Zest Catering & Events

We just had our wedding reception at The Beach House, Hotel Metropole. Our catering director Jessica was perfection. She communicated seamlessly throughout our entire planning process.
We had mac n cheese cups and caprese skewers passed around during cocktail hour. We decided to do family style dinner to allow our guests to bond and had so many compliments. We had a squash and pomegranate salad, root vegetables, mascarpone potatoes, prime hangar and arctic char for dinner. Dessert was a flourless cake with a pumpkin brittle. It was by far one of the best meals I have ever had. The guests were all in awe of how amazing everything was.
Thanks so much to the unbelievable chef! And also to Jessica and the staff for the perfect reception.

We had our wedding reception here a few weeks ago and it was absolutely perfect! Their staff is incredibly professional, friendly, and accommodating. I remember so vividly the day I called Jessica so many months ago and had such a friendly conversation where we laughed and got to know each other, and that’s when I knew this was the place! I loved working with them for our big day and would highly recommend them to anyone who wants a relaxed and easy planning process! My favorite part about doing our wedding here was that we could customize just about everything — and being a vegan, this made the food part of the planning SO much easier! Jessica, their event coordinator, is one of a kind and Kathleen, the chef, makes incredibly delicious food exactly how you want it! I just can’t say enough nice things about Zest Catering and the M Restaurant! They made our wedding day so incredibly special!

We used Zest Catering as our food and beverage provider at a recent company meeting we held at Overlook Hall Avalon/​Catalina Island and couldn’t have been happier with the food and the service. Everything was tasty and the homemade kettle chips were out of this world. This chef clearly knows her food and the service from the setup staff was exactly as we requested. If you are having a wedding or holding a corporate function on the Island, don’t pass up giving ZEST a chance to impress you and your guests.

WOW! Everything about Zest is amazing! My then fiancé and I walked by Zest Catering at the M Restaurant when visiting Catalina two years ago. Such a beautiful venue! We knew we wanted to get married here and we weren’t even engaged yet. As soon as he proposed, Zest was the first venue to book. Jessica was perfect to work with. She was so nice, super prompt with phone calls and emails, and great with referrals on the island. Even in my bridezilla moments, she would totally put me at ease. We were planning our wedding for Cinco de Mayo and wanted a Mexican themed meal. We were offered so many options for appetizers, salads, entres, and sides. The list was impressive. The scary part was we booked this venue without even trying the food. But based on their facebook pictures and menus listed, we were confident. So glad we went with Zest Catering. The food was AMAZING! In fact, many of my guests have asked me to call the venue and get the recipes. And the desserts, again… WOW. Everything was perfect from booking the venue, working with Jessica on the details, the menu, the service… the list goes on! In fact, my now husband :) has already mentioned he wants to come back and book Zest Catering for another party. There are always our anniversaries!

My wife and I recently got married at the M restaurant. Words can’t describe how happy we are with everything. Everything from the planners, the chef, the venue and the food was extraordinary. Everyone that attended the wedding had an amazing time and was raving about how awesome the venue was. I would 100% recommend this venue for not only just dinner but for an event as well. Our wedding planner Cathy Machado, DJ Les Akers as well as officiant Annie Marshall love working at this venue and are highly recommended as well.

Zest is by far my favorite dining option on the island. The menus are always inventive, fresh and imaginative. Chef Kathleen is a true artist. If you are looking for an incredible experience (including the most professional staff in town), this is the place.

In a few words: Rude, unprofessional and not worth the money. I used Zest for my wedding on Catalina island. As a foodie, I was splurging on food and beverages so their premium price wasn’t an issue for my budget as long as I received value for money. Which I did not. Not only was JoAnna the coordinator rude and pushy, she was unhelpful and officious on a good day. I wanted to get suggestions from them but she kept saying I had to come up with ideas. Every time we did, she would say it wouldn’t work. Very frustrating, but after several exchanges we finally had something reasonable although not exactly what I imagined when I signed up with them.
The worst part about the whole thing is that on the day of my wedding, there were two gluten free requests that were served wheat pasta. When the guests inquired about their gluten free options that we had promised them, the chef said that we hadn’t requested them and blamed the entire thing on us! When I forwarded them the email where we discussed gluten free options, they still said it was our fault for not triple, quadruple checking on the final contract details.
When you pay this much for catering on such a special occasion, don’t trust Zest as it certainly isn’t worth what you spend.

I live on Catalina Island and I can tell you that eating out around town can be so boring. Not at ZEST though. Bummed they are only open some of the time, but that allows me to look forward to the next event ! The menu is constantly changing and the ingredients used are fresh. If you are visiting from out of town, check to see if they are open for public events ! You won’t be disappointed.