Paradise Catering

I haven’t tasted the food at Paradise Catering, this reviewing is 100% a service review of this company in regards to booking weddings. Do not expect this place to help you with a small event, and by small I mean under 60 people. They absolutely do not want your business if you aren’t over 60 people.
I currently am looking into caterers in Carmel Valley and contacted these people. After a very fast reply they said my future wife and I could pay for a tasting at $ 275 dollars. Then a few days later we were contacted again and they said we couldn’t actually have any kind of tasting but, we could wait until our wedding day to have them cater us.
It’s obvious they don’t want any party under 60 people, and that’s completely up to them, however it’s pretty rude to say it’s cool then come back and say «we can service you, but you can’t taste our food until your wedding day.» If they didn’t want a small party then just explicitly say «we don’t want to work with any party under 60 people». It’s super simple. So, please be aware of their passive aggressive attitude and consider going anywhere else. We’ve gone with Tarpy’s and we’re happily going to pay double what these idiots asked for, you guys lost business on this one.

My husband and I are self proclaimed «foodies» so when it came time to find a caterer for our wedding, it was a very important selection for us. Nancy and Jon were so gracious and even allowed for a larger than normal tasting session since my brother so badly wanted to be included. They were incredibly reasonable and we couldn’t believe that we were able to have any menu that we could come up with! Of course they were available to help navigate us so that we landed on some incredible dishes. On the day of, the execution was seemless and don’t get me started on how fresh and natural everything tasted! I hope to work with Nancy and Jon many many times in the future! Thanks Paradise Catering!

Not even sure where to start, Paradise Catering is a class act. I’ve worked with many caterers over the years and I have only wonderful things to say about this company. I had the pleasure of working together with them this past weekend on our mutual wedding client at Gardener Ranch in Carmel Valley. Paradise Catering has a world class staff and is so mellow and detail oriented. Jon and Nancy are professional and fun and Ashley is right there with them. Thank you for being such a pleasure to work with.

Paradise just catered my daughter’s wedding last weekend, and everything was superb. We had delicious passed appetizers as well as their exceptionally fresh and memorable tomato bar as starters. We also had their «live grill» with salmon and chicken entrée options. Our guests gave rave reviews throughout. The staff was friendly and professional. We were so happy to have Paradise as a key member of our team that day. Thank you, Paradise!

Paradise Catering has taken care of us numerous times and they always make our events spectacular and worry free. Their staff is attentive, friendly, and very professional. Their food is exquisite, often locally grown, thoughtfully presented, and always tasty. They bring everything and clean everything when they go. It makes hosting parties so enjoyable and worry free for me. When John and Nancy say they are «here from Paradise», you know the angels have arrived!

People RAVED about the food at our wedding last weekend – and our guests are San Francisco and New York food snobs. The live grill was a big hit. Huge thanks to Nancy, John, and their staff including Ashley and Conrad who were all awesome. Highly recommended!

We used paradise for our wedding. It was incredible. Everyone said it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. I thought about the meal for weeks after. Nancy had great ideas and was very accommodating to some of our specific cultural requests. Her staff brought us snacks during photo time and made sure we had enough food and drink during dinner. The dinner was delicious, stunningly presented and importantly not heavy at all. If you want creative, beautiful, delicious food that will be remembered this is the place.

Jonh and nancy great at what they are doing they would bend over backwards for you to get the job done. Food was so good and presented right. Loved the lived grill theme

Oh WOW!
I want another event just to be able to work with and ENJOY the wonderful experience Paradise Catering provides! My husband and I met with Nancy and Ashley to discuss what we wanted. They totally got it and made some great suggestions/​additions. Ashley was exceptional in her hand holding talents and prompt follow up. (do NOT be deceived by her young look; she is very talented!) She has a gracious «can do» attitude and made us feel so at ease. Ashley arrived last night with a staff of 5, Wendy, Monica, Cheydi, Luis and Francisco, one and a half hours before the party started.
They were AMAZING! When the first guests arrived (on time) EVERYTHING was ready to go ~ fabulous, luxe, deeeelish table of hor d’oeuvres, bar and grill station. The service was impeccable, the staff delightful.
The food? Where are the adjectives to describe the mouth watering deliciousness of their food? It was beautifully displayed and served and just to-​the-​moon in flavors! My friends have been calling and texting all day to rave on about the meal!
After we ate and dessert was put out, they discretely cleaned up and slipped out without disrupting the ongoing party!
It was a perfect evening and we are so grateful to Paradise Caterers for the very big part they played in it!

Nancy and her team did an amazing job catering my May wedding at Holman Ranch. The food was delicious (many guests commented on it!) and they thought of lots of charming little details. My friends getting married later in the summer ran around taking photos of all the food to show their own caterers! Nancy is also a delight to work with and clearly takes such joy in local food, which is very fun.

They catered a wedding we attended this past weekend.
AMAZING.
Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options. And, they all tasted fresh and AMAZING.
The staff was impressive. Friendly, attentive, and fun.
This food was the BEST, by far, of any Bay area wedding or event I have been to. Or, just any wedding I have been to period.
My husband and I left with food babies. And, we were still talking about the food the next day.
I have no idea what they are like to work with or plan with, but as a guest, it was outstanding.

