The Raging Skillet

Omg… where do I start!!! Best salmon I’ve ever tasted. I was at a wedding when I had chef Rossi’s food. The first thing I asked when I finished was… where is this restaurant at! The food was full of flavor and got better and better after every bite. It just melted in your mouth. If I ever need a caterer she will be it A+++

We used Chef Rossi and her team for our daughter’s wedding at the Prospect Park Picnic House. Every aspect of working with Raging Skillet was a pleasure. From the tasting meal, to the selection of food, to the staff and service, I do not have anything but the highest praise. So many people came over to us to rave about the food. One said, most caterers can deliver nice hors d’oerves, but the main is usually disappointing — no so here, the mains were amazingly good. The staff under Karl was as helpful as can be, even moving tables in the middle of the evening to give more room for dancing. I couldn’t give a higher recommendation.

Let me go ahead and echo what everyone else has already said — Chef Rossi and her team are the BEST at what they do. They’re one of the main reasons our wedding ran so smoothly, and we’re so grateful and pleased we hired them.
My husband and I were planning our wedding across the sea and sans a wedding planner, so we needed to know we were in good hands with our caterer. We’re also serious about our food and wanted a funky menu that reflected who we are as a couple, hence why we went with The Raging Skillet.
Chef Rossi is personable, really communicative through email, and hilarious (added bonus). She worked with us to create a really unique and delicious menu that spanned our global tastes, with everything from all day barbeque brisket to seared salmon with Mexican cole slaw and salsa verde to Louisiana crab cakes with cayenne remoulade. It was seriously special and really felt personalized — everything you’d want on your wedding day.
Her partner Charmaine is incredible at what she does also. She matched Chef Rossi in terms of organization and excellent communication. She helped us work with the venue (The Foundry) to do the timeline of the day and rent all the cutlery, dishes, furniture, etc. We did a floating supper, and she and her team made sure everyone was properly fed despite having no seating plan or a stringent meal time.
All in all, we couldn’t have been happier with The Raging Skillet and highly, highly recommend them to other couples in NYC.

We had the great pleasure of working with Chef Rossi and her entire team at the Raging Skillet this past weekend for our wedding at The Foundry. We can not say enough good things about the experience we had. Any review you read will rant about her food so I’d like to take the opportunity here to rave about everything else we absolutely loved.
First and foremost, Chef Rossi will turn into someone you wish you could be friends with forever. She is lovable, she is as patient as it gets and she is beyond creative. She was extremely responsive throughout the whole process, always answering every email or question with what seemed like a smile. She also hired an incredible staff of people. Charmaine, her maitre d’ was phenomenal to work with. She sat with us the last few weeks and helped create everything down to table placements and arrangements. She was patient, also very responsive and was exactly what we needed to handle everything day of. Every waiter and bartender brought their A game… something you don’t think about but surely notice.
For anyone who is planning a wedding — you are the first to know how stressful things can get. Rossi and her team take it all away. From day one you feel like you are working with an expert — someone who has turned every stone, can answer any question you throw her way, and then creates a wedding menu that you will have never seen before.
We will miss working with Rossi but are honored we had the opportunity to do so in the first place.

OMG, IS ALL I CAN SAY. The food was awesomeness is all I can say. The Salmon, Pernil, rice and beans where to die for.

The Raging skillet is amazing. Chef Rossi, her Maître D’ Charmaine, and their staff was one of the big reasons that our wedding ran so smoothly. From the moment we started talking with Chef Rossi she was on top of her game. She quickly gauged what kind of food we were looking for just from two conversations. After sampling her delicious food at one of her tastings we knew we had to book them.
Our wedding was at the Museum of the Moving image — which had no kitchen, only a big empty room. They were able to work perfectly in the space and make everything work.
Charmaine also took cake of us– making sure we had a drink ready to go after the ceremony and a large platter of food upon our entrance to the party.
As expected the food at the wedding was fantastic. They also booked all of our rentals, set everything up at the venue, arranged the delivery of our liquor, and just generally made everything run super smoothly.
We HIGHLY recommend the Raging Skillet — they will make your event that much more memorable and stress free.

