Savannah Sent on 11/23/2025

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Fantastic!

I would highly recommend Gary and his staff. Our guests raved about the food and the presentation was on point. His wait staff was also incredible, accommodating and friendly. Highly recommend, and if we ever have another event in the area, I will without a doubt contact Emerald Coast Catering.

Hannah Sent on 07/23/2025

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Wedding Catering Review

Emerald Coast Catering was the best choice for our wedding! They have so many menu options that will fit to any budget, and they were so easy to work with! I would recommend Gary and his team to anyone!

H Doz Sent on 06/12/2025

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Food was excellent!

We had an excellent experience with Culinary Catering! They worked with us to find menu options that helped us stay within our budget and the food was outstanding. The servers who were at the reception were friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend them! (FYI: the stuffed mushrooms are a must!)

Raven Sent on 08/28/2024

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Great service and Delicious Food!

Seamless process and delivered great food options for our daughter wedding! Highly recommend

Casey Sent on 10/24/2023

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Outstanding Caterer!!!

I cannot say enough good things about Gary and his team - They went above and beyond for us on our wedding day! The food was amazing and highly complimented by guests all night. Not only that, but the service and professionalism was outstanding. If you’re choosing a caterer, go with Emerald Coast! You will not be disappointed.

Emily Sent on 12/02/2022

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Look no further

My wedding was absolutely perfect but I cannot put into words how amazing GARY is!!! I felt like we became friends over the year planning our big day. He gave me all the advice and opinions about my entire wedding LOL he’s professional but also personable which I loved and appreciated. He’s been in the business for years and I could tell he knew what he was talking about. We had a destination wedding so his advice was certainly needed!!! His staff, also amazing and so down to earth. My guests made them laugh, they made my guests laugh:) The food was delicious and would definitely recommend the tuna tacos and pasta station. So yummy! And I can’t end this review without saying how I love Gary’s twang accent :) I appreciate everything they did for our special day! THANK YOUUUU SO MUCH! (ps. I don’t ever leave reviews so that means something, right?!)

Leah Sent on 10/31/2022

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Best 40th Anniversary and vow renewal dinner ever

Chef Serafin and his talented team were simply the best choice I made in planning our anniversary dinner for 36 guests. From the initial appointment to plan the evening to exquisite menu options, Chef Serafin was a delight and ease to work with. Everything planned and promised was executed without a glitch.
Our family and friends were treated to a Michelin 5 star surf and turf meal which had plates service under a twinkling tent.
One guest said as he was leaving that it was a perfect evening with the best grouper he has ever eaten in his life.
Thank you Chef and your amazing team.

Kristen Sent on 10/07/2022

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Awesome service and staff

I can’t say enough about Gary and his staff! Planning a wedding from out of state was stressful, but they attended to every detail and coordinated with my other vendors to make sure everything went perfectly.

Liz C. Sent on 09/29/2022

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Fantastic!

Gary & his team we’re so easy to work with. leading up to the wedding we communicated via email & he was getting back to me within hours & i greatly appreciated that. the food was amazing & everyone left happy. thank you gary!

Lisa Sent on 09/27/2022

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Amazing!!!!

I can't begin to tell you how amazing Emerald Coast Catering is! Great response, unavailable food, and just a pleasure to work with. It's always scary to plan a destination event and not knowing anyone or business to turn to. I was blessed to find Gary. He had great options and was very responsive to emails and calls. Let Emerald Coast Catering be your go to if your in Destin or Miramar Beach, FL for an event or just a special dinner on your vacation.

Brook Sent on 06/02/2022

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Amazing catering professionals!

Chef Gary and his team were simply amazing! From our initial email consultation all the way through the end of the event, they were knowledgeable, helpful, and true professionals in their expertise! Gary was very responsive and gave great advice for my 50 person wedding. They have so many food options and were very willing to work with us on our wants/needs for our wedding. They helped customize our food and beverage service to create an incredible experience for us and all of our guests- which all of our guests were extremely complimentary of. You will not regret hiring Gary and his wonderful team for your wedding or event!

Cory Sent on 03/25/2022

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Professional service with great tasting food!

Gary and team were the best choice we made with planning our wedding. Gary was so professional when dealing with my wife and I and made us feel so comfortable and relaxed throughout the process. Typically people that have been in business as long as Gary don’t work with the passion that he does and they just look at you as another customer. Me and my wife felt so welcoming and his team made everything so easy and punctual. Thank you again from our family to yours.

Dee D. Sent on 09/08/2021

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Outstanding

Gary took care of us upon the first phone call. He not only helped with his own catering company he helped me find flowers and a cake quickly. He provided chairs for our destination beach wedding. The food was spectacular as was the service. I would give this company 10 stars. We will definitely be back for more events. Thank you for making our special day so amazing.

Tammy Sent on 05/04/2021

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Worry Free

Gary and his team at Emerald Coast Catering made our wedding catering worry free. He made suggestions that were spot on and we had so many guests compliment us on the food and beverage quality, choices, and service. They also catered our brunch the next morning and it was perfect. If you want a stress free event, Gary’s your guy.

