Catered by Design

We used Catered by Design for our wedding at The Redfield Estate at The Grove and were so glad we did. Nikee was great to work with from beginning to end. The food was served hot and it tasted great. The details were all attended to and the staff was warm and helpful. I hope I have an occasion to use them again soon.

i started working with Sam Gray years ago when I was a wedding florist and his business was much smaller. The food is always outstanding, hot, fresh, and tasty. Their approach is so accommodating, striving to meet your needs whether its a low budget picnic or meeting or an over the top elegant wedding or event. I chose my venue, the Catayst Ranch, based on the fact that they work with Catered by Design. I have absolute confidence in Sam and his entire staff. Many of his staff members have been with him for years.

I used Catered by Design for Thanksgiving dinner this year. It was delicious. The food was delivered the Wed before and all I had to do on Thanksgiving was reheat it. The directions were super simple and the meal was reasonably priced. I’ll definitely use this caterer again. I highly recommend them.

It was so easy to work with CBD! Nikee Fellows helped tailor our very selective menu for our wedding renewal this past September-​she made sure all details concerning our set up and food tasting was handled with great attention. The food prepared was just amazing. We had initial hesitation as we wanted a particular dinner to be served but once we attended the food sampling, we were sold on what the chefs at CBD prepared. I was very concerned about the food as that is one big component most folks recall and also my family hails from a line of chefs, thus, everything on that dinner plate needed to be just right!
I highly recommend CBD without any hesitation for your event!

Sam and his crew bring about a whole new side to events and catering. They do a wonderful job at doing themed luncheons, dinners and all other catered events. I have experienced them on the Anita Dee, as well as events done locally at surrounding venues.

Working with Sam and Matt Gray was one of the best decisions my wife and I made during the planning process of our wedding. Sam Gray has been in the restaurant and catering business for so long that his experience was what helped us make our decision. Our wedding was at The Chicago Cultural Center on June 20^th, 2015. With the final count at 235 people, it seemed like we were in over our head with all the planning and what not which would need to go into this. Sam and Matt made it so much easier, especially with their past experience at the Cultural Center.
The food was amazing. We allowed our guests to have an option between beef, chicken, salmon, and veggie. I think beef was the overall top choice by everyone, but it seemed like the panko-​stuffed chicken was the fan favorite for the night. In reality, you couldn’t go wrong with any of them. The sweet tower is also amazing as it’s set up on floating buffets and just has such a cool look to it.
The staff was very attentive and responded to any request in a timely manner. The switch from cocktail hour to the actual reception was flawless and no one noticed it happening at all. All in all, I would highly recommend Catered by Design and the work that Sam Gray does. He’s the ultimate professional and will do everything he can to make the day special for you.

Catered by Design catered our small graduation party and did a superb job. We kept it simple with trays of cold appetizers, all of which were both nicely presented and delicious. (I gobbled up as many of the south-​of-​the-​border wraps as I could get away with. YUM.) Matt was great to work with and handled our little modifications with aplomb. They arrived right on time and setup was quick and easy. We felt as valued as a much larger customer might. Next time maybe we’ll go larger now that we’ve found a great caterer!

Catered by Design recently catered my daughter’s wedding and I would highly recommend them. Sam Gray was great to work with — he was very responsive and worked hard in the months leading up to the wedding to accommodate everything the bride and groom wanted. The food was wonderful, probably the best I’ve had at any wedding or large event, and we had many, many compliments from our guests about the variety and quality of appetizers, salad and main course entrees. Again, I highly recommend Sam and Catered by Design.

I may be slightly biased because I may be best friends with someone in close relation to the owner, HOWEVER I have used CBD once for my graduation party. We just ordered sandwiches and fruit because it was in the summer time and it was outdoors, but everyone was raving about how delicious the sandwiches were! Another reason I am biased is because maybe I’m employed there/​have been employed there… oh well. But for real, this catering company is the real deal. Their food is the best in the business and the venues they cater at are amazing. Their accent pieces they offer at events are unique and beautiful. You definitely will not be disappointed!

I am so happy we choose Catered By Design for our wedding! The service was extremely thorough and professional and the food was fantastic! Our guests have been raving about how great the food is, and many have said it’s the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding. The staff definitely knows what they are doing and they took care of everything, making my wedding day easy and worry free. I cannot recommend them highly enough! Thank you CBD for a perfect wedding!

