Testimonials

Karin!!

You are incredible!!! We had such a perfect time. It was such a calming and energising feeling to have what felt like my friend organising Sam’s 40th with me and I hadn’t even met you yet! You took the stress out of everything and I really believed that you cared about every detail being perfect and special as much as I did – if not more. THANK YOU for your hours of hunting to find the magician, he was great, the kids had a ball and their parents relaxed. Loving that! So thank you for taking care of every detail and making it fun. And thank you for the food, divine divine divine. Loved Caroline and Ray, they are so good at what they do, they were always there at the perfect moment with drinks and food, serving so perfectly without being intrusive. THE CAKE!! Speechless about the cake, it was 100% better than the cake in my head, melted in your mouth. You are incredible at what you do, you have energy beyond measure and your positivity and we can make anything happen spirit is infectious and so confidence inspiring. Thank you Karin!

Shar Allen: Sam's 40th birthday (half adults, half children!)

Thank you for everything on our wedding day.   We had the most wonderful time.   Your skill, creativity, experience and superb care were appreciated not just by us but by everyone at the wedding.   Setting up such perfect arrangements through negotiations with us situated half a world away until just the last minute, was a huge but totally successful achievement.   We really appreciated your ideas and suggestions.  It all worked so well.

Clive and Brioney, Engagement Party

“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Your staff were punctual, pleasant, clean, courteous, charming; in a word, professional. Well chosen.
Sooo many compliments on the food!
When people realised [very quickly] that the event was catered, there were lots of referrals for your business. Hope something good comes of it for you! I will also recommend you in the future.
What I liked the most was that I didn’t have to clean up anything afterwards!”
Hmm and did I remember to thank you for a great day?!

Catherine Somervaille,
40th Birthday Party

“Catering By Design did an exceptional job planning and delivering at our Wedding and Reception.
Their approach was full of positive energy and the various suggestions she made not only illustrated her experience they also contributed largely to making the day for Kerry, myself and our family and friends a day we will remember and treasure.”

Peter and Kerry Bowler,
Wedding

“What a party! The food was excellent, the staff were superb, the cocktails supreme and the chocolate fountain, well it was sublime. My 40th in my own house was superior to any party or function I have been to in any 5 star restaurant thanks largely to Catering By Design”

Sasha Holley,
40th Birthday Party

"Thankyou so much, Catering By Design, for our Management Team Dinner last Tuesday night. My guests were full on praise for your efforts.
The food was magnificent and your service was exemplary. I thought you and your team conducted yourselves in a very professional manner. You even left my home cleaner than when you started!I look forward to catching up soon.“

Anita Pahor,
Opportunity International Australia Management Team Dinner

“From the first time I spoke to Catering By Design on the phone I knew we would go with them for our Wedding. We wanted a relaxed (yet elegant) party atmosphere for our Wedding Day and ‘voila!’ that’s what we got! Great food, service and very friendly and helpful staff. A good time was had by all, the guests couldn’t stop raving!”

Cathy and Simon Wallely,
Wedding

"Karin’s knowledge and exuberant personality just makes it so easy to let her do everything. Normally I would stress before a function, instead I took a nap knowing everything was going to be fantastic. And it was!"

Peter Ainsley,
Andrew’s 50th Birthday

"All I can say is THANK GOODNESS Ross found your card in the Narrabeen Butcher. After the success of Jai’s christening I would never even contemplate using anyone but Catering By Design for future events.Thank you so much!"

Natalie Sinclair,
Jai’s Christening

"Catering By Design offers so much more than a catering service, thet offers complete event management. They have an astounding network of contacts, are highly creative, masterful problem solvers and deliver incredibly tasty food! Throughout the planning stages and our wedding day itself, Catering By Design took care of everything with utter professionalism, warmth and caring. We were exceedingly fortunate to find Catering By Design and wouldn’t hesitate to use them again or recommend them to family and friends!"