Bonnie Sent on 05/04/2021

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Delicious Food, Attractive Display and Great Staff

Emerald Coast Catering was wonderful! First, they have menu choices that are so delicious. The bride chose them for the wedding reception and I chose them for a brunch the following morning. We did not repeat any items and all were delicious, and served beautifully. Gary responds very quickly to any concerns and questions. They provide everything they need, you just provide a space. The team gathers dirty dishes and trash constantly, yet inconspicuously, to keep everything looking nice throughout the meal or party.
But I must repeat, the food was delicious. When they left, you couldn't tell that they had been there, except for the satisfied guests.

Stacey Sent on 04/26/2021

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Awesome caterers

Staff were helpful and accommodating with guests. It was a wonderful experience and all of the guests spoke about what a wonderful job the caterer did!

Charles Sent on 11/06/2020

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Phenomenal Food with Excellent Communication

Gary was so easy to work with. He always responded to emails quickly or answered when we called. He even offered some great recommendations like having the grooms cake at the rehearsal dinner instead of the reception and offered some good money saving tips on linens, etc. The food was exquisite and Gary and his helper Tony were both super personable and our guests loved them. On top of all that we both thought his prices were very reasonable. So happy I found him when we were hunting for a caterer!

Janet Sent on 10/29/2020

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Rehearsal dinner

We can’t say enough about Emerald Coast Catering. Gary Serafin out did himself creating a creative, delicious and festive Mexican theme dinner. He was timely, professional and left our kitchen spotless! No wonder he has been awarded Award of Excellence by the prestigious Wine Spectator. I will certainly use him again!

Jessie Sent on 02/26/2020

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Simply Amazing!

Gary was so easy to work with! I planned out of state and he was always responsive which put my mind at ease. Gary and his team were awesome to have around on the day of our wedding. All so friendly and the food was amazing! All of our guests have raved about how good the food was!

Emerald Coast Catering's reply:

Great Party! You have wonderful friends and Family. What a pleasure to work with! Wishing you all the best!

Leigh Sent on 01/29/2020

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Excellent Service!! Highly Recommend!

I was planning a destination wedding and selected this vendor solely on reviews and hoped for the best. & they did NOT disappoint me! They went above and beyond! We purchased an economy menu for our reception because we had a lower budget. The food was absolutely delicious and Gary and his team took over! They only had the approach me twice the entire night; once to let me know the food was ready to be served and once to let me know they were done and were going to put away our left overs. They served all of my guests' plates, walked around to make sure everyone had eaten, collected the trash, took the trash with them, and cleaned up like nobody had ever been there! All of the utensils were of great quality too! I would HIGHLY recommend. I received several compliments throughout the night in regards to the taste and service. Gary was also very responsive throughout my entire planning process. I would e-mail him and he would get back with me the same day in most cases; never longer than 1 full day. If you are planning an event and need catering, choose Emerald Coast Catering!

Emerald Coast Catering's reply:

Leigh was a pleasure to take care of! Wonderful friends and family.
Thank you for all the compliments.

Jennifer Sent on 11/20/2019

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Lovely evening!

What a joy to work with! Gary and his team worked with me on all the details of food, seating, cake table, etc. When they arrived at the venue, they quickly set up and the entire evening was perfect. They are professionals and know how to make the bride and groom feel like part of their family!

Jane Sent on 11/14/2019

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Excellence

We feel that we were very fortunate to learn about ECC. Their professionalism and food preparation is stellar. Gary was easy to work with, always responsive, and on top of things. He knows what he is doing and his advice on the layout was very valuable. Don’t be afraid to be specific with him regarding your desires, right down to requesting a jovial and pleasant team of staffers, for their behavior can make or break the ambience of your event. I highly recommend ECC for their gourmet food, fair pricing, and professionalism.

Kim Y. Sent on 10/22/2019

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Destination Dream Wedding

I was a nervous wreck as the Mother of the Bride and responsible for a destination wedding reception...but Gary and his crew made our event MAGICAL!!!

Lee A. Sent on 10/15/2019

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Exceptional Catering Company

I worked with Chef Gary for our daughter's destination wedding. Couldn't have been more pleased! Chef Gary came to our beach house and set up a scrumptious buffet for our guests. It was wonderful! Great service, great food!

Jane Sent on 10/12/2019

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Outstanding on all levels

Exceptional food and service. Beyond all expectations.

Jane Sent on 10/10/2019

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Absolutely delicious food, beautifully presented, and wonderful staff.

Emerald Coast catering is immediately responsive to questions and requests. Their menu is authentic Florida fare, fresh and fabulous.

Stephanie Sent on 10/02/2019

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Absolutely perfect

Gary was amazing and didn’t skip a beat. My reception was perfect and worry free! The food was amazing and all of the guests are still talking about it!

Diane Sent on 09/18/2019

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Super value, Super experience

Very, very pleased with all aspects of catering services.

Emily Sent on 09/17/2019

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Five stars. Highly recommend!

