The Catering Connection

Allison with Catering Connection was the most patient person in the world with me. I must have changed my mind on a million different things and tried to make things a certain way several different times. Throughout all of it, she was very patient and understanding and she got the job done! Everything we asked for was executed in such a excellent manner. The food was superb and the wait staff and bartender were amazing and very sweet! Communication was very easy with Allison, even with the 6 hour time difference. Our wedding was perfect and they were a huge influence on why it was! I would definitely recommend The Catering Connection to anyone looking to get married in Hawaii!

My husband & I decided to have our wedding in Hawaii because he went to school at UH and I had never been. Being from San Diego it was definitely stressful to choose a caterer for our big day from a distance. The Catering Connection (mainly Allison) was immediately responsive and helped guide me to make the best choices within my budget. I met with Allison and the woman who would be coordinating the day of, Kalea, the day before to look over the property I had chosen for the wedding location. Kalea came up with some great ideas for setting up the rentals and layout of the property, and I was immediately relieved to know that she would be there the next day to coordinate the timing & food. The day of my wedding they showed up on time, the food and service was excellent, and the house was left spotless after they had left. I could not say enough good things about the Kalea and the wait staff. They were very assertive, genuinely friendly, and always seemed a step ahead. My guests were in love with all of the food choices and we are still talking about (and craving) some of the appetizers. Very grateful to have found The Catering Connection and would recommend them over & over again!

I had the very fortunate opportunity of attending an event catered by the catering connection. Not only was the food amazing, the mixed drinks were delish and the waitstaff was exceptional.
The event I attended was at Waioli tea room in Manoa. Waioli tea room is not an easy place to set up for an event because it is literally a house. However, tcc did a great job of spreading the food out in a way that wasn’t awkward and there was never a line for food.
Pupus included cheese wontons with super delicious fruit chutney, one of the best crispy gau gee I’ve ever had, chicken skewers and sliced beef bites atop crackers spread with horseradish aioli and sautéed onions. As if that wasn’t enough, dinner consisted of Caesar salad, spinach salad, fried rice, fish, pork and a carving station. For dessert, we had freshly made malasadas, shave ice, bread pudding and fresh fruit cocktail. Soooo yum!
Waioli tea room can’t host events with alcohol, but that didn’t stop TCC. They made custom non alcoholic beverages and floats. Everything was just so delicious, both the food and the drinks! I can’t even imagine how great their alcoholic cocktails must taste.
The cherry on the cake was definitely the friendly and attentive waitstaff. Someone was always there to offer me a beverage, take my empty plates. Every person on the staff seemed to want to be there and enjoy what they were doing. They executed their responsibilities efficiently and with smiles on their faces.
I can’t say enough about how amazed I was with my experience at this event by TCC. I can’t wait to plan my life events to include everything they have to offer :)

We had the pleasure of working with Catering Connection last night and they were phenomenal! The entire team was as professional as it gets. Bruce was so easy to work with from the start. The food was amazing (thank you Big G)… Seriously the best prime rib and bread pudding ever!!! I couldn’t believe that Catering Connection even served everyone and cleaned up after! 5 stars for being top rate catering ninjas. No complaints here.

Catering Connection sent over Big G (Grant) as chef and an excellent event staff. We were extremely happy with their professionalism and friendliness.

Event: Wedding Breakfast
Date: Friday, June 20^th 2014
WOOOW! The Catering Connection was AMAZING in all aspects of dealing with them! From their QUICK replies & follow ups… to their super ONOlicious food! They worked with our budget & even helped create a breakfast menu for us even though they don’t normally cater breakfast events.
My family also caters for a living and they are definitely a TOUGH crowd to please when we don’t use them… but they absolutely LOVEd the food! They even agreed that we should definitely use The Catering Connection for future events. It wasn’t just my tough-​family who enjoyed the food, but literally every guest complimented & raved about it as well. The portions were generous too! Enough for everyone to make several trips through the buffet AND even eat more for lunch too! Definitely a PLUS for us local eaters! Hahaha…
Sean was also a great help as well… not only did he setup the buffet, but he even helped us set the tables for the guest as well! Wow! Talk about above & beyond!!! We LOVE The Catering Connection & have no issue recommending them or using them in the future :-)

We will never use anyone else! They did our wedding 4 years ago and now our daughters one year luau! They are AMAZING at getting your vision, planning thru emailing, setting up, the food is fantastic, attention to detail and most of all everything turns out perfect! You feel like your in good hands! Both times it was so smooth and exceeded my expectations! Thank u for doing such a beautiful job for both special occasions in our lives!

