J & L Catering

What an incredible experience. I held a small Christmas party (35 people) and wanted to make it a nice affair with little to no work on my part. Ted was so easy to work with to develop the menu and was helpful providing guidance on passed vs buffet. The onsite team was amazing. Paul and crew were absolute professionals and worked around my rather small kitchen taking perfect care of all my guests. Every person left complimenting the food and service. Highly recommend!!!

This business has some serious issues. I filled out their on-​line form over the summer, never heard from anyone. I called and left a message then never got a call back. Weeks later, someone called me apologetically to explain that the person I left a message with was no longer with J&L and they didn’t know about all of the messages in her queue until that day and to call them back. I called them back and now they haven’t returned my call after many days. Obviously, this place does not need my business or hard earned money. At this point, their responsiveness and reliability are NON-​EXISTANT for a big, important wedding event. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this caterer.

We worked with Rachel at J & L to provide catering at our wedding… it was great! The food and service from J & L were excellent, but to top it off, Rachel is truly a wonderful and fun person to be around. Every meeting with her was a blast and I wish I worked in event planning just so I could hang out with her again!

We used J&L for our May 2015 wedding and worked with Scott. We loved the entire J&L experience! Scott was extremely helpful and knowledgeable and delivered everything exactly as discussed on our wedding day. The food was amazing! All of our guests could not stop raving about how good the food was. Great job Scott and J&L!

Horribly rude staff and management… The food is ok but not worth having to deal with the people.

Jim Bailey WAS FANTASTIC! The best coordinator! I miss him already.
Without Jim I would not have been able to have hosted the most amazing Bat Mitzvah luncheon for my daughter, her friends and my family.
He has impeccable taste, attention to detail, sense of fun and can find good compromises. Several guests told me how AMAZING the food was and how seamless everything was.
i trusted him completely and he returned every single one of my never ending emails.
Thank you Jim and your entire staff who were a delight to work with this past Saturday. I cannot wait to work with you again.

Long story short: J&L lost all our information, did not follow up in a timely manner, did not follow up as promised on multiple occassions, and showed absolutely zero respect for my fiancé and myself as potential clients. If you do decide to contact J&L, I would highly recommend that you avoid working with Rachel.
«Attention to detail, great communication skills and a true commitment to our clients are three key traits in every J&L employe. «- J&L Website

J&L was actually on the recommended vendor list for the Kenilworth Club. While I would have liked to work with J&L further and experience a tasting with them in planning my wedding, it probably worked out for the best that it didn’t happen.
The crux of the issue was the communication. It started off better than expected! Evelyn responded to my initial query within a day. After that, communication dropped off a bit, with email responses after a week, but I understood when she said how nutty January (’14) was. We found a time to talk on the phone, and I thought it slightly imposing that she was trying to influence me to rent chairs outside of the ones available at the KC bc she didn’t prefer them.
The week after, I got an order confirmation and bill for an event that obviously wasn’t mine. I informed Evelyn of the mistake. It just seemed really disorganized and rookie for a senior event planner. I didn’t initiate communication with J&L after that, as I was in the talks with other more organized caterers. Last odd straw was that I got a phone call from Evelyn the month or so after that point, informing me that J&L wouldn’t be available on my day because they confirmed another event. Well, it’s nice to see that you’ll follow through on a communication like that, even though it was assumed by that point J&L wouldn’t be involved with my wedding.
This caterer was $ 2000+ more expensive than the other handful or so caterers that I consulted with. Be informed, Unilocalers!

Having used J and L for two separate special small events within the past year, I have only the highest praise. Their flavor profiles, exquisite preparation and execution are divine and elevated. Their work is pure artistry and innovation.
About a year ago, J and L catered a completely unique, over the top event at Primitive gallery for me. More recently, J and L catered h’or d’ouerves for an elegant house walk party in my building. The hundreds of tiny small bites (spring rolls and crepes) began the evening on a spectacular note. Each beautifully created piece had the freshest, lightest, most delightful flavors in it.
Said the «it» woman at the party (the guest most ‘in the know’ on all the newest, coolest, and hip Chicago resources, «J and L is not only the best place in Chicago to cater a party, but I’d say it’s the only place to go now».
I worked with Ted Grady who is fabulous. He understands exactly what will be needed to make an event special. Fantastic!
J and L is remarkable. Superb!

J & L catered my wedding in September 2014. Where to start with this review. I guess let me first say that I absolutely love Jim. He is seriously one of my favorite people on this planet. He pretty much single handedly made sure that my wedding went off exactly as planned. Sounds weird for a caterer, right? I know, but he functioned as so much more. I was planning everything on my own and he asked all the right questions to make sure that I was thinking of absolutely everything that would make our big day the success we wanted it to be.
Now that I professed my love for Jim, on to the real review. I can’t say enough about how delicious the food was. Literally everyone who attended the wedding ranted and raved about it. Including a very picky grandmother who is very hard to please! If you have vegetarians that will be attending your event, J & L has about a million options to choose from. All of them delicious enough that even the meat eaters will love them too.
As for the service, I can’t say enough about how fantastic they were. Everyone functioned together like a well oiled machine. Absolutely no one wanted for anything during the entire event and my husband and I were treated like movie stars. We even had guests that had previously been in the catering business in attendance at the wedding and they did nothing but compliment J & L for days after the big event. I truly can’t say enough about how fantastic they were. I will definitely keep them in my contacts for any future big events and highly recommend them to anyone looking for a top notch caterer.

