That Happy Day: Food Tasting

We've booked the two most important things - the church and the reception venue - so now comes the third most important detail: the caterer. There are a lot of things we considered in making a decision on this one. We actually picked our first choice even before we started going to the bridal expos. We said if we talked to them and liked what we heard, then we don't have to figure out a second choice anymore.

Firstly, we wanted a caterer whose food we have actually tried before. We looked back on weddings we attended and figured out who was the most memorable in terms of taste. Then we considered the styling - did they have designs that fit our theme? Again, we checked our friends' weddings and picked the one we liked the most. Third, we researched online, checked the reviews, and took note of their overall reputation. It was only then when we were pretty much convinced that we actually looked for their booth at one of the bridal expos, talked to their account executive, and got their rates and package book.

We are going with Josiah's Catering. They fit all the criteria that the fiance and I have set. We have experienced their service before, at three friends' weddings. We remembered that we enjoyed the fare thoroughly at those weddings, which is the most important thing. We also liked the styling - they have modern setups that will work with our contemporary theme. They are also one of the most reputable caterers in the country, and - not that it matters, since I just found out randomly online the other day - they have done several celebrity events, such as John Estrada and Priscilla Mereilles' wedding.

After the initial meet at the Philippine Wedding Summit, Karla, the banquet events consultant assigned to us, started e-mailing and texting us invites to their food tasting events. However, because we had to wait for the church and venue to be set, it was only last weekend that we were finally able to go to one.

Caterers usually hold general food tastings to give prospective clients a chance to sample their food, see a sample setup, and be able to start discussions with them. Lucky for us, they invited us to a grand food tasting at the Blue Leaf Pavillion in McKinley Hill last Saturday, which is just a short car ride from our neighborhood.

When we got there, we immediately thought that Josiah's was really right for us. The setup was simple - it was only a food tasting event after all - but it was lovely. We also liked that our account executive, Karla, immediately sat with us, gave us an introduction to their services, showed us their portfolio book, and talked us through their packages. We really appreciated her candor - she was pretty honest in her answers to all our queries, and was even able to give us such helpful advice on a very important detail that we were mulling over. She even computed things for us, and gave a rundown of the things they can offer for free with our package, because we didn't choose their most basic one. There's a 12% VAT waive, which is a big deal as I found out that not all caterers can do it, plus add-ons - a dessert bar with 15 kinds of desserts, chocolate fondue with three kinds of chocolate (hazelnut milk, white, dark), a coffee and tea station, a make-your-own salad bar, a make-your-own pasta bar with a standby chef to toss the noodles in the pan for you, and the choice between a program emcee or a bridal car. She was even very accommodating with other things we wanted, such as giving us two drink choices instead of one because we said we liked two drink options and wanted both, and saying they're okay with us having less variety in the desserts in favor of more pieces of the stuff we liked. They're flexible, and we liked that.

She then walked us through all the banquet stations, told us the specifics of each one, and then left us to our own devices so we could enjoy the food in peace. The food was great. We didn't like everything of course (for example they served chicken with nuts, and we don't like nuts), but what we did like, we liked a whole lot. Aleq and I spent a couple of hours that afternoon just leisurely eating and taking in the relaxing atmosphere. We tried everything, though we had to get very small portions of some things so we don't collapse in a food coma, because that was the point of a food tasting. When we were done, Karla came over again, and we talked about the boring details like down payment and full payment schedules. She explained that once we have talked to our venue and paid the down payment, we will have another food tasting, with our choice of menu items this time. We're supposed to pick two kinds of dishes for every part of their menu, which they will prepare for us so we can decide on what we want. Aleq and I are definitely excited for that. We had a lot of fun at the food tasting, without having to make a commitment or shell out money yet. It was a productive, and absolutely enjoyable day for us. Afterwards, we went on a quick weekend date at High Street, and that was that.