From vibrant and often multi-cultural wedding celebrations to tasteful corporate drop-offs, Mitzvahs and Summer Boat Cruises, Entertaining Company has offered Chicago a bold choice in event catering for over two decades. Transporting your guests with palates of artisan ingredients, unique presentations and trend-setting new dishes is our signature.
At Entertaining Company, our inspiration is drawn from everywhere we go, everything we see and everyone we meet. We're constantly fusing global cuisine with celebrated traditions, creating unique event menus and stories along the way. We are a preferred caterer at Chicago's most celebrated venues.
At Entertaining Company, our inspiration is drawn from everywhere we go, everything we see and everyone we meet. We're constantly fusing global cuisine with celebrated traditions, creating unique event menus and stories along the way. We are a preferred caterer at Chicago's most celebrated venues.
Services
At Entertaining Company, we are passionate about bringing the very best to Chicago catering. Founded by Wendy Pashman in 1989, our catering company has developed a sterling reputation for the extraordinary in an event world awash with the traditional and expected. Experts in the art of celebration, Entertaining Company catering is inspired by cultures and revelry from around the globe.
Location is everything. Celebrate on the breezy Chicago lakefront, amidst the downtown skyscrapers, or lofted above the cityscape at a picture-perfect event venue from our list of partners. Why is it important that we, as caterers, partner with specific Chicago venues? As preferred caterers at a location, we're able to really familiarize ourselves with the space and learn how to provide our signature top-notch service within it.
At Entertaining Company, we are so very honored to have been featured and called upon for interviews, the latest trends and culinary design tips and tricks. We truly love what we do each and every day for all of our clients; we jump at the chance to share our experiences, knowledge, taste, and foresight.
Julie Fitzgerald has been with Entertaining Company for 20+ years and is a principal member of the team. She's known for her unstoppable work ethic, attention to detail, and always-on personality -- rotating between tastings, galas, corporate events, baby showers, luncheons, weddings, and birthday parties in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
We currently accept Visa, American Express, MasterCard and Discover debit and credit cards issued by a US bank. We also accept payments via PayPal. We do not accept personal checks, money orders, or pre-paid cards. Our curators are always on the search for unique artisan goods to share with you. We invite you to sign up for an Entertaining Company account and subscribe to our emails here.
Reviews (22)
Erin K.
Nov 15, 2021
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Martha Sutton
Oct 07, 2021
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Relly Rell
Aug 22, 2021
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Owner is not worker/ employee friendly, the environment that was created was hostile, stressed, pressured and the staff was rude and pushy and unapologetic, the environment was also not diverse at all and in this day and time it’s much needed!!! Horrible work experience and I left just as all over the place, stressed and unsettled as them.
Amanda V.
Dec 21, 2020
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My horror story with this company starts with the first few emails with their coordinator. This company does not care about you.
I wish I have not moved forward with them when they refused to set up a taste test for my wedding.
My wedding venue listed them as their preferred caterer, so I was kind of forced into having to use entertaining company.
I had to cancel my June 13th, 2020 wedding due to the pandemic. Outlined in my contract, they were supposed to return my money besides the non refundable deposit.
This company refuses to return my money. They went radio silent via email and blocked
I wish I have not moved forward with them when they refused to set up a taste test for my wedding.
My wedding venue listed them as their preferred caterer, so I was kind of forced into having to use entertaining company.
I had to cancel my June 13th, 2020 wedding due to the pandemic. Outlined in my contract, they were supposed to return my money besides the non refundable deposit.
This company refuses to return my money. They went radio silent via email and blocked
G. C.
Nov 12, 2020
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My husband and I are so happy with our decision to book Entertaining Company for the food at our wedding. The level of service, quality, personalization, and flexibility/creativity was just so much higher with EC than with any of the other options we considered.
Our excellent experience was due in no small part to our wonderful coordinator, Michelle Sterling, who always conveyed the sense that we were not just one event among many: we were an important client worthy of custom and individual attention, even though we were working with a limited budget. Here, too, Michelle helped to stretch every
Our excellent experience was due in no small part to our wonderful coordinator, Michelle Sterling, who always conveyed the sense that we were not just one event among many: we were an important client worthy of custom and individual attention, even though we were working with a limited budget. Here, too, Michelle helped to stretch every
Zafra Lerman
Aug 20, 2020
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Alexis Alvarez
May 21, 2020
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I'm a Wedding Planner who had the privilege of working with EC on a wedding this past weekend. They were INCREDIBLE.
Jane was always responsive and accommodating of my clients.
The food was excellent & service was outstanding.