My co-​workers went with Tanioka’s; we ended up with Da Spot (they are a restaurant but we know one of the managers and he’s able to help us out on short notice). We had previously eaten with Chef Kathi Saks, which will run you just under the cost of Catering Connection (about $ 100 per head) but it includes the staff, hand-​passed apps, and a plated dinner which is truly one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten – choice of exceptional entrees, a signature cocktail, and dessert. Chef Kathi was out of our budget, but she had phenomenal service, is a true chef, and she sent us home with left-​overs! We’d eat that lillikoi butter on like, cardboard. We also love Kahai Street Kitchen and the Pig and the Lady, from past events.

We used Catering Connection for our wedding recently. Leading up to the day they were very willing to work with our budget and needs. On the day of the wedding I can’t say enough about how attentive they were and how proffessional they were. Our guests loved the food as well. I highly recommend them!

The staff at The Catering Connection helped us to have an absolutely wonderful office blessing last week! We are SO grateful for their professional, efficient and friendly service.
We sent out several requests for proposals, and only Lei from The Catering Connection responded the same day. Throughout the planning process, she remained very responsive — making suggestions, negotiating the contract and answering every silly question we had.
The night of our event, Wes and Jose were AWESOME! I swear, those two guys made it seem like a staff of 5 was working the event — they were all over the place, filling glasses, clearing plates, replenishing food… They made it possible for me to actually be a part of the event, when I had anticipated working the whole night!
I noticed that all of the other reviews for The Catering Connection were for weddings, but rest assured that they can do it all. At a very reasonable cost, too — my boss saw the final bill and exclaimed, «Is that all?!» He thought for sure that for such awesome food and service, we paid much, much more! (No word on whether the money we saved will turn into a bonus… LOL!!)

First off, I am not sure if there is really anything I can say that can describe our satisfaction with The Catering Connection! They made our whole wedding experience completely smooth and stress free (besides some normal crazy bride stressing:-) But The Catering Connection is truly a one stop shop! We really had no idea how good of a decision we were making at first going with them, until our first meeting with Ashley. She made us feel extremely comfortable and started taking care of details immediately. After we chose our menu, décor, and rentals, Vanessa worked closer with us on the timeline and details of the day. We chose to have them do our rentals, food, and day of coordination. The day of coordination is a definite must have!!! Looking back I can’t even imagine how my day would’ve gone not having Ashley and Vanessa there taking care of all the details!
The food was great, exactly what we chose at our tasting. But what was even more impressive was the serving staff the day of the wedding! They were professional, polite, and personable to me and my guests! Definitely 5 star service!
Their prices are very reasonable! We did lots and lots of research on companies for food and rentals, and the Catering Connections rentals always came in just a little bit lower than most on the island. They even ordered in a tent liner JUST FOR US!!!
Vanessa as our Day of Coordinator was at my hotel room bright and early at 9AM with our cinemaphotographer with a big smile and a Happy Wedding Day Hug! :-) Throughout the whole day Ashley and Vanessa never stopped! I did not get ONE phone call from a vendor with questions, and still to this day I don’t know if anything went wrong, because I am sure if something did, Ashley and Vanessa took care of it, instead of bothering me and stressing me out! They even picked up all of our rose petals BY HAND outside of our chapel to avoid us having to pay a $ 250.00 cleaning fee! Their service went above an beyond! Vanessa even sewed on a crystal that fell off my dress in the middle of my reception! Immediately after my ceremony they «created» a bustle on my dress for me (the one sewn in wasn’t working!)
Once again, I don’t really think I have words to explain how really amazing the company is! Just don’t even think about it, they will take care of your every need!

Because of the great reviews, I sent in an email requesting info. I received one response email with a bit of information and I replied twice with questions and haven’t heard back. It’s been over 3 weeks now. Horrible customer service.

The Catering Connection did my wedding at my new house that we hadn’t even occupied yet! Bruce put together a perfect wedding with musicians, valet, wait service, bar & bar tender, tables, chairs, etc. He can do anything!
I’ve since been to many of his other functions, usually for businesses and they were all great. He works with your budget. Recommend him highly!

We used The Catering Connection for our wedding in May and were very pleased with their services. Bruce, Lei, and everyone else that we interacted with were personable and professional. The night of the wedding we heard many comments from our guests about how wonderful the service was, not to mention the food (and we felt the same!). We were very happy with our experience and would recommend them highly.

Two key ingredients in a wedding are location and food. My wife and I wanted an outdoor wedding with an elegant yet relaxed attitude in the summer. Catering Connection is a major reason why our wedding was a success. Of the companies on my list, Catering Connection was always prompt in responding to calls and emails, have many years of experience thus a wealth of information. This company is busy all through the year yet Bruce and Lei were very friendly and there isn’t a question or request that they will not be happy to oblige. We made multiple revisions to the menu, tents, etc and Lei was very friendly and professional.
Many of our guests have commented on how great the food tasted. Even those who have been to previous weddings at the same location but with a different caterer have commented on how they’ll remember our wedding because of the food.
Catering Connection created an elegant atmosphere and their staff were very professional on the day of. Their website will give you and idea of how fancy your wedding can be. I was embarassed at first because I’m a local boy and not used to having someone there to serve me whatever I wanted. I appreciated it after all of the photos ops and having to mingle with all guests drained all of my energy and needed my plate and drink hot and ready. Any company a couple chooses will charge a price. Wouldn’t you want to go with one that is of greatest value? Choose Catering Connection

