We had the pleasure of working with Mike Schmidt through Diverse Catering this past September for our wedding. Please do yourself a favor and work with him! He is a calm, down-to-earth and very pleasant individual who loves what he does and loves to make people happy. He provides service much more than just a caterer, he is like a wedding planner! He helped plan the day, helped with the procession and movement of guests, and was more than willing to step in wherever needed. Mike encouraged us to personalize the wedding and made it possible to do so.

The food Diverse Catering provides absolutely delicious. We had dozens of compliments about it after the wedding (which is unusual because nobody really remembers the food)! Mike will always answer his phone and be happy to accommodate any requests or answer any questions. He goes out of his way to make everything convenient for you! We were so happy to see that he goes above and beyond to cater to the needs of guests. The team helped the elderly get their food instead of walking up to the buffet.

Most importantly, Mike provides a sense of calm and happiness for both families in the wedding. He was out there dancing with my parents and making sure everyone had a great time! His energy is absolutely amazing and it shows that he's in the right profession. The next day, he even called to share his best wishes and thanked us.. but really- we are the ones who are full of gratitude for his great services!!!

I would absolutely recommend this caterer to any of my closest friends and family. Using a small company and working with one of the owners makes everything a little more personalized and special. Besides, Mike will make you smile every time you work with him! :)

We used Diverse Catering and Event Design for our wedding and I am so incredibly happy with everything they did for us. From the very beginning, Ken Correll was thorough and attentive and helped us to figure out exactly what we wanted to include. He met with us several times and did numerous walk throughs at our venue (Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia PA) to map out exactly where everything would go and the flow of events. For food, we had international stations (Cuban, French and Eastern European) and it was AMAZING. Everyone was raving about how delicious everything tasted. Even more importantly, I was blown away by how truly cordial the entire Diverse Catering event staff was towards our friends and family. I saw Ken himself making my grandmother (who is in a wheelchair) a plate! They were truly remarkable and went above and beyond to help us plan, and execute, the wedding of our dreams. It would not have happened without Diverse Catering and Event Design and I would absolutely recommend them to everyone.

Michael Schmidt from Diverse Catering was excellent. We have already recommended him to two friends who are in the middle of wedding planning.

Diverse Catering was one of many per-approved caterers for a venue that we were pursuing, but which ultimately fell through. We were initially attracted to Diverse Catering because of their outstanding reviews and the fact that they do more than just catering. Diverse Catering will take care of rentals and even step into role of event planner. We were looking at non-traditional venues that would require everything to be brought in, and having a caterer take care of all of this responsibility was really important.

Mike was very easy to work with. We primarily emailed, but he always picked up the phone when I occasionally called. To help manage costs and give our guests more options, we went with a buffet. Mike helped work with our budget and offered some cost saving advice which we took. We found his prices to be very reasonable and significantly less than all the other center city philly caterers. The food was outstanding - all of our guests raved about the food and many went up for seconds. Our wedding coordinator said that our tasting was the best food tasting that she has ever been to.

Mike did more than just cater. He took care of chair rentals, helped us find a different venue when our first choice fell through, provided a cake, and helped que the bridal party as we went down the aisle. He did full set-up and break down of the ceremony space, cocktail hour, and reception hall. He also provided bartenders and helped us figure out how much alcohol and mixers to provide - we came home with almost empty bottles - his estimates were dead on.

A number of guests, including my grandmother-in-law, mentioned how attentive and courteous the staff of Diverse Catering were. Mike had his staff in and venue set-up in a few hours and were out in 1 hour. Our venue was very picky about the floors, and Mike was able to provide felt pads on the feet of the rental chairs and his staff did a full wet mop of the floors prior to leaving. I do believe Mike left the venue cleaner than when we found it. Lastly, the wedding coordinator said this was the easiest wedding she has done so far, and I think Mike and his staff played a huge role in helping the event run so smoothly.

Our food: Terres Filet (cuts like a fillet minon), Moroccan Grilled Salmon (presentation was outstanding), Gorgonzola Pasta, Poached pear with Caramelized cashews Salad, grilled vegetables, yukon gold potatoes. For the after party, we served make your own cheese stakes and philly pretzels with beer infused cheese.

Not only were my husband and I thrilled with Diverse Catering & Events services at our wedding, our guests also complimented us on their food and staff. Ken, Mike & team offered us many valuable suggestions for our menu, venue set-up and schedule, down to the nitty gritty details of where our glasses would be for the toasts.

Our outdoor cocktail hour quickly had to become an indoor event due to the weather and Ken and team handled it all without even having to bother us as we got ready for our wedding.

Throughout our wedding, ken and staff checked in with us to make sure we had everything we needed and if they needed to make any changes.