Gary and the ECC crew did an excellent job. This was the first wedding I’ve ever planned and they held my hand and guided me through the whole process, were very patient, listened to my ideas, and were respectful of my wants and needs. Quick to respond to my questions. Very fair & upfront about pricing. They showed up promptly to our event, were so professional, and took care of all the details so beautifully so that I could relax and enjoy my night. The food was delicious, the service was great. These guys really know what they’re doing. I highly recommend

Patty Sent on 07/27/2019

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The food was one of the best I have had at a wedding.

I highly recommend this caterer. This event was our daughters destination wedding and all our communication was done thru email and speaking on the phone. He was very responsive to questions and we could not have been happier with the food. You can’t go wrong using Emerald Coast Catering.

Joanne Sent on 06/23/2019

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Emerald Coast Catering

I would highly recommend Emerald Coast Catering! Gary was responsive to all my calls and emails. The food was fresh, well prepared and beautifully presented. The stations and variety of food selections allowed us to accommodate our varied guests. Gary made our evening a success...he is a pro!!!

Joanna Sent on 06/22/2019

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Our big day

We recently had a wedding down in destin, they did the catering. Very very helpful from helping me plan it to the service the day of. Thanks Gary.

Zach Sent on 05/09/2019

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Emerald Coast Catering

Gary is truly a pleasure to work with. Something as stressful as making sure the food at our beach wedding was phenomenal was made really easy and relaxing because of Gary’s attitude and attention to detail. He helped whenever we called and always answered. The price for the quality of food we got was unbelievable. Everyone keeps raving about the fish tacos and grits stations we had at our wedding. Such an amazing setup and crew. Not only is the food incredible, but he’s just a great human, as well. We both couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out. We would recommend Gary over and over!

Kristin Sent on 11/12/2018

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Don't wait! Hire emerald coast now!

Gary and his crew were fantastic for our beach house wedding! We were lucky to find him because he has done events at the beach (mansion) that we used for our reception before. We were super picky about out menu and ultimately chose Gary because of his wonderful paella station (we were engaged in Spain and wanted a dish for our wedding that we fell in love with while we were there). THE PAELLA WAS AMAZING. Fun to watch cook and fun to eat! We had many picky eaters who had never had it before who all raved about it. He even did a special alternative shellfish-free paella pan because my (now husband) has a shellfish allergy. We also chose to go with the Cuban station with pulled pork, beef stir fry, red beans and rice, and plantains. SO GOOD... fit us perfectly with many paleo, gluten free, and vegetarian guests at our event! We had estimated our guest count a bit high and although there were left-overs by the time the crew packed everything up, it was gone by the end of the night post-bar-hopping! We provided our own spirits but had Gary add extra bartenders to our event. The guests RAVED about the awesome bartenders and catering crew! His crew congratulated us personally and gave hugs--also stopped by a bakery and packed up our top cake layer for us to travel back home with!! We also used Emerald Coast for our event needs. We rented our ceremony chairs through them and also multiple cocktail tables, linens, and tables for our cake and dessert area. I cannot rave enough about Emerald Coast Catering! Gary and his crew went over and above for our wedding and it wouldn't be what it was without all of his help!

Jessica Sent on 11/09/2018

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Amazing and easy to work with!!

Gary and crew are amazing! I was a destination bride and they made all of our shrimp boil dreams come true! Food was great and so was communication! Very happy with everything

Jeff Sent on 10/01/2018

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Gary & his crew catered the rehearsal & reception dinner at my wedding and they did an amazing job. With it being a smaller group of people (30-35 people), we were worried about some caterer's being sticklers on minimum charges & price gouges. Gary was very, very accommodating & flexible with all aspects of the wedding as it related to options & price and was incredibly hands on when it came to the big day. When we decided to have the dinners catered (we were considering cooking ourselves for the rehearsal dinner) we did so hoping that an outside professional would relieve a lot of stress and be worth the cost. Emerald Coast Catering absolutely proved this to be true! I hope all the compliments I heard from our wedding guests on the quality of their food made it back to Gary & his crew because it was DELICIOUS! On top of everything else, Gary really provided a personal touch throughout the process, providing wonderful advice on planning & expectations. Please consider ECC for all your catering needs!!!

Schyler Sent on 09/05/2018

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So glad that I got to work with Emerald Coast for my wedding reception. The staffing crew was so kind and attentive, the food was phenomenal, and they took all of the pressure off of us. From the food to the bar, and the tables/chairs and linen I couldn’t have been happier! Everyone kept asking me after the wedding night was over who we used because my guest enjoyed it just as much as I did! If you’re a bride looking for a company that does it all- you’ve found them!!

Cyndi Sent on 06/14/2018

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I just have one thing to say. HIRE GARY! Amazing service, great ideas, fantastic follow through, food out of this world. Just plain amazing. Perfection from start to finish. Look no further.
He catered, managed, created our son’s wedding at our condo in Miramar Beach. We had some special requests and he met every one. He was such a pleasure to work with, that I would never use anyone else for any future parties. Sincerely, Cyndi Day

Lindsey Sent on 06/09/2018

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Gary is excellent to work with and helped me create a perfect wedding menu for my guests, even those with dietary restrictions. He also did a setup on the beach for our psuedo rehearsal dinner the night before, and the food was excellent! It was the perfect complement to our beach bonfire and probably one of the most memorable events of our wedding. I highly recommend Gary and his team!

