Rafael's is a Vallejo staple. I threw a birthday party recently and the majority of my guests said…read more"This is Rafael's. Everyone knows them!" That alone says a lot about their reputation. From the moment Frankie and I spoke, the entire process was easy and stress-free. They were great to work with, the setup and breakdown were seamless, and we had more than enough food to feed 120+ guests, with plenty left over. Having Rafael's handle the catering allowed me and my party helpers to focus on everything else instead of worrying about the food. I don't know when I'll be hosting another party this big, but when I do, Rafael's will be my first call. Thank you Rafael's Catering for helping make her day so special!

We've hired Rafael's to cater at least 4 of our last 6 parties, from a guest size of 30 to over 100…read morepeople. The ordering process is simple, the team is efficient, portions are LARGE and they make it easy to modify items, pricing quotes, etc. Delivery and pick up has always ran smooth and the team will assist in packing up all leftovers because there definitely will be plenty. They have delivered to a hall as well as our home, they've set up in our backyard and inside our dining space. They stay communicative with delivery and pick up times, updates and ETAs of arrival. I'd have to say that by now, we have ordered every item on their menu - including the lechon, and we've gotten great feedback from family & friends. Rafael's has set the bar pretty high for quality of food and service. I recommend them to anyone that is planning to host a party and does not want the hassle of cooking, setting up, etc.

We couldn't more highly recommend Laurel's Catering for your next special event…read more From the very beginning until today, Laurel's Catering, planning, hosting and friendship has far exceeded our greatest expectations and truly played a vital part in creating our special weekend and the very best 5 days of our lives. We felt cared for like royalty by someone with truly a heart of gold; who just shines with talent and passion for planning, with the greatest attention to detail and creativity, with the energy of the energizer bunny, but with a caring, easygoing spirit. To top it off, Laurel and her fantastic team delighted us daily with the most delicious and beautifully presented meals, our favorite snacks and thoughtful surprises. The first time we met the Laurel's Catering Team, we were awed by the beautiful and delicious looking brunch array. Knowing we were trying to plan our special weekend from afar, Laurel offered to help with the planning aspects, and away she went! Even in the early days, Laurel was at the ready with vendors, prompt replies, any answers we needed and creative ideas - even then anticipating our needs. Laurel even offered to chat with the bride about her vision for the weekend! During our planning chat, I immediately felt like I was chatting with an old, caring friend with fabulous ideas! An hour of fun and productive planning flew by, and from then on, I knew we were in the very best hands and was even more excited for our big weekend. As our big weekend approached, even with a million balls in the air, Laurel remained the calm center of our wedding planning storm and went above and beyond to make our dream weekend come true. Even as our best laid plans fell through the cracks, not once did this happen with Laurel and her team. On top of this, Laurel's team managed to anticipate our needs and simply delight us with thoughtful daily surprises: my favorite pistachios, water and chocolate at bedside, our favorite meals and snacks readily available and thoughtful notes left daily on chalkboards. Anything we wished it seemed was at Laurel's Team's command! However, three instances in particular stand out: A few hours before our wedding ceremony, Laurel, seeking me out for the videographer, found me clearly overwhelmed. Without me even needing to ask, she said not to worry - she will take care of any requests coming my way; that my only job was to focus on remembering the importance of this special day. This kindness will always stay with me. Later that night, I found Laurel had cleaned up our messy suite and decorated it with flower petals, balloons and battery-operated candles! The next day, we were treated to extra special meals and my new husband's favorites for his birthday: Hopple Popple with Laurel's Catering's Secret Sauce, home-made pizzas, with even a special salmon one for me, and of course my husband's favorite chocolate cake, decorated for his birthday! Laurel's Team wowed us all with delicious, thoughtful and beautifully presented meals all weekend - even making our favorite family recipes with us! We already miss this royal treatment! In the short time I've known Laurel, she has become not only the best caterer and planner I could imagine, but one of my favorite people and someone I feel lucky to call a friend. I could go on! But I will just end with a heartfelt thank you to you Laurel and Matt, and to your wonderful team - for making our dream weekend a reality and for all of the kindness you've shown me and my family. We're so grateful to have had you and your team be a vital part of our celebration!