Chef Rossi is simply the best. Her food is creative, original, and delicious! (I wish she had a restaurant too!) Not only is the food out of this world, she’s remarkable with details– the plating and presentation is artistic and thoughtful. She’s extremely in tune with her clients and able to execute their vision in a fun and unique way.
Also, Chef Rossi is a blast to work with! You’ll leave every tasting and menu discussion laughing and feeling like you have a friend who’s sincerely there helping to perfect your celebration.
I just cannot wait to work with her again!

Steven M. and Carlos T. Wedding:
Planning a wedding can be very stressful, especially from out of state. Chef Rossi came recommended to us and we could not be more grateful. The first time we sat together with Chef Rossi to discuss what we imagined our wedding to be, we realized she was the perfect fit. We discussed our plans on transforming our wedding into the party of the year. Her imaginative conception of what our wedding could be was exactly what we were looking for. Her incorporation of Latin flavors for our families was just what we needed. Within a couple hours, we left from our meeting with a full menu planned. Our next visit was an invitation to taste her amazing food. From the vegan/​vegetarian options to the desserts, we could not get enough of her food. One of our favorites was the chocolate covered bacon! Once we finished with the tasting, we knew we had made the right choice. Throughout the whole process, Chef Rossi was a breeze to work with. She always made sure that we were within our chosen budget while still giving us what we wanted. The walk through of the venue with Charmaine was also a breeze. Charmaine was a joy to work with and her ideas on how the venue could be set up worked out perfectly. The day of our wedding, we met Chef Rossi and she made sure that we were happy with how everything was being presented. The food was amazing and even today, four months later; we hear compliments on how much the food was enjoyed. Chef Rossi, Charmaine, and all her staff were professional and a joy to work with. No headaches or second guesses. We would recommend The Raging Skillet and Chef Rossi to anyone who is looking for the best caterer in New York City.

Chef Rossi and Charmaine are the absolute best. And not just at catering a wedding, but with all things wedding-​related. They can advise on flowers. They can advise on drinks. They can advise on furniture rentals. They are so professional, so friendly and personable, and so absolutely amazing to work with, and it makes a huge difference when you’re in the throes of planning a wedding.
We had tried a few caterers before landing on The Raging Skillet. Most of the other caterers would offer a tasting, but would charge a fee — unless you end up signing with them. When I asked Chef Rossi what the fee was for her tasting, she said the fee was to come eat and drink wine and have fun.
When we asked other caterers to swap out certain dishes for something new we decided on for a sample menu, you could feel in the tone of the new email something along the lines of «I’ll make the change, but don’t ask for too many of these until I see some money.» For Chef Rossi, any change we asked for was met with comments: how the new entrée/​appetizer/​side dish would pair with the rest of the course, how this would affect our budget, as well as advice on what else we might want to consider. Rossi thinks through everything.
And Charmaine, the maitre d’, is equally incredible. At the end of the night, she even helped pack up some flowers and other things that had nothing to do with catering. She also had fantastic advice about how the wedding reception should go with regard to the timeline (when the first dance should be, when the mother-​son dance should be, etc).
And then there’s the food. it’s spectacular. No «it’s good… for a wedding,» qualifier necessary. It’s just good. My uncle has been a head chef for 30 years in the NYC area at some well known restaurants. He loved the food. My wife’s uncle and his wife are culinary-​trained; they loved the food. The Raging Skillet market themselves as anti-​wedding-​caterer catering, and they do not disappoint. We received so many compliments on the hors d’hoeuvres, the dinner, and the service (no one had to go to the bar to refill a single glass once the dinner began) both during and after our wedding.
I cannot say enough about Chef Rossi, Charmaine and the rest of The Raging Skillet staff. They are incredible and played a huge part in making our wedding amazing from the tasting all the way through execution. They’re the best!!!

