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# Catering By Design – Premier Catering and Event Planning in Philadelphia
Catering By Design is a renowned catering service and event planning company located in Philadelphia, PA. Known for its exceptional culinary offerings and meticulous event management, Catering By Design has established a strong reputation among couples and event organizers. With a history rooted in quality service and community involvement, this caterer stands out for its personalized approach and commitment to meeting diverse dietary needs. Reviews highlight the professionalism of its staff, particularly in wedding settings, where attention to detail and customer satisfaction are paramount.

## History
### The story of Catering By Design
Catering By Design was founded with a vision to provide high-quality catering services that cater to the unique needs of each client. The founders aimed to create a company that not only delivered exquisite food but also offered comprehensive event planning services. This dual focus has allowed Catering By Design to thrive in the competitive Philadelphia catering scene.

### Milestones and growth
- Established in the early 2000s, Catering By Design quickly gained traction in the local market.
- Expanded its services to include event planning and venue management, becoming a one-stop solution for clients.
- Developed partnerships with several prestigious venues in Philadelphia, enhancing its reputation and reach.
- Continually updated its menu offerings to reflect current culinary trends and dietary preferences.

### Cultural and local influence
Catering By Design has played a significant role in shaping the catering landscape in Philadelphia. By emphasizing local ingredients and seasonal menus, the company supports local farmers and producers. This commitment not only enhances the quality of the food but also fosters a sense of community and sustainability.

### Continuing the tradition
As Catering By Design continues to grow, it remains dedicated to its founding principles of quality and service. The company regularly seeks feedback from clients to refine its offerings and ensure that it meets the evolving needs of the community. This dedication to improvement has solidified its status as a trusted partner for events of all sizes.

## Community
### Community involvement
Catering By Design actively engages with the Philadelphia community through various initiatives. The company participates in local food festivals, charity events, and community service projects, showcasing its commitment to giving back. By collaborating with local organizations, Catering By Design not only promotes its services but also supports the community's growth and development.

### Community notion about the place
The local community views Catering By Design as a reliable and innovative catering service. Many clients appreciate the personalized approach and the willingness of the staff to accommodate specific requests. This positive perception is reinforced by numerous testimonials praising the quality of service and food.

### Events and gatherings
Catering By Design hosts and participates in various events throughout the year, including tastings, workshops, and community gatherings. These events provide opportunities for potential clients to experience the food and service firsthand, fostering connections and building relationships within the community.

## Offerings
### What Catering By Design offers
Catering By Design provides a comprehensive range of services, including catering for weddings, corporate events, and private parties. The company prides itself on its ability to customize menus to fit the specific needs and preferences of clients, ensuring a unique experience for every event.

### Dining and food experience
The dining experience at Catering By Design is characterized by high-quality ingredients and creative presentations. Clients can choose from a variety of menu options, including hors d'oeuvres, buffet-style meals, and plated dinners. The culinary team is adept at accommodating dietary restrictions, ensuring that all guests can enjoy the offerings.

### Events and packages
Catering By Design offers several event packages tailored to different types of gatherings. Whether it’s an intimate wedding or a large corporate event, the company provides flexible options that can be adjusted based on budget and guest count. This adaptability makes it a popular choice for many clients.
- Wedding catering packages
- Corporate event catering
- Private party catering
- Custom menu creation

### Facilities and features
- Experienced culinary team
- Event planning services
- Venue partnerships
- Customized menu options
- Dietary accommodations
- On-site event management

## Pros and Cons
### Key insights from reviews
Reviews of Catering By Design highlight a mix of exceptional experiences and some areas for improvement. Many clients rave about the quality of food and the professionalism of the staff, while a few express concerns regarding specific service issues during events.

### Compliments and strengths
Clients frequently commend Catering By Design for its:
- Exceptional food quality and presentation
- Attentive and professional staff
- Ability to accommodate dietary restrictions
- Personalized service and attention to detail

### Contrasts and notable mentions
While most reviews are positive, some clients have reported issues such as:
- Inconsistent service during peak times
- Occasional miscommunication regarding event details
- Pricing concerns for specific menu items

### Summary evaluation
Overall, Catering By Design is highly regarded for its culinary expertise and commitment to customer satisfaction. While there are occasional service hiccups, the majority of clients leave with positive experiences, making it a recommended choice for catering in Philadelphia.