Cindy Sent on 06/04/2018

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Emerald Coast Catering and Gary are the best of the best! Gary was an absolute pleasure to work with and was very responsive to my emails and called me several times during the planning stage. He called me the morning of the event just to assure me that everything was ready to go and wanted to know if there was anything else I needed! Now that's customer service!!! He and his staff arrived on time at our rental house in Watercolor and I had to leave for the wedding rehearsal and he told me he would "take it from here" and boy did he! When I returned, they had set up the most amazing outdoor area. All of his staff were very professional, kind and served our guests with smiles. Oh, and the food was delicious too. I would definitely highly recommend Gary for all your catering needs!!

Julie Sent on 05/07/2018

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We hired Emerald Coast Catering for our daughter's March 2018 wedding and were thrilled with the results! Gary and staff are a delight to work with and the food and service was outstanding. Thanks for making our daughter's wedding spectacular!

Tony Sent on 10/27/2017

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Very professional and courteous. Prompt call back to answer any questions. Would highly recommend.

Ashby Sent on 10/25/2017

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Oh my gosh - we were beyond impressed with Emerald Coast Catering! The food was absolutely delectable and every detail was pure perfection! We had so many compliments during our reception and have continued to have people ask us about who did the fabulous food since! Thank y'all so much! Highly recommend!

Gabrielle Sent on 10/25/2017

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All my worries evaporated when I spoke with Chef Serafin at Emerald Coast Catering. They delivered all as planned. The food was not just "wedding food" like so many receptions. It was delicious and my guests kept going back for more. I even had time to eat! Bill and I are so appreciative to the entire crew. Hire them!

Thelma Sent on 10/25/2017

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Let me start with wedding planning is much more difficult than I ever suspected! But all of my vendors made it a breeze, especially Emerald Coast Catering and Chef Gary. The food was simply divine. I encourage any bride to contract their services. Especially if they are having a destination wedding, as they show up on time, stay in contact before and take care of business during the reception. Thanks Chef and team!

Felicia Sent on 10/25/2017

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Chef and his team provided a delicious meal, everyone raved about it!
The presentation on the buffet was beautiful, the servers friendly, bartender knew what I drank after one request!
Love the personal service. Thanks to Emerald Coast Catering for helping to make our wedding a night to remember.
Felicia

Molly Sent on 10/24/2017

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My experience with the Emerald Coast Catering team was wonderful! We were on a tight budget and really wanted a lot as far as design and food. Initially, I assumed that meant I'd need to shoulder the load for design and vendor coordination, etc. myself. Living in another state, I expected this to be challenging to say the least. Thankfully, in working closely with Jan (we used their full service option, decor, food, the works!) we were able to get everything we wanted, stay within our targeted budget and avoid the hassle of managing the decor and associated rentals ourselves. The day came together perfectly with less stress for me than I ever would have expected. The food (station style) was a crowd pleaser (some of my family members are STILL talking about it) and Chef Gary was a joy to interact with. I'm so thankful I found them and explored the option of having them handle everything. Do yourself a favor - let them handle the stress while you enjoy your day!

Chloe Sent on 10/24/2017

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Emerald Coast Catering allowed me to actually ENJOY my wedding reception.

The staff just took care of everything. At the end of the night all was clean, staff gone, guests and family satiated!

I highly recommend them.

Oh food outstsnding!

Kelly Sent on 10/23/2017

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We used Emerald Coast Catering for our May wedding in Grayton Beach. Gary and his staff were wonderful and the food was fantastic. They even were able to accommodate our son who has Celiac disease with a special meal without any extra cost or hassle! We would absolutely recommend them for your wedding or anything other special event!

Amy Sent on 10/22/2017

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Gary was a pleasure to work with. He was straightforward from the start and was very patient with us as we were trying to decide on a menu. There were no surprise charges and no problems whatsoever. The food was delicious and had all of our guests raving. I would use Gary again without any reservation.

Kim Sent on 10/22/2017

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My family and I were so very pleased with our decision to use ECC for my destination wedding. I can't imagine planning it from afar without their help! I expected the day of to be stressful, but thankfully, they took care of everything and it was truly an easy and fun experience! I was able to fully enjoy our day and the reception. The food was AMAZING! The decor turned out beautifully. I wanted it to be pretty and timeless, but didn't really want to try and figure out how to bring that to fruition (design is not my strong suit). Thankfully, Jan was able to listen to me and turn my skeletal outline into a full fledged design that was breathtaking. Could not be happier!!

Laurel Sent on 10/22/2017

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I think "overdeliver" is the best word to describe how ECC approached our wedding. I tend to be a perfectionist and that makes me hard to please. I was so impressed at Jan and Chef Gary's ability to make things run so smoothly and turn out so well (and so in line with my vision). As someone who has done events in the past, I know there are always things that don't go to plan. However, I have no idea what they were on our day because any issues were solved without my involvement and from my view everything was PERFECT! I definitely reccommend them for your full service event, you won't be disappointed!