Planning a wedding in the New York City or tri-​state area? Use Chef Rossi and the Raging Skillet! Honestly, as good as it gets. Made us feel like her most important clients throughout the entire planning process! During our initial meeting, sat with my fiancé and I for an hour and created a personalized menu that was like nothing I had ever seen before. We could not have dreamed of a better menu than what she conjured up for us. Some of the comments from the guests were «the food is magnificent!», «best wedding food I have ever tasted», «everything is absolutely amazing.» Chef Rossi is also very honest and trustworthy, will assist in trying to cut costs wherever possible without sacrificing class and style. Charmaine was our maître d’ and helped with running the show. She did not miss a beat! I would recommend her by name! One of the waitresses even went as far as to volunteer to assist one of our elderly guests to the restroom. Bride and groom were kept happy and full throughout the entire event. Made us feel like a million bucks on our special day! Seriously worth every dollar! It was perfect!

Rossi was fantastic and one-​of-​a-​kind. In the long process of choosing a wedding caterer, I kept seeing reviews for her that said «the guests are STILL talking about the food!» and I kept thinking, really? Who talks about wedding food? Even in the best cases I’d always found wedding food to be unsatisfying – either overly precious or overly generic. Rossi was our answer. She understands the importance of color, abundance, heart and soul, but also flavor and nuance and incredibly artistic presentation. She makes you feel like you’re her most special client, seems to genuinely have fun with the entire process (and wow, I think you have to have the patience of a saint to pull this off while listening to brides and grooms wax on about their visions as if they are the first people in the world ever to get married and have a party). Rossi’s food was robust, stylish, just trendy enough while still being earthy and hearty – somehow magically serving the needs of your urban foodie friends AND your fussy aunts and uncles from the burbs. Her floor director Charmaine only upped the excellence – we felt totally confident that the evening would run smoothly in her hands. As professional control freaks, it takes a lot to make me or my husband feel that way. Rossi is fun and zany but also a perfectionist. And yes, people are still talking about the food. It was almost comical for us in the weeks after the wedding how many people asked us to find out her recipes!

So much love for Chef Rossi and her wonderful catering operation.
Spectacular food. Conscientious of budget. Bright and charming personality.
Our wedding was at the Metropolitan Building. She rocked it.
Classy: She had no judgement of our tight budget and not once did she try to up-​sell anything. To the contrary; Rossi actually helped us pinpoint where we could cut costs. She is a true pro.
Professional: Rossi will break down every item of the cost and work with you on the budget. No surprises. She genuinely cares about people and has an instinct for soothing the frazzled nerves of stressed-​out couples who are planning weddings. She makes it so much easier.
Personal touch: Rossi’s cheerful, can-​do attitude makes you feel as though yours is the only wedding she is handling at the moment. She’s truly a special person who deserves all the praise you read about her.
Food: DELICIOUS. Creative, delectable food that your guests will rave about. Ours certainly did.
I hope I get the chance to hire her again for an event. She’s the best.

Chef Rossi was spectacular in every respect — wonderful to talk to, professional, responsive to our requests and our budget, and best of all, an amazing chef! Our wedding guests are still talking about the food 3 months later. We had a limited budget and a big (food-​loving) crowd, so we were really concerned that the catering would seem dinky and underwhelming. Turns out, we didn’t need to worry. Salmon charmoulla, French cut chicken breast with pomegranate glaze, roasted harvest root vegetables, kale salad with currants, black and white pilaf. not to mention 5 appetizers, and a wonderful selection of desserts — all for an amazing price, and done with thoughtfulness and flair.
Additionally (and this is important), Rossi made sure that we (the bride and groom) got fed too — which I hear almost never happens. She put together special plates for us of all the delicacies being served so that we didn’t miss anything while we were busy with our guests.
My only regret is that we aren’t getting married again so we can’t use Chef Rossi for our next wedding!

5 stars all around: 5 stars for quality and variety of food, presentation, fun-​ness of working with chef rossi herself, and professionalism of the staff. i am so bummed all of the adrenaline of being at my own wedding left me with little appetite to enjoy most of the food! my guests are still talking about the salmon. and empenadas. and kale salad. and lobster cones. and sea salt brownies. and… the list goes on and on for what rossi can do.
and, importantly for the stress of planning a wedding, there is no BS when it comes to budget talks (and she is so easy to work with on this). she’s just real. and an EXCELLENT chef who has the art of catering down to a science.