## Location & Nearby Attractions
Catering By Design is located at 18 W Hortter St, Philadelphia, PA 19119. This vibrant neighborhood is known for its rich cultural heritage and diverse community. Nearby attractions include the historic College of Physicians and various parks, making it an ideal location for events that celebrate both nature and history. The accessibility of the area adds to its appeal for clients seeking a convenient venue for their gatherings.

## FAQs
**What types of events does Catering By Design cater** Catering By Design caters weddings, corporate events, and private parties.
**Can Catering By Design accommodate dietary restrictions** Yes, they offer customized menus to meet various dietary needs.
**Is there a minimum guest requirement for catering** Minimums may vary based on the event type; it's best to inquire directly.
**Do they provide event planning services** Yes, Catering By Design offers comprehensive event planning services.
**How can I contact Catering By Design for a quote** You can reach out via their website or call their office for a personalized quote.

## Visit Catering By Design Today
Catering By Design is your go-to catering and event planning service in Philadelphia. With a rich history, a commitment to community, and a reputation for excellence, they offer tailored solutions for weddings and events. Experience their exceptional culinary offerings and dedicated service by reaching out today.

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We worked with Kristen at the College of Physicians for our wedding and CBD is the caterer that comes attached to the venue. We were thrilled on so many levels! First, Kristen is an absolute professional. Getting to work with her was one of the highlights of our wedding. She answered all of our questions (and trust me...we had questions!) quickly, thoroughly, and with warmth that made us feel like we were the only couple she was working with. I cannot recommend her enough. Second, CBD and Kristen offered us several different price levels for our wedding which was hugely helpful. We ended up choosing a less expensive package so that we could invite more guests given our budget. Third, CBD was wonderful about allergies. I am gluten and dairy free & several of my guests had severe allergies to other items. Everyone I talked to after the wedding said they felt taken care of! We had a wonderful experience and recommend them highly!

7fc0cd4c-9275-408c-82da-18404904d3ec

BEST. WEDDING. EVER. A "great" rating is not enough to say how happy we were with everything at our wedding. We worked with CBD, specifically Kelly, for our wedding at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown. We can't stop raving about the night. First off, Kelly is INCREDIBLE. We genuinely would have been lost without her. She is patient, organized, and always willing to help. She was more of a wedding planner than a venue coordinator. I don't know how she does it! I would use CBD for another event just to get the opportunity to work with Kelly again. My husband and I cannot say enough positive things about her - thank you for everything, Kelly! You are amazing! Second, everything CBD provided was fantastic. From the food to the staff - all of it was just wonderful. We had numerous guests tell us how impressed they were with our hors d'oeuvres and entrees. The pork belly appetizer was awesome and people were still talking about our dumpling station the next day. We loved our entrees too! I wish there was a way I could order them again because they were delicious. The waitstaff and bartenders provided by CBD were also fantastic. Everyone was polite and willing to accommodate us - they really helped to make the night run as smoothly as possible. They were all professional and lovely. We hope they had a good time with us! Finally, our venue was simply gorgeous. We loved it from the second we saw it on our tour with Kelly. It was different from all the other weddings we've been to and many of our friends and family were very impressed. Our guests couldn't stop telling us how great the venue was throughout the night. We agree! It is a hidden gem that we got lucky more people did not know about. Plus, it is affordable! My husband and I still can't get over just how reasonable everything at CBD was especially for the quality of food and service we received. With a large event like this, often something goes wrong at the last minute that send things into a tailspin. My husband and I remarked at the end of the night that not a single thing went wrong with our wedding day. I feel a huge part of that is thanks to Kelly and the rest of the CBD staff. Thank you all so much for your hard work and help so that we could have the best day ever! You guys are the best!

944b6955-286b-45a2-b1e9-cf538b5365a8

I cannot recommend Kristen and the team at Catering by Design enough. I can honestly say every aspect of our wedding went completely as planned and looked exactly as I had envisioned and I had a very specific vision! Kristen was unbelievable-- incredibly responsive and took on way more than most day of coordinators (calling vendors, creating the timeline, recommending vendors, previewing decor set up). She made recommendations and was honest when she really thought something wasn't a good idea, but at the end of the day she let me come up with the concept and executed it beautifully. In addition to Kristen, the rest of the staff was incredible. I had a number of guests come up to me and tell me the service was outstanding-- better than most top notch restaurants. We even had our own personal concierge, Zakiya, who seemed to know what we needed even before we asked. We actually got to eat at our wedding! Lastly, the food. It was delicious and again, we got so many compliments. We loved the food so much we ate the packed up leftovers the next night for dinner. Overall, the evening was incredible and we could not have pulled it off without Kristen and the team at Catering by Design. We cannot thank them enough!

