CB
Catering By Design
Elevating events with exquisite cuisine and seamless service in Philadelphia.
5(5 reviews)
Business
$$$
Elevating events with exquisite cuisine and seamless service in Philadelphia.
Catering By Design is a premier catering service in Philadelphia, specializing in creating unforgettable culinary experiences for weddings, corporate events, and special occasions. As the official caterer for prestigious venues like the Mutter Museum and Michener Art Museum, we offer restaurant-quality meals, personalized menu planning, and dedicated event specialists who ensure every detail is flawlessly executed. Our team is known for exceptional service, accommodating diverse dietary needs and budgets, making your event truly memorable.
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Full-service catering for weddings, including custom menus, bar service, and day-of coordination.
Professional catering for business events, meetings, and educational functions with tailored options.
Personalized menu creation featuring gourmet dishes like seabass, short ribs, and signature cocktails.
Seamless partnership with exclusive venues, handling setup, rentals, and vendor management.
Customized meals for dietary restrictions, including kosher, gluten-free, and LGBTQ+-inclusive options.
Fun additions like chopped rib-eye steak with fries to keep guests energized throughout the event.
We absolutely loved the College of Physicians. I am in med school, so it was sort of on our radar, but my husband loved it from when we had gone on a date there. We really wanted indoor/outdoor opportunities for cocktail hour and it is difficult to find that in the city. Caitlin was great to work with as well! We went back and forth A LOT and she was totally fine with me doing so. We negotiated for food packages and compared venues with her, and I never felt that she was angry or upset about that. I was able to make my own floor plan, which she helped me with, and she was super accommodating to new ideas. Day of, she executed perfectly, and we honestly had zero complaints about the day. Our guests commented that the food was some of the best they had ever had (outside of weddings included!), and everyone kept commenting on how gorgeous the space was!
The Mutter is an excellent place, very unique spot to have a wedding reception. The food and catering provided by Catering By Design was truly excellent, but the real star of the show I have to say is the catering manager at the facility. Her name is Caitlin Bunn and she absolutely killed it. She held our hands through the entire process for one year! spent countless hours in meetings and planning visits at the venue and zoom calls. She really could not have been more talented and accommodating. We felt that she was going to make sure all our complicated ideas would come to fruition. If you are looking for a beautiful space and an amazinging partner, try the Mutter and absolutely make sure Cait is on your team. CBD you need to hold on to this lady… she’s outstanding!
Catering by Design is the official caterer of the Michener Museum and for that, we will be forever grateful. Their meal selection, pricing, and their event specialist (Kelly, you’re the greatest) made the whole process an absolute breeze. There were a lot of things we stressed about as we planned this wedding but the food was never one of them. On the day of the wedding, I (Brandon) honestly forgot what decisions we made so it was a delicious and delightful surprise. We won’t go through every menu choice we selected individually but we must rave about a few. The seabass & white wine braised short rib were some of the best meals we’ve ever had. The posset and mousse are absolute musts - they’re phenomenal. And lastly, get the chopped rib-eye steak with fries for your late night snack. You’re welcome. All in all, 12/10 or whatever highest possible rating this review will ultimately live in. It was a restaurant quality meal at a wedding (multiple guests said so!) and I’d recommend them to everyone I know.
When beginning our wedding planning, we knew that catering was our #1 priority. After some research, it was clear that Catering By Design (CBD) was the #1 caterer in the Philly area, and was who we wanted to go with. We had fun reviewing the unique venues CBD services, we visited the Michener Art Museum and decided it was a great fit for us as a queer and transgender couple. Kelly Cloonan was the Event Specialist assigned to our event, and from our first email interaction to the end of our wedding last Saturday was an absolute joy to work with. Kelly was kind, detail-oriented, responsive, transparent, respectful of our LGBTQ+ life and Jewish customs, and caring of our event on a level that surpasses a typical vendor/client relationship. While we did not have a wedding planner and the design was our own, Kelly in MANY ways stepped in and gave us the attention and time that we feel a planner would've given us. Kelly would respond to our (many) emails within 24 hours and even gave us her cell phone number for quick questions and day-of needs. She helped us build a catering menu that suited our needs and met our budget. We wanted to do four signature cocktails named after our four dogs and she helped make sure that the bar staff was fully prepared, having some pre-made leading into cocktail hour. Guests told us that this and keeping the two bars open all night helped ensure there were nearly zero lines all night which is a HUGE deal at 100+ person events. Kelly ensured us that the staff were informed of our guests dietary needs. She allowed us to hang gender neutral bathroom signs to make sure we and our guests felt comfortable. She seamlessly ensured all of our rentals, decor and vendors were set-up. In the middle of our event we were running low on gin, vodka and white wine and Peter the President of CBD ran out to get us more so our guests never knew a thing. We could go on and on -- but please know that Catering By Design has an incredible team including Kelly Cloonan, which made it easy for our wedding day to not only go to plan, but to exceed our expectations and impress our guests with the food and service. Catering By Design played an integral role in the best day of our life, and undoubtedly will give your special occasion the care and attention you deserve to make it incredibly memorable.
The CBD team was amazing to work with and made our recent educational event at the Mutter Museum a huge success. Caitlin was so thoughtful, helpful, and patient with us as our event details came together. I strongly recommend them for any event, and hope to work together again soon.
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