Caitie Sent on 10/22/2017

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Emerald coast catering made all my wedding dreams come true. They made it better than I could have ever imagined. They think of everything to make your day perfect.

Yvonne Sent on 10/19/2017

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I have worked with Chef Gary a number of times now for large parties as well as small intimate 4 course dinner parties. His food is top notch and I never have to worry about a thing!

Chan Sent on 10/16/2017

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was very impressed with the planning faze. much more than we expected making our property beautiful. I knew the food would be great and it was. Calmed my wife and daughter and took mush og the stress away.

Molly Sent on 10/16/2017

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We were thrilled when our second daughter announced her engagement because we knew we wanted to return our bride to Emerald Coast Catering, Our oldest daughter had a delightful evening wedding 8 years ago and it set the bar for weddings above all others. I know they will take care to ensure every detail is met from seating, lighting, décor, flowers to the most delicious gourmet food you have ever experienced! The guests gave rave reviews on the menu they provided. I can't say enough good things about Emerald Coast Catering from their professional designers, gracious staff and master chef they all made you feel special on that very important day in the lives of your family and very close friends.

Lulie Sent on 10/15/2017

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Thanks to the magic of the Gulf Coast and our good fortune finding Emerald Coast Catering our wedding was our dream come true. Everything was perfect the food, the service and their advice. Thank you Chef Serafin and your wonderful staff for everything....

Maggie Sent on 05/06/2015

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We did a beach rehearsal dinner with raw bar (oysters half shell, jumbo shrimp shooters and shrimp satays) with slider stations. Crew who setup and served were excellent! Jan the front person was super .... Can't think of anything that could have been better. Overall a great experience.

Katie Sent on 10/19/2014

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The set-up, service and food were all amazing! Gary and Jan kept in touch with me through every detail and were so very accommodating. I couldn't have asked for a better turn out!

Shana Sent on 05/12/2014

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I just have to say...a destination wedding was HARD work! Out of all of the vendors that were hired, Emerald Coast Catering came through with everything they said they would perfectly! We decided on the "economy menu" with the BBQ. We did both chicken breast, pulled pork and chose 3 sides....and it was perfect! The food was delicious!! (for both our guests from Germany and also our Oklahoma guests!) We also hired the premium bartender service for 4 hours...The 2 guys that came to serve the food and drinks were the only vendors I hired that said "It's your day, I'll do it however you like!" I can't say enough positive things...so glad we decided to hire Emerald Coast Catering!!

Erica Sent on 10/02/2013

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Gary and his team were 100% amazing from quote to leaving the wedding. The food was fantastic. They arrived on time and were sweet as can be. We had a very small wedding at a beach house that we rented and really enjoyed his company. He was polite, kind and prepared an amazing meal. He left the kitchen spotless, packaged all of our leftovers up in the dishes from the house and left like no one was ever there. Our guests raved about the food. One of the most important things for me was getting good food on a moderate budget. Some vendors wanted to charge me over $100 per person because my wedding was so small. Gary and his team gave me a super reasonable price and the food was top notch.

The best part about Emerald Coast is that as a bride organizing my wedding myself, I needed stress-free vendors. With them, I didn't have to worry about a single thing. It was the most stress free transaction start to finish that I think I have ever had. They really gave me comfort on my big day. Thank you!

Elaine Sent on 08/28/2013

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This was the 4th wedding of our 4 children and the 3rd in 18 months....and by far the BEST! I never worried about a thing - I knew that the event would be everything my daughter wanted, the food would be awesome, all our guests would have a great time, and my husband and I would have a good time also. As an Event Planner, it is hard not to do things myself, but this wedding was a joy to plan, a joy to be at and my friends are still taking about the fabulous food.
The wedding took place outdoors so we needed tents, tables, chairs, and linens. The wedding ceremony and the reception were in different locations on the property so we need various set-ups, the weather was very unpredictable, the wedding started in the daylight and ended very late so we needed lighting, and we were expecting over 200 guests. The staff of Emerald Coast Catering was awesome and the wedding could not have been better.
I would recommend Emerald Coast Catering to anyone planning a wedding, or event on the Emerald Coast!!!!

Ansley Sent on 05/22/2013

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I am so grateful for Gary’s help in planning the food for our wedding. We booked him last minute and he really came through, helping us figure out the best food for the type of reception we wanted.
On the day of the wedding, I barely saw his staff...as the bride, I was already overwhelmed by details and it was so nice to know the food for my guests was completely taken care of. My now-husband (who never raves about food) commented several times on how much he enjoyed the sliders! I was so pleased that he enjoyed it! Also, as a finishing touch, there was a box of food from the reception boxed up and ready to go with my new husband and me on our honeymoon! Since I hadn’t had time to eat anything during the reception, I was SO grateful for this little, thoughtful touch! They even uncorked the wine, added wine glasses and put in a bit of our wedding cake too.
All in all, I was very pleased with the professionalism, quality of food and service I received from Gary and his staff. I would definitely recommend them, especially for someone planning a destination wedding where you have to trust your vendors to come through for you! Thanks, Gary!
Scott and Ansley Russell