4b0f8e5a-02a6-4cf6-9a6e-942037676568

I worked with Nancy at Bolingbroke Mansion, one of their venues out in Wayne. I could not be happier with the experience. I have never had such a great sense of service before. Now that I have done a wedding, I know that I should not stress myself out anymore if I have a vendor like CBD in charge. Nancy makes you feel like you've been life long friends in a couple of seconds. She went above and beyond to make our day special. She knew we had a tight budget, but showed us many different ways we could do the menu that would make it fit. She kept us on track and up to date on the things we needed to do. She ran out on our wedding day and got us Triple Sec with her own money because we had forgotten. The food was amazing, every server was attentive and wonderful. The bartender we hired through them, Gary, was an amazing affable guy that made the night one to (or not)remember. I also used their in house decorator, Garnish, with Carolyn Rizzo. Oh my gosh. I wish I had more pictures of all the beautiful things she did. Again, they made things work within our budget and I so appreciate that. In general, I was overwhelmed by the service they provided. They decorated a few of the fireplaces at no extra cost. They were punctual, professional, and incredibly detail-oriented. I highly encourage you to invest in CBD for your caterer. They really blew me away.

50f435e2-ce05-4231-8b4d-3151755b282f

Catering by Design was the absolute best! We used them for our wedding at The College of Physicians in Philadelphia. CbD is the exclusive manager of the event spaces at this venue - so they managed our ceremony, the cocktail hour, and our reception. I need to start with Liz. She was our main point of contact at CbD / The College. She was extremely professional, knowledgeable, organized, and had immense patience with me and my 10,000 questions. She was outstanding!! From the very beginning, I left like we were in very good hands. In terms of food / drinks, we wanted to have a fusion of Indian and American cuisine. My husband and I cared very much about the quality of the food and drinks - it was our number one priority item. Liz and her team worked with us on every detail to create a customized menu for the cocktail hour and reception to meet what we were envisioning. In addition, Liz and her team took care to deliver on a custom cake decoration idea I had in mind and a matched the taste of a signature drink my husband created. No detail was over looked. Our guests raved to us about the meatballs station and the passed hor d'oeuvres during the cocktail hour, and the entrées at the reception. They were exceptional! The staff and chefs at Catering by Design went above and beyond and I highly recommend them without reservation. -Sam & Chris

5aec6fd7-2a92-4cfb-ae74-8d702f45a4a2

Had my daughter's wedding at One North Broad. We had to use Catering by Design as they are the designated caterer. Can't understand all the positive reviews. This was our experience. Buyer beware. Cons 1. Some meals were served cold 2. After seeing her once during the cocktail hour and Event Specialist was no where to be found during the event. Several requests were made to speak with her but she never responded. 3. Event specialist, Terri, displayed a rude, negative, pushy and argumentative attitude throughout the planning process and event. I reached out to her by phone to discuss the issues in this review before posting it. She was rude and argumentative saying she can't believe these things happened. 4. Appetizers were not being served throughout cocktail hour space. Many of our guest never saw many of the appetizers. We asked the staff multiple times to serve throughout the room. This never happened. 5. Appetizer station was not replenished. Had to ask the wait staff to replenish several times. 6. The bride and groom were not provided with appetizers. When the bride asked she was brought an empty plate and was told that someone else must have eaten them. The bride was then offered a lamb chop that had a bite taken out of it. 7. Overpriced. Asked to have olives on our antipasti station. Was told they would cost $363 for 123 person event. They can be purchased online for under $50 8. Paper and plastic plates and utensils were used for appetizers after being told by Event Specialist that paper and plastic would not be used during our event. 9. A staff member was supposed to be assigned to the bride and groom to serve them throughout the event. This did not happen. 10. Mashed potatoes were runny. 11. Terri, our event specialist, was disorganized. I received an email from her while I was at the rehearsal dinner saying she couldn't find the our guest list and corresponding entree selections. This caused me, the MOB, to forgo our Welcome Party and return to the hotel to send the info which had been previously sent. Pros 1. Beef Short Ribs and salmon were tasty 2. Blood Orange Sorbet was good 3. Ability to order cake and desserts from other bakeries as their cake was dense and under baked. 4. The limited number of appetizers that guests did get were enjoyed.

