Carlisle’s Culinary Connection

Great food and they cater all of our work events. Best crab cakes, hush puppies and meat loaf on the planet!

Our wedding venue recommended Culinary Connection as a caterer and we felt as if we hit the jackpot of caterers!
Carlisle was a complete joy to work with and is incredibly sweet, humble, passionate about food and is a total pro at what he does. He’s super professional and made great suggestions to our day-​of timeline and was upfront about costs. We had a bajillion questions leading up to the wedding but Carlisle was very responsive with all our questions and even attended 2 walk-​through meetings at our venue just to make sure our bases were all covered.
He’s flexible with menu items and is happy to customize anything for his clients; we even provided our own food for one of the stationary hors d’oeuvres which his team artfully displayed for cocktail hour.
Immediately post-​ceremony, there were already trays of signature drinks ready for our (thirsty) family members during family portraits. Our guests even commented that the execution of cocktail hour and dinner reception was flawless! The timing between courses was perfect and there was zero waiting around for food so our guests left full and happy!
For passed hors d’oeuvres, the Tuna Tartare was a big winner and the plated entrees (185 total!) were superb. Carlisle’s Signature Crab Cakes (all lump meat with very little filler) and Filet Mignon (cooked to a perfect medium-​rare) were incredible; many of our guests said it was some of the best wedding entrees they’ve had!
We are so happy we chose Culinary Connection as our caterer and knew we could fully rely on Carlisle and his awesome team. Thank you SO much, Carlisle, and keep up the awesome work — you’re a gem!

Carlisle’s catered a family function yesterday and the food was outstanding. The crab balls were the best! They kept the food table well stocked and had a very nice young man assisting the guests with drink refills and plate clean up. Great Job!

Carlisle’s Culinary Connection is truly as good as it gets in the world of catering and spectacular food! As a wedding planner in the industry who has worked many events with this team, I can say they are top notch, and the culinary creations always WOW our clients and their guests. Top notch food, top notch service and flawless catering execution, regardless of the type of venue, indoor, outdoor, etc. Their 5 course wine dinners are just another one of their fantastic experiences I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying with friends and it’s a fabulous way to entertain, without having to do any of the work! I highly recommend Carlisle and his team at Carlisle’s Culinary Connection to anyone in need of wonderful catering!

Carlisle catered a private dinner for 4 couples in their 40s and 50s at my friend’s house. We’re a tough crowd to please… each of us self-​proclaimed «foodies,» mixed with one vegetarian and a couple of others with some strong likes and dislikes. Not knowing what to expect, we attended the dinner-​made-​to-​order with open minds (and empty bellies). We were pleasantly surprised by the care that went into the preparation of each of the five courses, the exciting mix of tastes Carlisle cooked up for us, and his ability to meet or exceed each person’s taste expectations. Perhaps the best part having Carlisle cook for us was his willingness to informally share some of his cooking tips and recipes with us as he was working to leave my friend’s kitchen spotless clean before he left. I would without reservation recommend Carlisle’s Culinary Connection for anyone interested in finding a top notch caterer in the greater Richmond region.