I can’t say enough good things about Catered by Design and more specifically Nikee. We used CBD for our wedding at the Winnetka Community House in June 2014. From day one Nikee and her team were a pleasure to work with-​extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. She answered all of my questions (and there were many!) promptly throughout the wedding planning process. She was respectful of our budget and did not push any extra expenses on us. She was flexible and always made an effort to accommodate. On the big day, Nikee and Mallory were both there to make sure things started off ok (and helped calm me down). Mallory even came to the rescue with some much needed hair spray last minute! The food was perfect, the venue was set up beautifully, and the service was smooth and friendly. The attention to detail was amazing and the day ended up being even more perfect than I could have imagined. We owe a lot to the work that Nikee and her team did and we are forever appreciative! Highly highly recommend!

We used Catered by Design for a party at our home in June 2014. It could not have been more perfect. Planning our small party was easy with the help of Sam Gray and his son, Matthew. They guided us through the huge selection of food, quantities and timing.
A staff of two prepared and served hot appetizers and desserts for our 50 guests. Having appetizers passed among guests was new for us but turned out to be the perfect choice. There was a constant flow of varied appetizers and they were all hits. Catered by Design also set up an eye-​popping display of food on our dining room table. Some of the food, like small sandwiches, was from them and some of it was brought by guests. They also made sure empty plates and bottles were quickly snapped up and disposed of.
We depended on Catered by Design, not only for food, but for the glassware we used for wine and for a champagne toast. They also provided a few highboy tables for guests to gather around on our deck. Our server expertly dressed them up with blue linen and yellow sashes. Catered by Design has provided food for our parties before but we always arranged to just have it dropped off. Using their friendly and extremely competent staff, for this party, allowed us to enjoy more time with our guests. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

I can’t say enough good things about CBD. Nikee was fabulous from the very beginning with showing us the space, her and mallory were extremely responsive whenever i sent emails with questions, doubts or if I just wanted an extra opinion. We booked them for our wedding at Winnetka Community House and the service was fantastic! I have had numerous guests since the wedding mention how great the service was that night. The food was great and the attention was wonderful. We ordered a late night snack of churros as a surprise to our guests, I was a bit worried about how these would turn out but they were a hit! all the guests said they were so fresh and were delicious. I am so happy with how everything turned out and am beyond pleased with our caterers. Thank you guys for helping with all the little details that day and for helping make sure that everything ran smoothly!
–Linda & Oscar

Catered by Design catered our August 2013 wedding reception at the Chicago Cultural Center. The event went off without a hitch and we have no doubt that Sam and his team had a huge part in making it a perfect day.
The venue allows you to select your own caterer which is wonderful in terms of flexibility, but also overwhelming. We reached out to nearly every caterer in the area to receive price info, sample menus, etc. Sam was the only one that didn’t just send us a sample menu. He called me the day that I reached out and we discussed our vision for our event for nearly an hour. He invited me, my fiancé, my mom, and my maid of honor to his offices for a tasting before we had even made our final decision.
It was at that tasting that we realized that Catered by Design’s food is restaurant quality. We were against typical baked chicken and mushy peas that we remembered being served at other weddings that we attended in the past. Not only was the food amazing, but the presentation was impeccable. We worked with Sam to design a menu and also opted to use some of Sam’s signature equipment such as the floating dessert bar and wine tree.
Leading up to the event, Sam and his team were always available to discuss details and any questions. All brides know that this is a stressful time and it put our minds at ease to know that everything was taken care of. Our wedding reception was perfect and our guests could not stop raving about the food, presentation, service, and the signature equipment. I saw so many guests snapping photos of our dessert bar and wine trees, in awe of how beautiful and unique they were.
I would hands down recommend Catered by Design for any event. They were wonderful to work with from start to finish and hiring CBD was the best decision we made during the wedding planning process!

Our decision to go with Catered by Design for our wedding was by far one of the best moves we’ve made in our wedding planning process. They provide excellent, stylish, elegant and delicious food for very reasonable prices, and beyond that — they are extremely accommodating, helpful, and pleasant to work with. Our event coordinator was Nikee Fellows, who was highly responsive and professional from the first moment to the last.
One of the reasons we chose CBD is that we wanted the menu to be entirely Vegetarian/​Vegan, and CBD offers high quality non-​meat options. Our guests were especially impressed with the hors d’oeuvres, which were outstanding and in abundance. Also, the wedding cake (provided by Oak Mill Bakery) is included in the price, which is quite a perk. We had a really great experience, and we’d recommend CBD to anyone.

Sam and his team know what they are doing and help with the always stressful process of planning a wedding. His team worked like clockwork to make sure everyone had a great experience to getting their food all at the same time. The food was great and just the right portion size. Their prices are around what I expected but not as high as most Chicago catering companies. Thank you all!