Brenda Sent on 05/25/2012

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Planning an out of state wedding is never easy, but I am sincerely thankful that we chose Gary, and Emerald Coast Catering, Inc. as our principal catering vendor for our daughter’s Destin area beach wedding. Gary and his staff were so professional and easy to work with. The menu selection was so varied and plentiful, the only problem planning was trying not to get too carried away with all the options. On the wedding day, when the weather was obviously not going to cooperate, Gary pulled out the reinforcements to help us do a major overhaul of the original wedding location setup and reception layout to allow for rain probabilities. No small feat with a guest list of 125!! All hands pitched in as the staff, (Jimmy and his crew were fabulous too) assured me that they could and would handle all my setups, and left me free to move on to the next emergency. By wedding time, everything was in place and our guests were charmed by the excellent food and superior beverage service. We have several professional chefs in the family, so the quality of the food to be served was a very important issue for me, and Gary and his staff did a fabulous job earning many compliments all throughout the evening. I don't know what I would have done without their amazing level of service, they made sure our event was ready to do on time, and smoothly ran all aspects of the party leaving my husband and I free to enjoy our guests. Thank you Emerald Coast Catering! You truly deserve your award winning status among vendors!

Julie Sent on 05/03/2012

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My husband who is a foodie and has collected wine 20 plus years was quite impressed by Emerald Coast. He was especially impressed when they made suggestions to our guests on what wine to have with each dish. Not something required of a caterer but it shows the company hires quality people to represent them.

But let me back up to when we first contacted Emerald Coast. They responded immediately and were very professional. I had a good feeling about these folks from our very first conversation with Gary. We rented a huge house for the wedding and reception on the internet sight unseen. Gary was familiar with the place and gave us advice above and beyond the catering aspect of the wedding that took a load of worry off our shoulders. Bill, my husband, spoke with Jan on the phone and she gave great advice on how to set up for the ceremony and reception. Again guidance on the ceremony wasn't part of the catering contract and very much appreciated by a bride getting married at a place she has never seen! Unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to meet Gary and Jan in person. There was a food and wine festival that same weekend and I believe they were making what could possibly be the world's biggest pot of Paella (per their representative) which in and of itself is quite impressive!

But I digress...on to the day of the wedding. We were impressed at how early they came to set up and that was a big help since we were decorating the tables. The food was very good especially the asian chicken spoon appetizers. We did a buffet with service meaning they served people at the buffet station which they executed beautifully. I already told you about the fabulous bartending so that leaves the cake service which was also outstanding!

I barely noticed them breaking everything down and the next day we found the leftovers wrapped and in the fridge. So I guess this is a very long way of saying, go with Emerald Coast for your catering needs. Well done and oh yeah I almost forgot they are right on the money as far as pricing (pun intended)! You get more than what you pay for...like those asian chicken spoon appetizers...wonder if they can freeze and ship some those to us......

Molly Sent on 03/22/2012

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The desire for the perfect wedding site, food , decor and ceremony was delivered with the upmost detail. My daughter and I leaned on ECC's professionalism to guide us thru the process . I felt confident that Olivia & Josh's wedding would be everything she wished for and it was plus SO much more ! They were very considerate of the budget providing options for us to choose which made us very comfortable. The staff was on top of every detail in serving all our guests. Proper wedding etiquette was important to me and again the consultant was there. I could not have been more proud of the decision to hire ECC . Their wedding " set the standard" which has yet to be eclipsed by their peers. They are still taking about it ! Thank you ECC for making a elegant and classy memory for all who attended which will last a life time .

Michael Sent on 12/27/2011

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This year I celebrated my 50th birthday during a visit to Grayton Beach. Gary Serafin and Emerald Coast Catering provided an outstanding menu and service for my event. Being in the wine business it is very important to me to have wonderful food and wine pairings and Emerald Coast Catering did a fun and fantastic job! I look forward to working with them on future parties and celebrations when on the Emerald Coast!

Michael Haney
Owner / "Big Dog"
Black Dog Cellars

Becca Sent on 11/02/2011

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Emerald Coast Catering made my wedding magical! We had our wedding in a small church with a very old parish house and Gary and Jan turned it in to a beautiful reception. Gary was extremely accommodating and catered to my vegetarian diet, while still offering a wide variety of hors d'oeuvres that everyone would enjoy. Jan, with her artful eye, created a beautiful reception that we will never forget!

Kristin Sent on 09/25/2010

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Gary was the BEST to work with! He was down-to-earth, laid-back, and willing to help us with ANYTHING. I would recommend Emerald Coast Catering to any bride and groom looking for a catering company in the Emerald Coast area.

Andi Sent on 10/17/2017

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We had such an amazing wedding in April of this year, and so much of it had to do with Emerald Coast Catering. It started with them listening and understanding what we wanted it to be, and then it all came together beautifully. The food was outstanding, the service perfect. Everyone had such a great time. Thanks so much to them making our wedding perfect.