Sabine Maertin,
Wedding

"From the moment I contacted Catering By Design I was sure I had found the right caterer. Their visit to our home and suggestions .. were so very helpful and workable and many ideas they had .. I did use at the time of the party. Catering By Design put great effort into creating a party atmosphere and we have only had very positive feedback from our guests regarding great food and helpful staff. Thank you so very much."

Gillian Jackman,
Alan Jackman’s 70th Birthday

"Catering By Design was a lifesource in helping make our presentation night such a success. It was important that our venue felt different and Catering By Design made this happen. Our event decorator let us down and Catering By Design came to the rescue helping to take the stress away. Feedback from our night was all positive – great food, great atmosphere. What more could we ask for?!"

Julie Tassone,
Presentation Night

"We would like to say an absolutely huge and enormous thank you for all your help and support in making our big day possible!! It simply could not have happened without you. (Please pass along our thanks to your awesome team as well). We had a truly fantastic day. It was exactly what we wanted.
We don’t have time to list everything that we are grateful for but we have to mention the venue, the food, the band, the booze….brilliant.
Love Adam and Kelly
P.S. Thanks for the caricaturist, he was clearly a hit!"

Adam and Kelly's Wedding

"Catering By Design is a star! We challenged them with cooking an Indian feast and they came up smelling like Rogan! Thanks for the good times!"

Edge Publishing,
Company’s 3rd Birthday (Bollywood Theme)

"I am writing to express our appreciation for the great food provided .. on Friday, 4 March. The function involved catering for 12 interstate managers for a formal business lunch held in Sydney.
Catering By Design worked with us to settle an appropriate food selection. The food was of very high standard, and .. quality, all of which she prepared herself.
Catering By Design was easy to deal with, was 100% reliable and efficient. Their service was fabulous and I have no hesitation in recommending them to others. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for such a great job. We were all impressed!"

Mark Holden,
Couriers Please

"Last night, (Wendy Harmer’s) was the most wonderful party I've ever been to. It was so organised without it interfering with the party - everyone had the most wonderful time. The bands were FANTASTIC !
Seriously - the food was great, decor perfect and the weather was kind – (I wouldn't put it past you to have God's direct line!).
You are truly an amazing event organiser - a few people came up to me and thanked me for the organising - I made a point of saying that I didn't do it 'that girl over there is the brains behind it all!!"

Wendy Harmer,
50th Birthday Party

"From my first contact with Catering By Design, they have shown nothing but professionalism. 
They knew exactly what I was after and everything  remembered was perfect. From stepping on the boat, the team at Catering By Design released any stress I had and were so calm and relaxed and took everything in their stride. Nothing was a problem and the food portions were more than generous.
Everyone on the day raved about the food (quality, freshness and quantity!) and would not hesitate using or recommending Catering By Design.
A huge thank you for making the day a success as it was!"

Kelly Truran,
Sister’s Hens Day

"Thank you for organising my 10 year old Birthday party. The thing I like best about the way you organised my party, is that you did everything I asked for, even water pistols for everyone. My friends thought that was really cool. My friends and I thought the food was totally excellent too.
I know my Mum and Dad really enjoyed being at the party and not doing any of the work and they got the biggest water pistols too. Thank you for putting on the best Birthday ever."

Josh, 10th Birthday Party

“Thank you Catering By Design, we really appreciate all you did to help make Dad’s 100th a special day. Your helpful suggestions with a few practicalities on the day were very much appreciated. It was a delight to see how you involved the children and therefore made them feel they had their own special part to play in the days events.”

Cheryl and Brian Jay,
Fathers 100th Birthday

“Excellence is often talked about but seldom delivered. Exceeding clients’ expectations is a rarity which you, I am sure, achieve regularly. Thanks Catering By Design, for looking after our mum’s wake. You made it very simple for us indeed. You provided a well priced, professional and delivered with a caring attitude from not only you but all your staff. The food was good too! Thanks – Expect to hear from us again soon.”

Ross Lambert,
Wake

“Catering by Design was extremely flexible and patient with me while I was trying to organise this staff function. By their very nature, they were able to immediately restore calm and ensure that we had a successful afternoon.