J&L catered our wedding on September 13, 2014, and I could not have been happier with them. The food was delicious, but the real highlight was the service. The entire staff was friendly, skilled and accommodating, and our event manager, Jim Bailey, truly went above and beyond to make sure our wedding day was as wonderful as possible. When your caterer is crouched down, coaching the ringbearer for his walk down the aisle, you know you’re working with a real gem. Thank you so much, Jim and team!

Our wedding last weekend was catered by J&L, and they did a great job from the moment of first contact through the night of the wedding. It was a pleasure to work with them. After attending several weddings which had typical wedding food (rubber chicken, tasteless, starters, etc.), we set out to find a caterer that would provide a unique experience and leave the guests stunned with the quality of the food. After our tasting, we thought we had a winner with J&L but were still concerned whether the quality of the tasting would translate to the wedding night. Sure enough, they came through. We received so many compliments on food. They nailed it.
But, a caterer has to be more than just the food. They are really the architect of the service that night. And, once again, the staff came through. They were efficient, courteous, and respectful. The event was kept clean and the food and drink was consistently refilled. The staff was clearly prepped, to the nth detail, and ready to serve. Even the bartenders knew what our preferred drink was and had it ready when we approached the bar.
A special thanks needs to go to Rachel, who was our primary contact throughout the process. We felt comfortable that she was looking out for our best interests the entire time. She was a pleasure to work with. She helped coordinate the event and continually checked in with us to ensure we were happy. It was also a pleasure that she had worked with several of our vendors previously and developed great relationships with them. The close bond she had with our other vendors gave us a sense of confidence that there was no way she’d let the event be anything but a tremendous success. And, that was accomplished!

J&L just catered my work event for 27 people and they were AWESOME! Ted and team were really accommodating throughout the entire process. Extremely friendly and easy to work with. J&L suggested a menu to get the process started and we barely made any changes as J&L was able to immediately identify what would work best for our group and venue (yacht on lake MI). From the passed hors d’œuvre to the buffet to the beer and wine selections the event was perfect. Get the lobster crepes! All of the food was fresh and tasty. Guests are still talking about how good the food was! Thank you, J&L.

Yesterday was my brother’s wedding and I have been anxious and excited to write this review. J & L was unbelievable! We cannot thank Jim & his team enough. Every detail was executed to perfection.
From the moment we went to the tasting at J & L’s offices on Branch street we were impressed with their execution and attention to detail. We even discussed slight changes to the menu with the chef, who was more than happy to accommodate our tastes. On a wedding day, this is the last thing you are worried about and having Jim to execute for us was amazing! His entire staff was very professional and friendly, everyone went above and beyond to make sure everyone way happy! Thank you so much J & L, I look forward to using you again!

This one star review goes out to Scott and probably not the entirety of J & L Catering.
My fiancée and I decided to take our money elsewhere after dealing with his unprofessionalism and inability to provide comprehensive details. Scott was an absolutely atrocious communicator, which was shocking after reading such positive reviews. We received multiple excuses for late responses and the responses we did receive did not contain answers to questions we had asked. We were looking for options, he provided none.
Scott was the ultimate disappoint.

J&L Catering exceeded all expectations at my wedding this past weekend (6÷21÷14) at the Ivy Room. The food and service were both outstanding! I credit Ted Grady for putting it all together, working closely with my wife and I from the very beginning to create a customized menu and bar selection. Ted even consulted with us on table, chair, and linen rentals and worked to meet our style and budget. It was refreshing to work with Ted because he listened to us and made us feel comfortable in our choices… other catering companies did not provide this consultative approach.
Immediately following our ceremony outside at the Ivy Room, it started pouring and everyone had to go inside. Ted Grady and his staff at J&L were prepared, however, and we ended up having our cocktail hour downstairs instead of outside. It was a fantastic back-​up plan and guests were immediately served with passed appetizers. Everyone raved about the bacon-​covered dates!
The food, wine, and bar service for the reception were top notch. Multiple people told me that the wedding cake (w peanut butter frosting) and cake «shots» were the best they had ever tasted.
I highly recommend J&L Catering!
Ask for Ted Grady.

These guys are are absolutely outstanding. As an event coordinator, I’m constantly in search of new caterers but time and again, I go to J & L because I know that my event will be flawless.
Scott is dynamite to work with and he’s helped me with everything from veggie platters for 20 to fully catered parties for 300, and each time he’s accommodating, inventive and incredibly professional. All of the waitstaff and bartenders are friendly, polished and knowledgeable about the food. Working in an upscale event space, this is critical and I count on them for my most important programs. I love, love these guys!

J & L catered my wedding on 5÷10÷2014 at Loft on Lake and were simply fantastic to work with! Not only that, but the food was incredible!!! The guests at the wedding are still talking about how delicious everything was and I’ve heard multiple times that it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding! The entire team put me at ease and were so great to work with.
I love J&L Catering!

After my review, Scott immediately got in touch with me and apologized for my perceived lack of communication. He said the emails must have gotten lost in a spam folder. He promptly sent me the necessary quotes and remained in contact until we made a decision. I informed Scott that the prices were too high (we are a non-​profit) and he made some changes.
After all was said and done, we still did not use J & L for our event due budgeting but my communication with Scott was great after we resolved our communication issues.

J & L catered an event I was at and they had delicious food! If you can get the sweet potato and arugla dish for your event you definitely should get it! It was very fresh and yummy!