Sarah Sent on 08/26/2014

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Gary and Jan from Emerald Coast Catering did a great job on our wedding day. They were both very friendly and professional to work with from the start. Having an open bar and delicious food was very important to me and they did not disappoint! I planned my entire wedding on my own and Jan was very helpful in making sure my vision of the reception space came to life.

It rained the morning of my wedding and they were well prepared with a back up plan since our bar was outside. Obviously they have been doing this a while and want to make sure your event goes smoothly. Everyone really enjoyed the food and the bartender made our signature drinks perfectly. Thank you Emerald Coast Catering!

Emerald Coast Catering's reply:

Thank you Sarah. We enjoyed working with you and planning the beautiful reception. The smoked purple cake table linen was over the top. All of the other touches you used were perfect. So glad you and your guests loved the food.
Chef Gary Serafin

May Sent on 09/07/2012

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We had the most incredible wedding! Planning an out of state wedding was quite difficult, but we are thankful for Gary Serafin and Emerald Coast Catering for making it all happen!! We had a beach wedding at a private home on Grayton Beach. Gary and his staff were so professional and easy to work with. He was able to accommodate our need for American food and Asian food for the menu. Gary called and checked in with us before we even had the opportunity to call him the week of the wedding. The ceremony and reception were on the beach and they did a fantastic job setting it all up. Our friends and family stated it was the best wedding they've been too and it was an experience. The food was excellent, the beverage service was incredible and Gary and his staff made sure that we (the bride and groom) got to enjoy our menu selection and made sure we had drinks. Thank you Gary and Emerald Coast Catering for making it the perfect wedding for us!!

Nicole Sent on 08/19/2019

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Full Bellies!

Emerald Coast Catering made our cocktail hour and reception DELICIOUS! 😋 Everyone enjoyed the food, they have such a wide variety and was accommodating to our requests!

Robyn Sent on 01/16/2018

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We had an incredible time working with Emerald Coast Catering! Our wedding was gorgeous and all of the guests commented on how delicious the food was and the service was fantastic. We couldn't be happier with our choice. Thank you, Emerald Coast Catering!

Brenda Sent on 09/21/2013

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We had a destination wedding and needed to find all our vendors online through reviews. We were NOT disappointed with Emerald Coast Catering. Gary was amazing and attentive to all of our needs and did not fail to deliver some of the best food we've ever had! The guests are STILL raving about how good the food was! We used the station menu, with pasta and skewers and that provided enough variation to please everyone. Gary was personable, friendly, and helpful and although he was pricier than some of the other vendors we checked into, we were not disappointed and was definitely worth the money!

Yvette Sent on 05/20/2011

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Gary and his team at Emerald Coast Catering did a wonderful job for our reception dinner. Everyone raved about the food and enjoyed the entire dinner! He was flexible and fun to work with. He worked well with my wedding planner and just helped make everything easy!! They are excellent for catering at a good cost!! Thanks ECC!!

Yvette Sent on 11/08/2011

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Gary and his team at Emerald Coast Catering did a wonderful job for our reception dinner for 125 people. Everyone raved about the food and enjoyed the entire dinner! He was flexible and fun to work with. He worked well with my wedding planner and just helped make everything easy!! They are excellent for catering at a good cost!! Thanks ECC!!

Shelby Sent on 10/22/2017

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Emerald Coast Catering did an exceptional job for our daughters wedding reception. Food was absolutely delicious! All the guest commented on the food and asked how I found you guys. I highly recommend using Emerald Coast Catering for any big event.

Alexandra Sent on 11/04/2011

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The food was absolutely amazing! The service at the reception was outstanding. The display was fantastic!
My wedding, and monetary output, was probably much smaller than normal for them, but I never felt unimportant.
I only had two complaints and those were about the beach ceremony, not the reception which is the primary service.
1. Since this was a destination wedding and my first wedding, I didn't have much knowledge or guidance in what to think about for details. I was very disappointed that the beach was covered in black debris (algae?). I didn't think about this. I think, as a beach wedding caterer, they could have at least told me about this and perhaps offered, for pay, a service to rake or clean up the debris. It would have made much nicer pictures and it would have been a simple thing to fix.
2. There was little clarification about how I wanted the arbor to look, so I assumed it was understood. In hindsight I should have had a family member check it for me or taken the time to further explain or show them exactly what I was envisioning.

E. Sent on 10/22/2017

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When you plan a destination wedding you need someone who is reassuring especially with unpredictable weather. I really appreciated the lighting being moved from an outdoor set-up to a covered area due to weather (at the same location). The post ceremony appetizers were delightful. Our dinner was flavorful. We would have loved the stations set up outdoors but weather would not permit.

Claire Sent on 01/04/2012

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I had a destination beach wedding at a friend's beautiful beachfront home in September. I was initially very pleased with Gary and ECC because they were responsive and affordable, and offered a 'one-stop shop' for all the rentals as well as catering, which for me was a big plus. I was working full time and, with my fiancee Todd, we were doing all of the planning ourselves from Atlanta.