My husband and I met with five potential caterers during our planning process and none tasted nearly as good (not even the several that were more costly) as what Ken prepared for us. On top of the fact that we wanted our food to be delicious, we also had to work around the obstacles presented by having our wedding for 170 guests in our parent’s backyard. Ken made us feel confident in his abilities to get the job done and helped add to the vision we already had. He brought up many amazing ideas – food and decor related – that I hadn’t thought of on my own and that truly made our day all the better. He was patient in explaining every angle and scenario to our family well in advance. He made several trips out to the house to see the venue and stood in the rain outside measuring areas for tables and tents all with a smile. He coordinated the order of our rentals from multiple locations to ensure we received what we wanted at the best price. He constantly asked how we were feeling throughout the process. He set the tone that this was our wedding and his goal was for us to have the best time possible. His staff was extremely attentive, professional and friendly. Guests not only commented on the amazing food but also on smiling servers that undoubtedly contributed to the overall happiness of the day. I truly can’t give a high enough endorsement of Diverse. Ken is passionate about his work, sincere about helping a couple get what they want and more than capable of orchestrating a flawless wedding. We had power issues during our wedding and Ken not only made sure the food was out on time and hot but also resolved the power trouble for our band, while managing our space heaters. He was 10 places at once the whole night and our guests never knew it. Diverse didn’t just provide us food for our wedding; they provided on-site coordination that couldn’t have been topped. I am absolutely certain our wedding would not have been nearly as well executed had we chosen anyone else.

Diverse catered our wedding at Ridley Creek State Park. We met with several caterers before choosing to go with Mike and his team at Diverse. It was the easiest decision we made during our planning.

Mike is truly gifted at what he does. From the first meeting, it was clear that he puts his clients' needs above all else and lets the rest take care of itself.

My wife and I are both working professionals with little interest in event planning. We didn't know exactly what we wanted. Mike listened carefully to our preferences, budget, and got a sense for our style and tastes. He then took his notes and came up with an incredible menu that was well within our budget.

Furthermore, in the days leading up to our wedding, Mike embraced the roll of planner/coordinator. He worked with all of our other vendors and our wedding party to make sure everything went smoothly the day of. Its hard to imagine how we would have handled day of logistics without Mike.

We have been receiving complements on the menu for several weeks now. A few of our guests have told us, without provocation, that it was the best food they've had at a wedding.

The wait staff, the bartenders, and the chefs were all exceptionally courteous and accommodating. The service was seamless, and they made absolutely sure all the guests were being taken care of with a smile. Very professional and warm.

I've probably missed a lot of great things I could say about Diverse. Just read the other reviews and you will get the idea. Its all true. They are awesome. We had a perfect day and Diverse was a big part of it. Look no further.

Pros:
Great food
Exceptional Service
Completely customized experience
Very good value and transparent pricing
Friendly and Professional
You are also basically getting an excellent day-of-planner as a bonus

Cons:
None

Very important note regarding Ridley Creek/Hunting Hill Mansion: Diverse Catering is on the "approved caterer" list.

I had the please of having Mike Schmidt and Diverse Catering for our wedding. Mike was amazing to work with. He was always available for questions or concerns that I had while planning. He had great ideas for us, and the day of the wedding he was a life saver!!! He helped to plan and run everything so that it all went smoothly. His staff was great the day of wedding! Everyone was so polite and helpful. The food was delicious and he was very flexible when working with us to plan our menu. I can't praise Mike enough. I would recommend him to anyone. He is a jack of all trades when it comes to weddings!

Diverse catering provided more than just catering services. They helped make the ceremony, dinner, tables look like it was out of a magazine. Jess is so personable and makes you feel at ease. She was the most relaxed wedding vendor I worked with and her calm demeanor makes you feel less stressed! The food was amazing (we had a bbq wedding). Jess accommodated all of our dietary preferences and every guest cleaned their plates. We are so happy we chose Diverse to cater our wedding!

We had our wedding at the Power Plant Productions and you are able to choose any catering service you would like. We looked a quite a few different companies, but once I spoke with Mike at Diverse, I knew we had found the right caterer. Having really great food at our wedding was so important to us, but we also didn't have an unlimited budget. Mike worked with us to fit our budget and still have an outstanding menu. He was there to answer any questions (not just about food) during the planning and served as more of a wedding coordinator than just the caterer. Ken was with us the day of the wedding and he was calm and collected at all times. Everything ran so smoothly and Ken even brought some additional decorations for the place card table at the last minute. I can't recommend Diverse Catering enough for a wedding or any other event. What a fantastic company and great owners!!

These guys were amazing!!! Working with Ken was fabulous. After every random conversation I walked away feeling more confident and less worried about how the day would all work out. And boy did it work out! The food was delicious and the presentation fabulous. It was so amazing to see everything come together from the tablecloths to the buffet presentation. I would recommend working with these guys again and again.

- October 2010 Wedding at the Crane Arts Center.