The Vegetarian Gourmet Reviews

Reviews

• Christel Sent on 06/29/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  I feel so lucky to have found Margaret for my daughter’s wedding. I can’t begin to say how much we appreciated everything Margaret did for us. Margaret is a true professional, she knows what she’s doing and she does it calmly, diplomatically, and effectively. Margaret guided us through what and how much we needed to order through the party rental company of our choice. She was sensitive and supportive of our wishes, and took into consideration our concerns with budget. Her menus choices are ample and the choices we picked were absolutely fresh and delicious. I wish Margaret and her staff all the best for a successful catering future, she deserve it!

  I feel so lucky to have found Margaret for my daughter’s wedding. I can’t begin to say how much we appreciated everything Margaret did for us. Margaret is a true professional, she knows what she’s doing and she does it calmly, diplomatically, and effectively. Margaret guided us through what and how much we needed to order through the party rental company of our choice. She was sensitive and supportive of our wishes, and took into consideration our concerns with budget. Her menus choices are ample and the choices we picked were absolutely fresh and delicious. I wish Margaret and her staff all the best for a successful catering future, she deserve it!
• Kim Sent on 06/18/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Excellent event all around. Margaret was a delight to work with and very accommodating.

  Excellent event all around. Margaret was a delight to work with and very accommodating.
• Debbie Sent on 06/06/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  I've heard from friends and family after our party that the food was fantastic. One person asked if I knew it was all vegetarian! My 18 year old nephew sent me a text message and asked about one of the dishes... that means the entire meal was a solid hit.
  
  I'd hire Margaret to cater an event for me in a heartbeat. She was flexible with the menu and understood my concerns about nothing "weird" on the menu for our non-vegetarian friends. Pricing can't be beat, but more importantly, I felt like Margaret was a long lost friend. She was patient, calm, and thoughtful. I'm so glad I found her, and can't wait for my next event where I can use her again!

  I've heard from friends and family after our party that the food was fantastic. One person asked if I knew it was all vegetarian! My 18 year old nephew sent me a text message and asked about one of the dishes... that means the entire meal was a solid hit.
  
  I'd hire Margaret to cater an event for me in a heartbeat. She was flexible with the menu and understood my concerns about nothing "weird" on the menu for our non-vegetarian friends. Pricing can't be beat, but more importantly, I felt like Margaret was a long lost friend. She was patient, calm, and thoughtful. I'm so glad I found her, and can't wait for my next event where I can use her again!
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• Dale M. Sent on 06/22/2015
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  I can not say enough positive things about Margaret Riesen and The Vegetarian Gourmet. I have done both small dinner gatherings for my book club of eight people to hundreds for my corporate events and every time Margaret comes through with the perfect food! She is professional and calm which is what every host needs during those stressful hours beforehand. Her food is of the best quality and she always has a unique dish to WOW the crowd. I highly recommend Margaret for any wedding, bridal shower or social gathering she will make it the best for everyone!

  I can not say enough positive things about Margaret Riesen and The Vegetarian Gourmet. I have done both small dinner gatherings for my book club of eight people to hundreds for my corporate events and every time Margaret comes through with the perfect food! She is professional and calm which is what every host needs during those stressful hours beforehand. Her food is of the best quality and she always has a unique dish to WOW the crowd. I highly recommend Margaret for any wedding, bridal shower or social gathering she will make it the best for everyone!
• Katie Sent on 06/07/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Margaret Riesen, owner of the Vegetarian Gourmet is a consummate professional and a joy to do business with. The food she cooks and provides is consistently delicious, healthy and presented beautifully. Margaret is reliable and offers extraordinary customer service which is rare in this day and age. If you are looking for a fantastic caterer, call The Vegetarian Gourmet, you will be so happy you did!!

  Margaret Riesen, owner of the Vegetarian Gourmet is a consummate professional and a joy to do business with. The food she cooks and provides is consistently delicious, healthy and presented beautifully. Margaret is reliable and offers extraordinary customer service which is rare in this day and age. If you are looking for a fantastic caterer, call The Vegetarian Gourmet, you will be so happy you did!!
• Maricela Sent on 06/19/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  I loved working with The Vegetarian Gourmet. Margaret is very professional, friendly and easy to get a hold of. She has a lot of options as she uses quality organic fresh ingredients for her global cuisines. I love her chicken salad, pallea, and mediterranean dishes. Everyone at the party could eat it despite the odd dietary restrictions because many of her options are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and organic. She worked with my requests and made me look like a great host. She even made the meat eaters happy. Margaret was a pleasure to work with and I'd highly recommend her for any occasion small or large.

  I loved working with The Vegetarian Gourmet. Margaret is very professional, friendly and easy to get a hold of. She has a lot of options as she uses quality organic fresh ingredients for her global cuisines. I love her chicken salad, pallea, and mediterranean dishes. Everyone at the party could eat it despite the odd dietary restrictions because many of her options are gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and organic. She worked with my requests and made me look like a great host. She even made the meat eaters happy. Margaret was a pleasure to work with and I'd highly recommend her for any occasion small or large.
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  User2173396 Sent on 06/10/2015
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  I find Margaret to be incredibly easy to work with repeatedly for all my work-related events. She is responsive, very affordable, and her food is delicious. She shops for what is in season, so her food is organic and healthy.

  I find Margaret to be incredibly easy to work with repeatedly for all my work-related events. She is responsive, very affordable, and her food is delicious. She shops for what is in season, so her food is organic and healthy.
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  User2190753 Sent on 06/22/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Margaret was amazing. She is flexible with her menu and reasonably priced. The food was amazing, we ate it for a week or more after it was that good!!!
  