First, the pros:
The food was good. I had a lot of people tell me that they really enjoyed the food; the menu was good and it was prepared appropriately.
The service staff were very nice to me. I have one issue that I will comment about below.
Having all of the arrangements go through one vendor was really huge for me. I was overwhelmed as it was, with so many decisions to make, so the fact we could get the catering, tent, furniture and linens all from one vendor helped a lot.

Negative issues:
whew... where to start.
When we first met Gary he seemed nice enough and had a lot of experience, and he offered a lot, especially for the price. That they also had the ability to help with some design/layout to create our vision was great. Jan, Gary's wife, does the design work. Todd was the one who spoke with her more; I think I only had one conversation with her but she talked the entire time often even interrupting herself, and I had a very difficult time expressing what we wanted to do. She did offer a lot of ideas, and often seemed disappointed with the direction we wanted to go with and would repeat that we should do it a different way. Ultimately, we thought the service was to help guide us and carry out our vision, but it seemed like there was an underlying agenda... and I have no idea why. We had a pretty simple event and wanted it to be that way. That said, there was some good guidance that we got from Jan and Gary and we did often take their advice -- as you may well know planning a wedding is stressful and overwhelming and we were doing it for the first time on our own, while working full time, 6 hours away.

One of the main things we had to consider was that we were having our event in a residential neighborhood, and there was a noise policy/curfew that we knew about, that the party had to officially end at 10pm. However, we made it explicitly clear to Gary, and it was in our contract since February, that none of the furniture, linens, tent, etc would be taken down until Sunday. We knew they would pack up their kitchen stuff and their staff would leave, but if we wanted to stay, I wanted to be damn sure that we could. Turns out, the night of the event, they started to take down all of the furniture at 10:30, and when I stopped them, and got on the phone with Gary, he said that it wasn't in the contract and then the staff proceeded to take it all down. Still to this day, he hasn't apologized for stopping my wedding dead in its tracks at 10:30 which was blatantly and clearly stipulated in the contract not to happen until Sunday. This was a huge disappointment for me-- in addition to the fact that at 10-10:30 on my wedding night I was standing in the house frantically looking through my wedding folder rather than being with all of my friends and family (some had traveled from Europe).

Jan was really nasty to me. I came outside during the day while everything was getting set up at the house (we were staying at the house where the reception was in the back yard, so I was there all day). I came outside briefly around noon and there was some discussion between Jan and Anna (our day-of planner and owner of the house) about the placement of the dj table, bar, etc. I suggested contacting Seth the DJ, who was just around the corner, to get his input. I was abruptly told (yelled at, really) by Jan that SHE would have the final decision. Shocked, I informed her that it was MY wedding, and it would be MY decision. Let me tell you how much fun it is to be yelled at for no reason on your wedding day. I thought getting the DJ's input is a perfectly reasonable thing to do. At that point, after all of 5 minutes interaction with Jan, I removed myself from the situation and left my extremely capable DJ and friends and coordinator in charge. I was also told that had it not been for the near-begging on my sister's part, one member of the staff was about to walk away from the event he was so 'over it' with Jan's behavior.

Prior to the event, Jan called Anna, the owner of the home we had the event at, but she didn't know that Anna is a dear friend of mine. Jan proceeded to tell Anna how terrible I was, how many changes I was making, and even used the term "bridezilla" to describe me, even though I only spoke with her on the phone once or maybe twice. As far as I know, she was the only person throughout our entire wedding planning process, to use that term about me. I was mostly very calm, we had a small event (45 people) and I even felt uncomfortable with so much attention on me.

My mom came with me to do a tasting about a month before the event. At the time, we discussed with Gary hiring an additional server so that our sit-down dinner would have the extra benefit of a server there just for beverage service. This extra server was to refill anyone's drinks or bring around a bottle of wine to make sure the seated service was as relaxing as possible. This did not seem to have been communicated to the staff. At one point during the meal, my mom, keep in mind Mother of the Bride, asked for a drink of water and the server told her, "the bar is right over there". Someone even reminded this server who was making the simple request and she was again told where the bar was.

We had a dance floor that looked terrible. Within an hour or so dancing, its edges were falling apart, not to mention it had a completely uneven surface. When I brought this to Gary's attention after the wedding, he said that it was brand new and would have been fine had they been allowed to put it where they wanted, but I spoke with my day-of planner who agreed they could put it where they wanted, where it had been designed for, and no one had told them to move it. It was embarrassing.

I could go on but I won't. Basically, I still have not yet gotten any kind of apology about the mishap with the event being broken down that night. Gary has ignored the majority of my concerns and has not taken responsibility for any oversights or indicated that Jan's behavior was out of the ordinary (or reacted to it or commented on it at all).

So if you do hire ECC, just watch your back. Read your contract, and hope for the best I guess. I wish so much that my wedding had been different but the fact remains that it was what it was. Hopefully this review will help you future brides and party-throwers. I know that people don't always see eye-to-eye all the time, and I understand personalities clash. But I think it's a fair assumption that 1) the contract should be followed and 2) the vendor should be nice to the bride on her wedding day. It's just that simple.

For what it's worth, Dine by Design was hired by my mother-in-law to do the rehearsal dinner and it was FABULOUS.

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