Paradise just catered our wedding in Big Sur and they were incredibly amazing! My guests are still raving about the food. Nancy and Jon are so easy to work with and so talented! They really went above and beyond for us. Their staff is so professional and attentive. The appetizers were delicious, especially the rainbow roll and the bacon wrapped figs stuffed with goat cheese. Dinner was to die for — the caprese salad with homegrown heirloom tomatoes is still on my mind. Everything was perfect and delicious! Thank you so much Paradise for everything! If you are lucky enough to book them for your event — you are in for a treat!

Paradise Catering was the caterer for our recent wedding over Labor Day weekend at Holman Ranch. I’m a foodie and one of the most important concerns at my wedding was the food. We were planning the wedding from Oregon, so we were not going to be involved with any tastings. This was hands off planning for us. We were told they were the best around and I’m now a believer.
The food at our wedding was honestly the best that I’ve ever had at any event. I’ve been to many weddings and am always attending conferences. Nancy and John, with their staff, worked seamlessly with Holman Ranch to deliver us an outstanding meal. The Salmon with Chimichurri sauce, Chicken with Apricot Chutney and Quinoa, Caprese salad, and roasted vegetables were all amazing. There servers were also outstanding. They appeared everywhere with appetizers during the cocktail hour. Everyone commented how delicious the food was. We requested family style and I saw everyone at our table go for 2nds. It was really that good.
I want to thank Paradise Catering for helping deliver us amazing food on one of the most important days of our lives. I’d highly recommend Paradise Catering to anyone looking to host an event in the area. Thanks so much!

Y-​U-​M. My Bride & Groom selected Paradise Catering and they were on Holman Ranch’s preferred vendor list. During the walk-​thru, Nancy took the reigns! She knew this property well and answered so many questions, provided suggestions and put the Bride and I, the Planner and Coordinator, to work. Paradise’s Ashley and Leilani were also very helpful in regards to planning.
The set-​up for the wedding’s buffet was wonderful, the staff explained each item as they were being served, and the food looked amazing. The flavors left you wanting to take in another fork or spoonful and everything cooked to perfection, not too soggy, not a bit too dry. The black rice is delicious, you can’t go wrong with their quinoa but their chimichurri sauce on top of some red meat is making my mouth water just thinking about it.
The staff was amazing. They communicated well with me, perfected dining room set-​up, paid attention to detail and were very friendly. I didn’t hear about any spills, unnecessary drips, dropping of utensils or breaking of stemware, and there were absolutely no complaints from the guests. I had a very happy B&G. Paradise gets the job done. No nonsense. Kudos to Paradise!

Paradise catering is simply exceptional. They just catered our wedding and post-​wedding brunch a few weeks ago at Holman Ranch and I cannot thank them enough for how wonderful both the planning process with them was or how amazing the food ended up looking and tasting on our wedding day (and next day). Their chimichurri sauce is to die for and guests said the food was delicious and particularly the lamb with the fig-​mint sauce was incredible.
We did not realize how important it would be to have such an experienced and thoughtful caterer help with our wedding at HR until we started having to work out all the details of the food, and super woman Nancy would swoop in to fix all potential issues and make sure everything would be exactly the way we wanted. Nancy is a true gem. I want to give her another huge hug for being so wonderful. I really felt like she looked out for us the whole way through and gave us such good advice based on her experience. They really go out of their way to make sure you’re happy with the experience (tracked down other vendors to get things they don’t do like sushi, and did all the ordering and picking up for us!) which was really unique across wedding vendors.
One note is that if you’re doing family style, you should specify if veggie side dishes should be separate from meat and fish, since some of our veggie sides ended up being placed with our non-​veggie entrees. This ended up being okay because we had some veggie-​only dishes made but it’s still something to remember to specify if you have a lot of vegetarian guests. It was so nice that they made to-​go boxes of food that got put in the refrigerator in our room after the wedding so that we got to enjoy just sitting and eating everything!
I’d choose Paradise again in a heartbeat!

Paradise Catering just catered our Holman wedding. I cannot say enough about working with Nancy and Jon. I was, tried and true, *that* bride. The bride who worked in Hospitality her whole life (sommelier training, Michelin 3* Restaurant, 5* international catering experience) … and then planned a wedding. Detail-​oriented doesn’t begin to describe it.
Given all of that:
1) Pre-​wedding: the tasting was phenomenal, every email/​meeting/​interaction leading up to was thoughtful and easy, Nancy brought me popcorn while I was getting ready :)
2) During-​wedding: the food + timing of service were at the highest level. I walked into this process with the highest of expectations but some reservations. Every plate was hot. Every morsel delicious. Wine service was ‘on point.’ The staff was congenial, celebratory, professional, attentive…
3) After-​wedding: they left us a to-​go box stuffed with enough goods to have an after-​party feast with our guests who stayed on-​site.
Nancy, Jon, Leilani, Heather — and the whole Paradise crew — you nailed it.
To anyone considering them — go for it. Wedding catering does come with a bit of a price tag. But, think about it, it’s your one time to treat all the people you love to a meal they’ll never forget — because it was delicious, approachable and a true celebration of the Carmel Valley.