  Her staff were on point, the food was ready when we needed it to be and everyone did it with a smile. Their professionalism, great attitude, timely service and reasonable pricing all added to a very memorable day for my family. Thank you Margaret. I recommend her services and encourage you to engage her in how she can create that same experience for your event.

  Margaret was amazing. She is flexible with her menu and reasonably priced. The food was amazing, we ate it for a week or more after it was that good!!!
  
  Her staff were on point, the food was ready when we needed it to be and everyone did it with a smile. Their professionalism, great attitude, timely service and reasonable pricing all added to a very memorable day for my family. Thank you Margaret. I recommend her services and encourage you to engage her in how she can create that same experience for your event.
• Lauri Sent on 07/16/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Margaret was such a delight to work with on the menu and food for our wedding. In fact, the food was so good, everyone kept coming back for more and we didn't really have much left over at the end of the event! She is knowledgable about every part of the wedding catering process, and made sure that we got the most delicious out of our limited budget. She uses high quality ingredients and is very creative in her suggestions and menu options. I have recommended her to many people for their events and will continue to do so.

  Margaret was such a delight to work with on the menu and food for our wedding. In fact, the food was so good, everyone kept coming back for more and we didn't really have much left over at the end of the event! She is knowledgable about every part of the wedding catering process, and made sure that we got the most delicious out of our limited budget. She uses high quality ingredients and is very creative in her suggestions and menu options. I have recommended her to many people for their events and will continue to do so.
• Barbara Sent on 06/18/2015
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  Margaret did an incredible job. The good was excellent, she was kind and professional, her help was lovely.

  Margaret did an incredible job. The good was excellent, she was kind and professional, her help was lovely.
• Daoud Sent on 07/06/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Margaret did a phenomenal job providing well crafted, visually appealing and absolutely delicious options for our guests.

  Margaret did a phenomenal job providing well crafted, visually appealing and absolutely delicious options for our guests.
• Julie Sent on 06/18/2015
  5 out of 5 rating

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  Margaret's food is absolutely delicious. She knows how to bring out the flavor of everything she prepares. Her dishes are always appropriate to the event, healthful, and beautifully displayed. She listens to the customer's requests and meets their needs, with years of experience and expertise behind everything she does.

  Margaret's food is absolutely delicious. She knows how to bring out the flavor of everything she prepares. Her dishes are always appropriate to the event, healthful, and beautifully displayed. She listens to the customer's requests and meets their needs, with years of experience and expertise behind everything she does.
• Olivia Sent on 08/14/2018
  2.4 out of 5 rating

  2.4
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  I was disappointed in my experience with Vegetarian Gourmet, and would not recommend hiring Margaret. For what I paid, the quality of the food was just not what I had hoped. The dishes -- which were flavorful and well-executed at our tasting -- were much blander at the wedding, and they weren't presented well either. One of our main dishes was vegetable paella which was supposed to come with seared vegetables, but there were almost no vegetables to be found and instead of the broad beans she described it came with chickpeas and tasted quite flavorless; it also lacked the typical paella texture, making it basically a bland pilaf. Similarly, we had vegetable kabobs, and they tasted unseasoned and dry. For the sides, we requested patatas bravas to keep with our Spanish theme, and instead we got a lackluster side of what looked similar to crumbly home fries, presented without any dips (I requested an aioli and a spicy tomato sauce, the traditional sauces for patatas bravas), and the bean salad had mushy overcooked and under-seasoned beans.
  
  I was also very dismayed by Margaret's lack of professionalism -- she was often slow to respond to emails, to the point that sometimes a few weeks would go by before I followed up and finally got a response. If that had happened only once I would give it a pass, but Margaret often took a week or so to respond to emails, which was very frustrating. I had to hound her to get her to update our rental orders with additional items I requested before the deadline to edit the order, and in one case she waited so long to do so that only 6 heat lamps were left when I wanted 8.
  
  Lastly, Margaret also overcharged us by ~$650, calculating meals for about 12 people more than were in our final count. She got very defensive and claimed that our coordinator had told her the wrong number, which I found very odd because I had clearly confirmed the total with her and the DOC in multiple emails. Overall, a disappointing experience.

  I was disappointed in my experience with Vegetarian Gourmet, and would not recommend hiring Margaret. For what I paid, the quality of the food was just not what I had hoped. The dishes -- which were flavorful and well-executed at our tasting -- were much blander at the wedding, and they weren't presented well either. One of our main dishes was vegetable paella which was supposed to come with seared vegetables, but there were almost no vegetables to be found and instead of the broad beans she described it came with chickpeas and tasted quite flavorless; it also lacked the typical paella texture, making it basically a bland pilaf. Similarly, we had vegetable kabobs, and they tasted unseasoned and dry. For the sides, we requested patatas bravas to keep with our Spanish theme, and instead we got a lackluster side of what looked similar to crumbly home fries, presented without any dips (I requested an aioli and a spicy tomato sauce, the traditional sauces for patatas bravas), and the bean salad had mushy overcooked and under-seasoned beans.
  
  I was also very dismayed by Margaret's lack of professionalism -- she was often slow to respond to emails, to the point that sometimes a few weeks would go by before I followed up and finally got a response. If that had happened only once I would give it a pass, but Margaret often took a week or so to respond to emails, which was very frustrating. I had to hound her to get her to update our rental orders with additional items I requested before the deadline to edit the order, and in one case she waited so long to do so that only 6 heat lamps were left when I wanted 8.
  
  Lastly, Margaret also overcharged us by ~$650, calculating meals for about 12 people more than were in our final count. She got very defensive and claimed that our coordinator had told her the wrong number, which I found very odd because I had clearly confirmed the total with her and the DOC in multiple emails. Overall, a disappointing experience.