The food was superb and served in a very relaxed but professional manner which added to the picnic atmosphere - although the quality of food was far better than I have ever had at any other picnic and to have it cooked for you was great.

Ultimately it was Catering By Design who ensured the afternoon was a success and the reward that it was meant to be for our team.

Thanks again and yes highly recommended.”

Pennie Warren,
Human Resources Manager,
Australia and New Zealand Atradius

"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

For the past eight years, Karin Slade, the Managing Director of Catering by Design, has managed our functions at home and on our 52ft Cruiser, Kahala. Karin co-ordinates our events, which range from presentation of the table, producing the menus, organising staffing and ensuring our guests are fully catered for.

Our guests in the past have included:

Lord Marshall of Kensington & Lady Marshall - Chairman of British Airways
Mr Robert Alying - Chief Executive of British Airways
Mr James Strong - Chairman of Woolworths and NRMA
Mr Geoff Dixon - Chief Executive Officer of Qantas
Mr Ken Chenault - Chairman & CEO of American Express
Dr Fausto Ceretti - Chairman of Alitalia
Mr Ken Borda - Chief Executive Officer of Deutsch Bank
Mr Joseph Mifsud Bonnici - Chief Justice of Malta
Mr Col Hughes - Chairman of National Tourist Authority
Hon. Joseph Fenech - Minister of Justice, Malta

Karin has always been 100% reliable and efficient and has in the past been called upon to organise a function within 3 hours of notification.

With her abundant resources of energy, good humour and efficiency, she and her company, are an asset for your function requirements."

Leslie Cassar,
CEO World Aviation

"I am writing to express my appreciation for the great food and great service provided by your company at our function to launch the Designer Grower Network logo on 26 November 2004.

The function involved catering for about 200 people between 5-7pm at our nursery and involved light food and drinks served in the relaxed environment of the Alpine Trade mart. Our guests comprised a wide cross section of our industry including garden designers, growers, journalists and representatives from the industry associations.

You worked with us to settle an appropriate food selection which was served by your staff at the function, together with a selection of wines and other drinks suitable for the occasion.

The food was of a very high standard and was exactly suited to the occasion and setting. It was served in a friendly and professional manner. The food set up and the cleaning after the event maintained the very professional standard. Several of our guests commented on the quality of the food and asked the name of our caterer; a great indication of the impression you made on the evening.

I found that you were very easy to deal with in relation to quoting and delivering what had been promised and providing prompt and accurate invoicing.

Your quality and service were exceptional from start to finish and I have no hesitation in recommending you. I would be pleased to speak to any of your prospective clients to give further information on our experience."

Peter Knox,
Managing Director, Designer Grower Network
 

"Thank you so much for a fabulous night on Saturday.  Jess and Ray were so good, very professional.  A friend of mine, who was here when they arrived, was amazed at how they came in and just did, found everything they needed, didn't have to ask for anything, just made it happen and full clean up!  This friend says my comments are seconded by her....Food was beautiful, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  A lot of guests said it was the best ever and are lining up for the next one!  Thanks again."

Lynne Hindes, 50th Birthday Party 

"The food was fresh and beautifully presented, the staff were attentive without being intrusive.  Everyone loved the party.  My husband and I were able to enjoy the party just like guests!"

Yvonne Bellamy, 60th Birthday Party

 "Everything went exceptionally well last Saturday at Linda and Chad's Wedding - due to your hard work and enthusiasm.  The food was great - lots of compliments form the guests.  You made the room look fabulous and your gracious "nothing is too difficult" attitude will not be forgotten.  It has been a pleasure to deal with you from the start and I can't thank you enough."

Suzanne Kirslake, Linda and Chad's Wedding

"Thank you to Catering By Design for all your help and input into making Guys birthday so special.  A special thank you to Jess and Ray for the fabulous job you did.  The party was just terrific, all my friends have commented and I have passed on your details.  Thank you again to Catering By Design, it went so smoothly, the food was beautiful, beautifully served.  Thank you so much."

Virginnia Smith, Guy's 70th Birthday Party