California Fresh Catering & Events

Let me begin by stating that I am a TOTAL foodie, who cooks a ton, and is super picky about things like catering and how everything runs. That’s why I went with California Fresh for my wedding :-) After much research, I found CF and got in touch with Jayme. It was so nice to have a front of house person to speak with too, not just a Chef ;-) Their responsiveness was great, and when we had our tasting, we knew that was it, we found our caterer! Their sauces speak volumes of their care for how they prepare everything, and their bold flavors are refreshing. They were the first and last vendor we tried. My husband was actually a little bummed because he was hoping we would have to taste around a bit more (lol!), but their food makes it easy to choose. Lucky for him we ended up not only having CF cater our wedding, but also the rehearsal dinner, so he got to do numerous tastings ;-)
For the value, I still can’t believe we got to serve our guests Steak and Salmon for what we wanted to spend. People are still telling me how great the food was, and I seriously cannot believe what a great overall value they are. I do not think you can find better quality for the price! Any time we need a caterer we have one :-) California Fresh makes me want to plan a big dinner just so I can have their tasty food again! We will be clients for a long time to come :-)

I worked with Jayme on a good friend’s wedding at The Casino San Clemente. As a wedding coordinator I SO much appreciate how quick and easy Jayme and the other staff were to get a hold of. Aside from this I was super happy with their services throughout the process. They came to my friends house for a tasting with her fiancé and parents, they were flexible with the multiple changes and special requests the bride had, and on the day of the wedding when the timeline got behind they rolled with it and were still able to offer amazing food and services. The iciing on the cake was the speed at which all the 170 guests were served. Usually buffets take awhile, but with two buffets going they got everyone fed and happy in a short time. I would be so happy to work with California Fresh again because I know the event will turn out amazingly.

I can’t recommend Jayme, Chef Jim and the entire California Fresh Staff enough!!! They exceeded my very high expectations and knocked my socks off!!! Jayme and Chef Jim made the planning process, set-​up and clean up completely seamless. The food was spectacular and a great value!
Pre-​Ceremony they served a wonderful Chef’s table with amazing cheese, pâté, bread, tapenade. Our guests were given a taste of the amazingness that was to come.
Post Ceremony cocktail hour — As they were setting up tables our guests were treated to more appetizers (several people told me later that they thought that was the meal :-)) — this included even more cheese choices and different tapenade, antipasto, tandoori shrimp, Vietnamese sandwich bites, an amazing pâté (people were raving about it) and MUCH MORE. As a new bride — I was on such a high that I didn’t get to any of this amazing food — but my guests were amazed!
Then came dinner — our guests had three separate stations with amazing food. Most people hit all three stations multiple times!
Tomahawk steak (which they grilled on our grill to perfection!) with Mac & Cheese, Root Veggies, Baby spinach salad. Dramatic presentation and cooked to perfection.
Sesame salmon, rice, asian noodle /​cucumber salad. Flavors absolutely exploded in my mouth! Not dry — perfectly moist. The cucumber noodle salad was spectacular!
Braised Osso Buco with marrow parfaits (yes it was amazingness!), Parmesan risotto, charred broccolini, and a wonderful beet salad with hazelnuts & goat cheese.
By this time I was over the nerves and I ate at every station. Chef Jim… You are AMAZING!!!
The amazing food continued — we decided against just one dessert — Yes — we had a dessert table with 9 different amazing desserts. Small bites that everyone went back again and again to enjoy.
It is a week since our wedding and I’m still getting calls from friends and family letting me know how amazing the food was and that it was the best wedding ever!!! That truly is the best recommendation I can give. Thank you Jayme and Chef Jim for making our day so special!
We will use California Fresh for all our future home parties as they do small to large events and I’m recommending them to all my friends!

Last night was the ribbon cutting for my new business (Black Parrot Sign Studio). We are located nearby California Fresh so we asked them for a quote on the catering so we could compare to others and make our decision. From the moment that we asked for the quote, they took over. They worked with us and with our budget to ensure we had a great set-​up. They even helped us with tables and serving stations. Before the event started they showed up and organized everything so that the event was smooth from beginning to end. The staff was professional, extremely helpful, and extremely nice. You can’t go wrong with this group… and now that I found out they serve lunch at their location, I will become a regular customer. I have one of their sandwiches in my hand right now.

