Gourmet In A Pinch

I was lucky enough to get married to my now wife this passed Saturday at a house in Newry, Gourmet in a Pinch catered our rehearsal dinner, wedding and next day brunch. Having worked in the house several times before Paul knew exactly how many tables would fit where and helped us a ton when getting our seating arrangements set. Paul went above and beyond normal caterer duties to make sure that our wedding day was as stress free as possible. He even offered to pick up a friend who had gotten a flat in Bethel on the way to the wedding. The Gourmet team was incredibly friendly to us and our guests, even willing to laugh at my lame jokes. For each of the meals Chef Charisa had the food cooked beautifully and exactly on time, and was able to delay dinner to accommodate my brother’s novella of a best man speech. Our wedding was great and Gourmet in a Pinch was a very big part of making that happen. Highly recommended.

It’s beyond time for an update. Since my last review I expanded from being an almost-​weekly customer for wine & great prepared foods to hiring Gourmet in a Pinch to cater my wedding party. Between then and now it’s been cool to see Paul and Charisa grow their business in different ways, hire staff and soak in lots of well deserved kudos.
I guess our wedding was not super traditional. We did a tiny ceremony with ~10 people representing just parents and siblings. Then we threw big parties in Maine and Boston to celebrate with a much wider circle of friends, family and colleagues,
Gourmet in a Pinch did our Maine party and they supplied *everything* from furniture to tent to food. Planning was smooth, straightforward and done entirely over email which I prefer since I tend to travel on business quite often. Everything went off without a hitch — food was fantastic and the setup & service was wonderful. The guests loved both the food and the cheerful service.
One example of «over the top» service was when we asked them if we could pick up a few of the rented party chairs a day early so that we could use them in the ceremony @ the covered artists bridge in Newry. Paul said «…don’t worry about it; It’s all set» and then personally delivered, set up and removed the chairs from the bridge after the brief ceremony. How cool is that?

I was planning a wedding a Maine wedding from 1000 miles away in Chicago. Gourmet in a Pinch was recommended to me by the venue owner, and all my expectations were surpassed. They went above and beyond their scope of work, especially when a torrential downpour soaked our outdoor reception area. They were professional, yet so friendly, our guests thought they were old friends helping out at our event! Paul caught some of my logistical misses and facilitated fulfilling them. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the dinner service. Our guests sang their praises throughout the reception. Paul and Charisa are the best! Hoping to have them cater my 10yr wedding anniversary. ;)

We tried to order some of the recommendations on Unilocal reviews, but everything was gone. Apparently they were suprised by a big catering order after having done a wedding. So we took what was left — mini beef wellingtons (gross, threw them away); mashed potatos (garlic taste for days afterwards); cod cakes (fishy and dry) and cupcakes — chocolate was good, vanilla tasted artificial. May try again for some of the more popular items if they are available. Hope it was an exception.