Prior to selecting The Catering Connection (TCC) for my event, I contacted 2 other catering companies to request for information and pricing. The reason why I choose Catering Connection was because I received a same-​day response to my questions (whereas it took a couple days for the other companies to respond). I knew that their promptness would set the precedent for any future interaction with the company and I was right.
TCC helped me with a 40’x40’ stage, lighting, event staff and food for a university dedication event with guests that included donors, elected officials, industry leaders, school staff and honored students and their parents. We locals love our food and it’s important to make sure our guests are over-​fed. That evening, guests raved about the quality of the food! Winnahz!
I can’t praise Bruce, TCC owner, and his staff enough. I don’t think I waited longer than 12 hours to receive a response to any questions I had. They were patient with my many questions, changes and additions. They made planning an event less stressful.

I worked with David and Lei at The Catering Connection and they made things just ‘click’ on our wedding day. I must have sent 50 emails to David and he always wrote back right away, always with the right answer for a stressed bride! We ordered a 30×30 tent and 90 chairs from them and they were on-​time, professional and easy to get in touch with. Our ceremony location shut down at 5pm and TCC said as long as it was fine with the venue spot, they could get the chairs and tent the following day. About a week before our event, I called and requested 10 fewer chairs… they said «no problem» and didn’t charge us for them (as they shouldn’t but most places would probably say «that was what you signed for. blah blah»). All in all, they were affordable and easy to deal with… two big pluses when planning a wedding.

The Catering Connection went above and beyond their duties! The day before our wedding it was storming and our original location was outside (on the beach) and under a tent. They called to walk us through backup plans and offered a few different options. We found a new location and had to move our wedding the day before, which was stressful but I don’t think there are other vendors that would care or go through the extra effort to ensure we had a fabulous wedding.
The day-​of turned out to be perfect and although we were scrambling a bit in the morning to work with a new venue/​layout — everything turned out beautifully. Every single staff member was extremely attentive and always had a smile. Our guests were impressed with not only the service provided but the food was excellent as well. They were simply amazing! :)

Really good response time, good feedback when asked questions, friendly, patient, menu looks good with lots of options and flexibility. I liked that they were able to give us a rough estimate of cost right away after they prepared a tentative menu and equipment rental invoice.
Haven’t actually tasted any of the food yet. Will likely update at a later date.
P. S. My fiancé is awesome. I don’t like talking on the phone and negotiating, so he always does it for the both of us!

Much love goes out to everyone of Catering Connection who helped with ALL of our wedding celebrations last month in Honolulu!!! :D From proposals all the way through to partying hard at the end of the wedding night, CC and their amazing staff brought their ‘A game’ and made our entire wedding experience pure bliss!!!
Lei is the best!!! She was so attentive to my every need and want during the planning stages. She would respond to my emails and phone calls with the utmost promptness, and always had answers for all my questions (as ridiculous as some of them may have been!) She helped me pinpoint what I was envisioning, and in the end, delivered exactly that, and then some!!! She made sure all the details were taken care of. Things I would have never even thought of! She also really helped me budget my expenses too, which my husband and I (and our bank account) cannot thank her enough for. All her recommendations were solid and we completely trust her opinion. The gal knows what she is talking about!!!
I honestly didn’t have to worry about a thing, just get on my makeup, do my hair, get into my dress, and walk down the aisle… without fainting!!! Hahaha, they took care of the rest!!! The whole night, they were so accommodating to my husband and I, always making sure I had a drink in my hand (that’s what I’m talkin’ about! hehe), appetizers in my mouth, dinner servings on my plate, and seconds and thirds of our wedding cake. :P They made it SO EASY for us to simply enjoy ourselves, and enjoy our time with our friends and family. Set up to break down, everyone was so professional, so nice, accommodating, friendly, attentive, and PERFECT! We love you guys! I also really appreciated that the company owner Bruce took the time out of his busy schedule to be at our ceremony to greet me! Your customer service is one of a kind ;) Thank you.
Our family also inadvertently hired Catering Connection for a family get together at our Uncle’s house in Diamond Head a few days before the wedding. So funny to come over and see the same folks that were going to be helping us at the wedding! I was EXTRA excited for our big day, because we got to ‘sample’ their goods at the party, and everything was soooooo yummy! They offer such a wide selection of different types of food, that we didn’t have any duplicate items at the party or the wedding!
We couldn’t have done it without the help, professionalism and experience of Catering Connection. Thank you guys soo, sooo much. My husband and I give them the highest accolades for their work, and we can’t thank them enough for all they did for us!!!