Vancouver wedding caterer review: Sugar Mountain Catering

First published on June 11, 2011

Sugar Mountain Catering is an experienced, Vancouver-based wedding caterer company that I can recommend. The food was highly reviewed by many guests, the servers were friendly, and the entire process from consultation to setup was well organized.

Head chef David MacMillan was our main point of contact. He has settled into a sweet spot by being an experienced industry veteran (Sugar Mountain being in existence since 1999) but also providing personal, individualized attention. He replies fast, is calm and relaxed, and his team is good to work with. Here are a few notable details:

• Sugar Mountain provided us with a free, in-home taste test, not only to sample the food, but to get to know the chef and the company. It was of course a no-obligation taste test, but certainly a crucial selling point!
• The quote given was all-inclusive (plus tax and tip), without, for example, a corking fee or details about cutlery and related supplies. We did have to order bar and wine glasses separately through a bartender, but on the whole the all-inclusive element made things simple.
• Sugar Mountain was familiar with our North Delta venue, and also had a relationship with the supplier that provided chair rentals (Lonsdale Events). We were able to submit and pay our rental order through Sugar Mountain, and thus did not have to coordinate delivery ourselves.
• Sugar Mountain asked us for a list of people with important food allergies or who weren’t very mobile. They were then able to create modified dishes for some; and for the less mobile, they prepared and served dessert plates from the dessert buffet.
• Sugar Mountain helped us finalize the table layout at the wedding venue.
• Sugar Mountain knows a lot of other wedding vendors and was able to provide recommendations.

If I have to point out an area of improvement, it would be that a couple of times, Sugar Mountain was late to meetings. However, there was no concern about their ability to be prompt for the wedding itself.

Sugar Mountain Catering can serve a buffet or plated meal. We had a plated meal that also included appetizers, bread rolls, and a dessert buffet. The presentation was beautiful.

(picture by Morgan Hargreaves Photography)

We were able to create our menu from a long list of possible dishes, and Sugar Mountain was also open to modifications or dish suggestions (although we were satisfied enough with the existing choices). Here is the menu we went with as an example:

Appetizers

• Chilled grilled asparagus with proscuitto di Parma and lemon aioli.
• Sweet potato latkes with pineapple-papaya salsa and lime crema.
• Mini smoked gouda cheeseburger sliders with roasted tomato chutney.
• Corn arepas with smoked chicken and avocado salsa.

Here is a photo of the asparagus, taken by Lyndsay London Photography:

First course

• Watercress with roasted pears, candied pecans, Saltspring Island chevre and lemon vinaigrette.

Main

Choice of:

• Baked BC halibut filet with wasabi mashed potatoes, tobiko beurre-blanc and fresh vegetables.
• Roasted beef tenderloin with sauce foyot, herb roasted Pemberton Valley fingerling potatoes and fresh vegetables.
• Pan-roasted free range chicken breast with fontina, proscuitto, fresh sage, saffron risotto and fresh vegetables.
• African fruit and vegetable curry with steamed basmati rice.

Here is a photo of the beef tenderloin, taken by Morgan Hargreaves Photography:

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This entry is filed under Vancouver Wedding and written by Peter Keung. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.