Essie’s catering was one of the highlights of our wedding weekend in Upstate, New York. Brandon and his team crafted a delicious and distinctive menu for our pre-wedding cocktail party (60 guests). Consisting of passed hors d'oeuvres, all of the food was perfectly executed and a huge hit with our guests; our vegetarians, vegans, pescatarians, and omnivores alike raved about the food. Brandon’s team was especially diligent about preparing and serving dishes to our gluten-intolerant and celiac guests, and those friends made a special point to tell us how well taken care of they felt. Essie’s also provided bar services for our wedding reception & after-party (100 guests). Brandon worked with us to meet our specific desires for the drink menu: a Portuguese-focused wine selection, a particular brand of non-alcoholic beer, and not-too-sweet mocktails tailored to our palate. Besides the culinary aspect, what we appreciated just as much was Brandon’s positive spirit, calm, and kindness that he brought to our entire weekend of celebration. We would highly recommend Essie’s catering to anyone.

Chef Brandon and his team are absolutely visionary. They hosted our rehearsal dinner and everything about it was so right. The drinks were refreshing, well balanced, and strong when you needed them to be; the food was decadent, delightful, creative, and comforting. We were served multiple courses and each course not only stood on its own, but complemented each other in a way that was cohesive, and elevated universally loved meals to a place that excited and surprised everyone's palettes (and kept us going back for more!).

We were fortunate enough to have the entire restaurant to ourselves. The privacy coupled with the warm and well appointed decor created an ambiance and level of intimacy that most would dream of for a rehearsal dinner setting. The staff was exceedingly attentive to our needs and made our guests feel welcomed and cared for.

We are so grateful that we found Essie's and Chef Brandon. Having our rehearsal dinner here really made our wedding weekend not only feel like an event, but the start of a magical experience.