When we were searching for caterers for our wedding, we knew we wanted to find a caterer that served the freshest and the best ingredients. We fell in love with Paradise’s concept of farm to table which, in many respects, is true given that they grow most of their ingredients in their own backyard! We also knew we wanted a caterer that could allow us to get as creative as we wanted to be, and Paradise did just that. We were able to build a custom menu together based on our needs and the results were outstanding.
There is a certain art to cooking that Paradise exhibits in both it’s food and it’s presentation. Jon and Nancy, owners of Paradise worked with us to build the menu of our dreams and executed the menu with pizazz! The food looked and tasted great!
In addition, keeping budget in mind, we also appreciated the fact that the price covered all silverware, flatware and linen rentals which saved us lots of money in the long run. Overall, We were extremely pleased with the quality of service and the quality of food served at our wedding.

Simply put, Paradise is the best caterer you can hire for your event. Working closely with them (in my case primarily w/​Nancy) on pricing, menu construction, and execution on our wedding day, was incredibly easy. Nancy did a great job of relaying exactly what we should expect and what their capabilities were. Proof of their performance: throughout the evening our guests commented on how great the food was. (We had Salmon and Pork as entrees) Considering the scale of a 125+ person wedding, they managed to execute perfectly seasoned and cooked food. Considering one of our entrees was a pork tenderloin, the execution was the best we could hope for as the inside of the pork was cooked perfectly with a bit of pink. Servers were prompt but not overbearing and everyone had their wine glass filled throughout the evening.
Everyday since my wedding I’ve reflected on why the day was so perfect. One of the keys to our success on the day was that we had a great team of people helping us and Paradise was an anchor of support. We didn’t have to worry about them and let me tell you that that is worth 10x the price they charge on your wedding day. I’d work with them again in a heart beat.

I have a little secret for you…
Jon and Nancy are the reason we chose to get married at Holman Ranch. It may not be immediately obvious why this is true, so let me tell you the story.
When looking for a wedding venue, I found Holman Ranch and absolutely fell in love with it. This is tragic because it was really outside outside our budget. And when I say «really» I mean «very much.» As I was going through the laundry list of costs we would need to incur for a wedding, desperately thinking of what I could skimp on, I realized I had no idea how much a caterer would cost. Enter Nancy and Jon. They scheduled a tasting for us on short notice and when it was over, the whole deal was sealed.
Jon and Nancy are a couple of the most caring and FUN and TALENTED people. Not just in the wedding industry but, like, EVER. As if that wasn’t enough (and, well, it kind of isn’t when you’re scouting wedding vendors!) they were so kind to us during our tasting and made so many wonderful, fresh, delicious dishes for us to try. We loved each and every one of them. Some people, going into this, know exactly what they want. We had a very few, small, unpolished ideas but it would be truthful to say that we didn’t have a clue. No problem, Jon and Nancy were there for us. They were willing to work within our very limited budget, suggesting dishes that are awesome but less expensive to prepare on a large scale.
We left the tasting sure of several things. First, we REALLY wanted them as our caterer. This is convenient because I wanted Holman Ranch for my venue and these two are like peas and carrots. Second, we knew would be absolutely thrilled at whatever menu we came up with. Third, that their level of experience and professionalism would leave no worries for us on our big day. I was willing to do whatever needed to be done to have Paradise in our pocket and I got lucky enough that it also meant I was on target to have my dream wedding at Holman.
All of these proved to be true and our customized Mediterranean menu was OUT OF THIS WORLD. People are STILL raving about it more than a month later. Everything was just freaking fantastic and — brace yourselves– I don’t have a single complaint! If we throw any of these wild anniversary parties we’ve been joking about, Nancy will be my first phone call.

Another year, another race, and another wonderful set up by Paradise Catering.
MotoGP at Laguna Seca and John and his team are there working hard to feed the hungry masses. I had a chance to chat with John this year and probably took more of his time than he could have afforded to give. haha.
He’s a sweet man with a quick wit and a true love for food and a passion for cooking. He and his staff catered our Turn 4 Suite for 3 days at Mazda Raceway and it was nice to finally get a chance to meet the man behind the food.
The homegrown vegetables are clearly superior to anything I’ve ever had at other events which source their inventories from mass produce chains. The Squash and Zucchini were some of the BEST I’d ever had, and during Sunday’s lunch of grilled garden vegetables and Tri Tip steak, I swear I ate more greens than I did meats and I had no regrets.
The food (as always) is excellent (friend chicken, pulled pork, tri tip steak, grilled salmon, roasted ham, etc. etc. etc.) and the desserts were simple but enticing.
I always look forward to the food in the suites at Laguna, and I’m happy to now have a company to review so that I can share my excitement for my annual visit to Monterey.
Thanks for your time, your passion, and your dedication, John. See you next year.
«Professor»