138e294a-e981-497c-a310-26e11baf41cf

We could not have had a better experience with Catering by Design. As a wedding photographer myself I interact with countless vendors and CBD is among the best of the best. We were lucky enough to work with Kelly and she was extremely attentive and always quick to answer questions kindly and thoroughly. Our guests were blown away by the selection for cocktail hour and they raved about the awesome staff, service and food during dinner. We highly recommend them!

66935aa6-027d-4f03-9236-fefa877b039e

Dan and his team at Catering By Design were amazing throughout the year we worked with them preparing for our wedding at the College of Physicians (a fantastic venue, by the by). Dan emits a sense of calm that soothes even the most frayed nerves immediately, assuring each person that the event will be perfect even when little things don't go exactly according to plan. From the tasting (luxurious pampering at their Mt. Airy space) to the event itself, everything was spot on and absolutely delicious. Every staff person was friendly, polite, and conscientious: making sure we were taken care of and helping us round up bits and pieces we'd brought with us at the end of the night. Thank you! We will certainly call on CBD should we need catering in the future and in the meantime, we will cross our fingers that our friends get married at the College, too, 'cause the minute I'm not wearing ivory, I'm going to gobble every amazing hors d'oeuvre without worrying about spills (um, those dumplings: amazeballs!)!

a4e8a27d-9f7a-4241-a82a-3d914eafe665

Michael and his team at Catering By Design were instrumental to us in executing the perfect evening for our colleagues and high end clientele. The staff was upbeat and professional; I could go on for days about the hors d'oeuvres that were passed. Simply the best. Highly recommend!

47651472-b406-443b-8763-cf4c7562554a

Our wedding was truly a masterpiece. I know everyone says and thinks that of their wedding day, but it truly was--and so much of that has to do with the One North Broad Team and Catering By Design. My husband and I met in Philadelphia (where I am also from) so we wanted our wedding in Philly even though we live in New York City. For this reason, we knew that we needed a solid/responsive team to work with because so many of our interactions would be virtual. ONB and CBD were it! Catering By Design is ONB's exclusive caterer. Initially, we were hesitant about venues that had exclusive caterers because we are FOODIES and we wanted the venue and catering decisions to be separate. However, CBD did not come to play! Knowing how passionate we were about choosing ONB as our venue, but unsure of CBD as our caterer, Terri Fair arranged for us to have a tasting BEFORE we made the official commitment. To me that gesture alone demonstrated that they were not just invested in receiving our money/business, but committed to proving they could be the perfect fit for our perfect day. What also sold us on CBD was their many many catering options. A lot of catering companies have their set menu tiers with set prices, and you just pick from a list. CBD, however, works within your budget and food preferences to make your dreams reality! While we still opted for a traditional seated dinner, we had the option to do family-style, buffet, etc... And the range of food options from their hors d'oeuvres to their entrees were overwhelming in the best way imaginable! A foodie heaven! The staff that worked our wedding was out of this world. From the way they dressed to the way they interacted with our guests-- folks are still talking about how impressed they were with the team. My husband and I had a dedicated staff member who made sure we had everything we needed BEFORE we even needed, and that small detail truly made a world of difference. The set-up and break-down of our reception was seamless and efficient, and before we were ready to head out of the door we had all of our extra food packaged and ready to go with us-- which was much appreciated the morning after!

Discover Catering By Design in Philadelphia for exceptional event catering. Experience delicious, customized menus that make your occasion unforgettable. Book now!

Catering By Design in Philadelphia | Top Event Catering

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Catering By Design

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Explore the full menu at Catering By Design in Philadelphia. Discover signature dishes, drinks & must-try items. Visit us at 18 W Hortter St.

Catering By Design Menu – Food & Drinks in Philadelphia

Learn about Catering By Design, a premier restaurant located at 18 W Hortter St, Philadelphia. Offering exceptional cuisine and a memorable dining experience.

About Catering By Design in Philadelphia

Opening hours for Catering By Design, Philadelphia. Find opening hours for Catering By Design, Philadelphia on 18 W Hortter St.

Catering By Design Menu Overview

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Mt Airy Breakfast & Lunch

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