They catered our wedding. It was PERFECT! You can't find better food in Napa. Great staff, classy.read more

Laura cooked a birthday dinner for my mom and it was wonderful from start to finish. The food was…read moreamazing -- we especially loved the appetizers, and the corn cakes were a standout. The short ribs were so tender and the portion sizes were generous. She helped build menus for both the kids and the adults, and she was communicative, extremely professional, lovely, and easy to work with throughout the whole process. Highly recommend!

Laura is such an accommodating and easy-to-work-with chef! She was very punctual, professional, and…read morea pleasure to have in our home. The food she prepared was delicious, with generous portions that everyone enjoyed. I also really appreciated how thoughtful and clean she was. She left my kitchen very neat and even wrapped up the leftovers and put everything away for me. It was such a wonderful experience, and I would definitely recommend Laura to anyone looking for a talented, reliable, and considerate chef!

We had a tasting at Salt & Honey and it did not disappoint! The menu was very carefully selected…read morewith our interests and tastes in mind. We had a variety of items including a beautiful salad, one of the best vegetable sides I have ever tasted as well as a couple of mains and an assortment of delectable, artistically presented desserts! Each one, savory and sweet alike, was not only delicious but very skillfully plated to provide a feast for the taste buds as well as for the eyes! Definitely a very elevated dining experience! I cannot recommend enough!

The food is NOT good. We had a catered event where we spent 30k . The food amount was far less than…read moreadequate. The cheese trays were never replenished. The the food was an interesting and creative and inadequate in every way.

Sam and his team are absolutely amazing!! We had our wedding back in July at the Brazilian Room &…read moretrumpetvine saved the day!!!! Our original vendor had an emergency and canceled on us 3 months before our reception! Sam saved the day and we were able to book him. He was able to sit down with us and plan everything in less than 3 months!! He made an AMAZING menu for our wedding and people still talk about how amazing the food is. My husband and I are HUGE foodies and having good food was our number one priority for our reception. Sam and his team delivered and blew the roof off of our expectations!!!! The food was absolutely AMAZING!!! My husband and I often joke that we wish we could be guests at our wedding so we could pig out on the food. Sam and his team did a wonderful job at making sure we were fed the whole night & we enjoyed left overs for days!!! But seriously if we could've spent the night camped out at the buffet we would've.  Sam and his team did such an amazing job. They were so kind and professional. Thank you so much Sam for making our reception such a beautiful and amazing event!!!

We had a wonderful experience hiring Trumpetvine to cater our wedding at UC botanical garden. Even…read morethough they have a small team, Sam's clarity in communication allowed us to not worry a bit about the process. Come the wedding day, they executed without a glitch from the cocktail hour with passed appetizers, helping serve the cocktail that we (partially) prepared, to bartending, to the buffet dinner (which many of our guests commented on very favorably) and dessert. We even get to enjoy some of the leftovers in the following days (which was both delicious, and also much appreciated when we recover from the wedding weekend ;) I highly recommend Trumpetvine for your catering needs.

I contacted Aimee (and two other chefs) about a party for my wife's birthday. She promptly got back…read moreto me and was great on the phone - very collaborative, listened to what I wanted, and came back with a bunch of exceptional possibilities for a menu. I had no hesitation choosing her over the other two I spoke with. Leading up to the event, she was communicative and made me feel like she had everything handled. And on the night of the event, she arrived on time with a helper and got right to work. The meal itself, for 13 of us, was amazing. It's tough to please everyone in a group that size, but she really did. Her food was fresh, with great flavors and ingredients. The deviled eggs appetizers were incredible. We were still talking about the pork ragu over pappardelle the next day. And despite being full, the Eton Mess dessert was so light and delicious, we just had to eat it all. I'll be calling Aimee again for the next special dinner we do. And I'd highly recommend her for anyone looking for a superb chef.

My husband and I had our wedding in Point Reyes, CA and were lucky enough to have Amy come and cook…read morefor us and our guests that night. Upon arriving back to our rental home after the ceremony, Amy and her assistant server were already preparing dinner and had beautifully decorated the dining area (an amazing personal touch). From planning the menu, to the night of the meal, she was an absolute pleasure to work with -- very communicative and a true professional through and through. She removed any and all stress regarding our wedding dinner and we couldn't be more thankful to have had her there to help us create such a magical evening for our family and friends. 100% recommend and would hire Amy again -- without a doubt!