Talk to Jayme O’Neil and have your dreams come true. Our whole experience was magic. After having gone through a few caterers who were rude, forgetful, and unresponsive, it was a breath of fresh air when we met Jayme at California Fresh Catering. Our food tasting was an extremely fun night, with music and a ton of options, we knew we found our caterer. Pricing was reasonable for all that I wanted for our wedding. Good food, great presentation, and even better service that my guests are STILL talking about a month later, so glad we went with them. I am recommending them to my bride-​to-​be friends who have already googled them after my wedding was over. No need for additional praise, the experience convinced them all. Go with this caterer and rest assured that your wedding will be memorable :)

From the very beginning, the experience was easy and the caterer coordinator Jamie was easy to get a hold of and was very thorough with any questions that I had. The tasting was amazing. They literally took over my kitchen and cooked the selections we wanted to try and additional items that weren’t even on the menu! It was beautiful and so tasty! It gave a very personal experience and made me and my fiancé, now husband, so special! The day of the wedding seemed great. They served my guests on time during cocktail hour and dinner. My husband and I were the first ones served during dinner which made things easy and would help with our hunger considering you don’t really eat all day the day of your wedding. Everyone enjoyed the food and it was very fresh. But I did have a couple problems. I had a guest who was pregnant who asked for more mashed potatoes and was immediately denied. I understand that food is at a premium and there needs be food control, but asking for a little more of a side shouldn’t be an issue. It wasn’t seconds on the whole meal, just a side that could be easily accommodated. I just felt like this could have been handled better instead of just saying no. Also, I was expecting the dishes to be rinsed off without food on them by the caterer, but the wedding manager ended up soaking the dishes herself in hot water and power washing them to at least just get the food off because she knew there would be a cleaning fee charged by the vendor who provided the dishes if there was food left on the dishes. I am in customer service and I expect above and beyond considering the money we are paying for this experience and potential to use them in the future. Service was Ok, Food Quality was great, and value was Ok.

Our daughter was married at Casino San Clemente on 4÷18÷13. She found California Fresh, along with other catering vendors, while planning her wedding. From the very first emails she sent to the various vendors, Jayme of California Fresh was «on it!» as both the first responder, and being joyful in providing ideas and information. There was absolutely no pressure to select their services, and time and time again each question we had was answered happily and to our satisfaction.
After hearing their desires for an Italian style dinner, Chef Jim brought a full menu tasting to our daughter’s apartment for a wonderful evening and they selected a most amazing five course menu:
Italian Wedding Soup
Spinach Salad with Balsamic Glazed Berries, Gorgonzola and Candied Walnuts
Grilled Vegetable Caponata with Pesto Shrimp and Roasted Pepper Feta Sauce
Boneless Short Ribs, Osso Bucco Style with Creamy Polenta and Citrus Gremolata
Wedding Cake
Vegetarian meals were provided where requested
California Fresh assisted us in linen, glass and table ware selection, which they provided, along with patio warmers.
At the wedding, the food (including the cocktail hour’s Chef’s Table which was not even included in the pricing structure) was superb! We decided on table service rather than buffet, and the staff was super efficient and friendly. Days later, the guests are still talking about the incredible meal!
For us, we would choose California Fresh again and again. Our wedding coordinator, High Society Wedding and Event Planning was also so impressed that they’ve already been recommending California Fresh Catering to their clients.
Thank you, thank you Chef Jim and Jayme!

The staff at California Fresh Catering did an amazing job catering my bridal shower and then three years later, my first baby shower. Chef Jim took great care in planning a wonderful menu for my poolside bridal shower. Each course was unique, flavorful and delicious. His expertise, skill, and professionalism ensured that our event was memorable. My friends still rave about the amazing food and the incredible experience they had. If my wedding had not been at a hotel, he would have catered that as well. It was a no brainer that when we were expecting our first baby, we had him cater an amazing garden brunch for friends and family. Great food at great prices, the staff friendly and accommodating, I will use Chef Jim for all of our future entertaining.

Chef Jim Douglas is an amazing chef. He helped me put together a delicious menu for my wedding (6 years ago) and recently when I went to him for a simple menu for my coed baby shower he took care of everything. He help me keep the menu simple, but elegant with dishes I had not even considered. To this day I have friends still commenting how good our food was for our wedding and now with the baby shower the men who attended the shower where glad they did. He has some fix menus, but is always willing to work with his customers from venue locations to food. He is just one of the most professional and kindest men I’ve worked with.
I had to cheat a little to find the descriptions of some of the food we had, but you get the idea.
Wedding —
Appetizers: Bruschetta with Sweet Tomato Tapenade & Shaved Parmesan
Stuffed Baby Portobello Mushrooms
Sweet Cherry Pepper Stuffed with Crab
Main course:
Baby Spinach with Radicchio, Sliced Apples, Candied Walnuts & Raspberry Vinaigrette
Rosemary Garlic Chicken Served with a lemon burre blanc and Herb Crusted Prime Rib of Beef with an au jus horseradish cream
Mushroom Risotto with White Truffle Oil
Baby shower–
Butter Lettuce with Mandarin Oranges, Sliced Red Onions & Slivered Almonds with a Sweet Rice Wine Vinaigrette
We had beef and chicken Kebabs, along with some appetizers (I loved how elegant the eggplant appetizer looked) and two other delicious side dishes I’m not sure how to describe.
My favorite was the decadent chocolate ganache fountain with fresh fruit and other delicious sweets like pound cake.