they handed me.
*They forgot utensils, and had to go back out and get some from the Target across the street. The plastic serving utensils they brought were small, so I guess that is how they aimed to maintain the portion sizes.
*The 2 gallons of tea they had made were still warm/hot, so it's a good thing we had plenty of ice. 2 gallons is a bit limited for 27 people.
*I did not count the assorted desserts tray, but my guess is that there were exactly 27 pieces there.
*The roast beef was cut way too thick. Had this been in a restaurant with metal eating utensils, that might have been fine, but our group was using plastic utensils. The cups were even small, as if they were catering a kid's birthday party.
*Poor presentation. Maybe it was because they agreed to provide the wire racks and burners, they crammed everything into these two trays. The places I have catered from before had plenty more food, and even if it wasn't, it at least appeared to be, as it was spread out. Maybe they saved some money and space here, but it left our jaws hanging, thinking... where is the rest?!
*As for the food: the grilled assorted vegetables and mashed potatoes were tasty, we just wished there was more so we didn't have to ration so much. The roast beef was also tasty, but again, cut too thick, and there was a bit more fat and cartilage (?) than desired. The rolls seemed store bought.
To conclude, the taste of the food gets 3.5 stars, while delivery, communication, and presentation all get 2 stars. Odds are, we would not cater from Tucker's again. Corporate Caterers does a much better job on food portions and presentation.
A picture says a thousand words. The three tables below are usually filled and spread out. This looks like I had just packed all the leftovers into 2 trays. read more