I hired Samantha to cook as a surprise for my husband and 6 of our other friends to celebrate his…read more50th birthday. The planning leading up to the weekend was VERY easy. I told Samantha about what we liked/disliked, and she came up with a fantastic menu along with a wine pairing for each course. Correspondence was prompt, and (for an over-planner like me) it felt like she had everything under control and I had nothing to worry about. I was right :) It was so nice to return to our vacation home after a day visiting wineries to meet her getting all set up in the kitchen. She made all my guests feel welcome, and we enjoyed some time on the back patio where she brought us a beautiful charcuterie board and wine. My husband and guests were so excited that we could just sit back and relax! No reservations to rush off to, or meal to cook ourselves... Truly a great way to end the day. We then moved inside to the dining room for the remainder of dinner. The table had been set beautifully, and each course was absolutely delicious. I enjoyed hearing Samantha present each one - you can tell she is passionate about each dish. They were perfectly plated, impeccably timed, and SO yummy! Our group was definitely having a great time (how can you NOT when good food and wine is involved?!), and Samantha and her assistant were so easy to get along with. They felt like friends by the end of the night. While it was a very luxurious dinner, it was also SO relaxing to be comfortable in our own space. Our friends continue (nearly a month later) to talk about how fun the night was and how much they loved the food. I still cannot decide if the bacon-wrapped pork was my favorite, or the chocolate tarte for dessert! I cannot recommend Samantha enough, and I hope to be back in the area to have an excuse to hire her again sometime soon.

I highly recommend Samantha/Sonoma from Scratch. We had her put together a dinner for 14 friends…read morefor a birthday celebration and it was perfect. She is so easy to work with. The food was delicious, beautifully presented and having someone else do the cooking/cleaning is a huge treat. Other than make some picks on menu (hardly a chore), I didn't have to do anything other than relax and enjoy. Having a specially prepared meal was so much nicer than going out to a restaurant. Do it and call Samantha, you won't regret.

We decided to splurge and have a birthday dinner party for three Scorpio friends. Everyone donned…read moredressy attire, there was a nice house sound track in the background, and the fireplace was casting a glow. Dianna provided multiple Fall menu options a couple of weeks prior, and was easily able to adapt to a couple of minor dietary restrictions. Making a choice was the hardest part, there were so many amazing options. She stopped by to familiarize herself with the kitchen and do the final pregame planning one week prior to the event. She arrived about an hour before to set up, and all was ready & mis en place before guests arrived for cocktails. The food was wonderful. We had two rounds of appetizers, a shrimp and avocado stuffed endive, as well as a tomato confit mozzarella Crostini. We had trouble restraining ourselves. The salad with winter greens, fennel, apple, and toasted almonds was perfectly dressed. The braised duck legs fell off the bone, had a delicious marinated flavor crispy skin, and were served aux jus over a wild rice blend. Roasted parsnips and carrots gave it that final fantastic Fall touch. Desert was this simply amazing chocolate cake with three or four different layers involving mousse, ganache, shaved chocolate, and more chocolate! It's a miracle we all survived. Throughout Dianna kept everybody's champagne glass full, circulated the appetizers, and timed the courses to the pace of the crowd. She was charming, with a smile all evening that never stopped. And the best part, and I admit this is a little selfish, was I had to do a bunch of volunteer work all day long, and was able to just relax and get cleaned up in that hour before the party. You know that part when you are normally frantic, running around trying to tighten up all the loose ends. It really was a treat!

Dianna's food is simply remarkable! She provides a selection of choices for clients to pick from…read moreand bases. those choices on the answers provided when she speaks to her clients. This is the second time that we have used Dianna for a special event and again the food was impeccable. Her personality and her love for food shows in all that she does! We will definitely be using her services in the future because who doesn't like to have a beautiful meal and no clean up?! If you're looking for a personal chef, that listens, understands the clients, taste profile, provides food that will knock your socks off. Dianna is the only choice.