My wife and I used Catered by Design for our wedding last September (9÷22÷2012) at the 99^th Floor of the Willis Tower. Sam, the owner, was who we worked with and I can not say enough good things about him. Sam and his staff are extremely flexible, accommodating, and knowledgeable. From the initial meeting to the big day, they never skipped a beat and delivered on everything that they said they would.
I am usually skeptical on food cooked in bulk and it typically is never as good as single portions but I have to say that the food and apps for our wedding were excellent. Everyone who attended was amazed as to how good the food was as well!
The staff was professional, courteous, and made sure everyone was happy with a drink in hand!
I would recommend Sam and Catered By Design any day of the week!

My family recently hosted a rehearsal dinner for my brother’s wedding at the Lakeview Banquet Rooms at Park Center in the Glen, and worked with Catered by Design. Nina Matijos was the person we worked with, and she was very professional, helpful, and made it a very easy and stress-​free event. Even with 110 hungry and loud people, she was so efficient and accommodating to everybody.
In the planning stages, we did a lot of communication via email, to which she always responded immediately. Her expertise and organization made the event smooth and successful. The room itself accommodated the crowd well, and the veranda, looking out on a fountain and lake, was beautiful. It was a lovely summer evening setting.
There were so many good choices for food. We choose to do a buffet with a wide variety of entrees and sides. The food was delicious, fresh, and there was plenty of it. The servers were attentive and helped serve. There was only one bartender though, so the bar service was a little slow.
Nina provided connection to the sound system (easily connected to an iPod of any mp3 player) and a wireless mic, which we needed, and was present through the whole party in case we had any questions, as well as making sure we were happy with the whole night. The dance floor was provided with no extra charge (which we’ve found is not the case everywhere) and she even moved it to the center of the room to accommodate the crowd.
I would highly recommend Catered by Design for any event for their expertise and delicious food.

My husband and I worked with Sam for our December wedding, and we made a pretty fab choice. The two biggest strengths were the food (options and quality) and Sam’s flexibility and service orientation.
First, we had to narrow down the huge array of choices into a menu that would suit ourselves and our guests. I do not eat most meats; my husband does. My family includes vegetarians, and there were a handful of other restricted diets among our guests. We decided on three entrée choices to satisfy everyone, and they actually did. People who didn’t have anything to gain by lying to me told me how much they liked their dinners. Excellent!
Back to the vegetarians for a minute. First, my husband and I tasted a vegetarian pasta option but we were underwhelmed, so Sam presented an alternative they hadn’t officially added to their offerings yet: a vegan polenta with grilled vegetables in a stack. Both of us tried it and both of us loved it. It went over very well with our vegetarian guests as well, both because it wasn’t pasta and because it was tasty, healthy and filling.

As for Sam, he accommodated us further on the dessert front. My husband is a whoopie pie aficionado and since whoopie pies were not among Sam’s dessert options, he allowed for us to provide our own to be set out along the other sweets. (At this time allow me to shout out to Rise n’ Roll for providing the 6 dozen whoopie pies and delighting my husband possibly more than I do.)

Then, he saved the day when our cake baker went out of business, 7 days before our wedding, with absolutely no warning. (At this time allow me to shout AT Rolf’s Patisserie: Who does that!!!) We had a relatively simple design, so luckily Sam was able to arrange a cake to be made by another bakery he works with. If Sam was panicked, I didn’t feel it. I just knew he was going to get it done and I didn’t need to worry about it.
If there’s an area for improvement, it is the day-​of communication and game plan. I met our captain and had to go over a couple details during cocktails, which means I wasn’t with our guests. And afterwards, the catering staff cleaned up the table decorations (candles in votives) by throwing most of them out, until I think the site manager noticed and asked them to save them.
Overall though, the most important aspects of catering were handled very well and we would choose Sam again if we were to have another wedding (which we totally should — it was awesome!).

I was a vendor at an event and happened to be sitting right next to Catered by Design. Lucky for me because I was able to munch on all their delicious food throughout the day, but not so lucky for them because they probably didn’t appreciate me chowing on their food all day long… although they couldn’t have been nicer about it and kept telling me to eat more (and I’m always game for eating more!).
There was a spread of many different things and believe me… I tried it all! My favorites were the sushi (no surprise there being the sushi addict that I am) and pita covered with some delicious spread and artichoke. So good that I just kept snacking on it all day long!
The presentation of everything was also beautiful, which I find to be most important when researching good caterers. And the staff couldn’t have been friendlier– no raised eyebrows as I kept approaching the food buffet!
Overall, very impressed and would definitely call this caterer for any upcoming event needs! Check them out for your needs as well!