I gave it a «whoohoo! as good as it gets!» because Rossi gave us such a great feast for our wedding that our friends mentioned it whenever I talked with them afterward — «wow, that food was great» — that kind of thing. Rossi adds to it with her own fun personality — making us feel like we’re the most important wedding she’s done. We had appetizers, a buffet and a dessert table — all were terrific. You can DM me if you have questions. I would use her services again for sure.

We used Raging Skillet for our wedding at The Foundry on 12÷1÷12 and couldn’t have been happier. Throughout, Chef Rossi was fun and flexible and created a menu that fit our personalities and backgrounds and still felt like a unified whole. Everyone is still talking about the food– not just how delicious it was but the quantities. The service was great and set exactly the right tone– fun, friendly, professional, and went out of their way to make sure people had a great time. Charmaine ran the day of, and she was magnificent and always with a smile on her face.
Personally, I had always heard that the Bride and Groom don’t get to eat at their own wedding, and that was not the case for us. In fact, right after the ceremony, Raging Skillet made sure that in the bridal suite we had a full plate of hors d’oeurves and champagne. As I was eating, I commented, «We made a good choice.» «To get married?» my wife asked. «Well, yeah, but I was talking about the food.»

Before we even tasted the food, we knew Chef Rossi and the Raging Skillet were going to cater the wedding.
When we met Chef Rossi she took the time to get to know us. She was friendly, fun, and extremely helpful. She went over everything having to do with cost up front! The tip, tax, rentals, etc. And when she gave us an initial estimate, and sensed (correctly) that it was out of our budget, she happily told us where and how to make cuts and found ways to save us money. We felt totally at ease and then came the food…
AWESOME!!! She invited us to not one, but two tastings. We loved everything. We liked her first menu, which was a perfect fit for our theme, so much that we only ever made ONE menu item change.
The Raging Skillet went above and beyond, supplying me with an inventory of what mixers, sodas, and juices would be needed so I could go buy them myself and save more money.
The day of the event, the staff was amazing and the food was fantastic. The right amounts at the right time and all the appetizers and main dishes were outstanding. We received numerous compliments on the food through out the event.
Honestly… Through every step of the way leading to the wedding, I felt I could never have done it with out Chef Rossi. She is an amazing person who cares about her clients and delivers top notch food.

For weeks after the wedding, all we kept hearing from our friends and family was how FABULOUS the food was! This was gratifying to us, because my husband and I are foodies and normally don’t enjoy «wedding food,» but the credit all goes to Chef Rossi, who provided us not only with incredible, original, memorable food, but first rate service. Chef Rossi was instrumental in helping us plan within our budget. We had a cocktail reception with passed hors d’eurves and an artisanal meat and cheese table. The presentation was amazing — unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Chef Rossi’s bartender did an amazing job on our specialty cocktail. Her entire staff was incredibly accommodating to all of our guests. Our experience with The Raging Skillet was outstanding and I highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for the most delicious food around and the best service.

chef rossi is the best! Not only was her food amazing, but she is a true professional with a great team, and we know we made the right decision to have her cater our wedding. even though we went to her group tasting initially, she also allowed us to come for a second private tasting to finalize our menu. She offers so much versatility in her food, and recommended some excellent vendors. We loved the fact that we were able to take care of the liquor and dessert from vendors we wanted. On the day of the wedding, the elevator guy at the venue was late, and this caused a delay in setting up for her team and the DJ, but they pulled everything off smoothly, and what could have been a problem, worked out thanks to them. Her team, especially Monica the maitre’d, are amazing, and their superb service was noticed by the guests. I highly recommend the raging skillet for weddings and large events.

Boo. A wedding tasting here was a fun experience — lots of wine, other engaged couples to talk to — but the food was seriously lacking. Chewy overcooked protiens, unfresh ingredients, blah flavors. This is one little step up from «wedding food» but only a very little one.