Our team will sing EC's praises to absolutely anyone who will listen. Highly recommend.
Jane was always responsive and accommodating of my clients.
The food was excellent & service was outstanding.
Our team will sing EC's praises to absolutely anyone who will listen. Highly recommend.
Marc G.
May 19, 2020
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My wife is a nurse & I'm a Physical Therapist. We wanted to provide nurses some healthy meals during the Covd19 times as a thank you for all their hard work. Jane at Entertaining Company was very responsive & we were able to feed over 700 staff at 19 facilities, the number is still going so the plan is to keep feeding. Thank you Jane for helping to coordinate this effort ! :).
Binah Gabriela Vieira Cortez El
Jan 03, 2020
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Suggestive advice: If and you are planning a catered event, it is strongly advised that you personally hand deliver gratuity to caterer's staff. This is to assure, that the working individuals actually do.., get their share of gratuity. Ive moved on to a catering company that gives us our well earned 18% gratitudy, so I know what I'm talking about. They leave entire billing sheet up for us to read. It is also highly suggested that your special event, be conducted by an honest & prestigious catering companies.
Shelly Andrews
Dec 01, 2019
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I had Entertaining Company for an event with a specialty menu in mind. Not only did they met the request of a tapas based selection, but they far surpassed our expectations. The food was outstanding and our guests raved about the food. The presentation of the food was beautiful and the staff was incredible. Highly recommend the Entertaining Company
Danielle L.
Oct 05, 2018
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My fiance and I need to book a caterer for our upcoming wedding at CIC. We reached out to Julie at Entertaining company to get an idea on pricing and go no response. I followed up again and the reply i received was "what is the actual date of your wedding" Julie clearly was unwilling to work with us until she knew our venue was booked. This seemed odd, as the 3 other catering companies were so nice and sent a detailed email with a bunch of information. I responded anyways the date we were planning to book and again got no response from Julie. Needless to say we booked with Boka who is
Ross Price
Jun 10, 2018
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Our wedding planner suggested we meet with Entertaining Company (EC) as our caterers for our big day. We met with Kenny (our planner talked to him about our rough ideas), and Kenny put on a beautiful show for us. We sat and had drinks and apps (decided on 5 appetizers). We moved on to the dining room which was decorated to his interpretation on our rough ideas we had given our planner. IT WAS GORGEOUS! The served beautifully plated entrees, each more delicious than the last (I love a great short rib, but I got to say the vegetarian options stood out to me). We decided to go for four different entrees
Benita Raichandani
Jun 03, 2018
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We hired Entertaining Company (EC) for our wedding and reception. Kenny and Jillian were excellent. Jillian at communicating and logistics and Kenny at the vision, look and ideas. They were both great at the execution part.
The quality of the food that EC provides is very high and the presentation is far better from anything we have seen from any other caterer ever. Our guests LOVED the food, both Indian on the wedding night and Global Fusion on the reception night. We were able to bring the menus together with a lot of trial and error and recommendations from Kenny and Jillian. They helped with
The quality of the food that EC provides is very high and the presentation is far better from anything we have seen from any other caterer ever. Our guests LOVED the food, both Indian on the wedding night and Global Fusion on the reception night. We were able to bring the menus together with a lot of trial and error and recommendations from Kenny and Jillian. They helped with
Monica R.
May 13, 2018
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The Entertaining Company catered our son's Bar Mitzvah and were absolutely spectacular. We're used to having food that's just average at a big catered event. The food was Delicious! We got so many compliments from everyone!
But more importantly, the team is so professional and the support was just incredible throughout the planning processing and on the day of. Julie is superb. Super patient, flexible and supportive. I haven't thrown a party this big since my wedding. I couldn't imagine a better caterer. I highly recommend them!
But more importantly, the team is so professional and the support was just incredible throughout the planning processing and on the day of. Julie is superb. Super patient, flexible and supportive. I haven't thrown a party this big since my wedding. I couldn't imagine a better caterer. I highly recommend them!
Emily A.
Oct 10, 2017
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Truly- look no further for your wedding caterer. When we began this process, this piece of the puzzle was one of the most stressful (in my mind) to take on. Food at a wedding is so important, and it seems with so many options it's easy to miss the mark. Entertaining Company does NOT miss the mark. From the moment we stepped into our tasting, I knew attention to detail was not going to be an issue. We felt welcomed, special and like our opinions were really being heard.
They work with you to create a menu that works for you and suits your style. Julie was wonderful to work with. Responsive
They work with you to create a menu that works for you and suits your style. Julie was wonderful to work with. Responsive
Emily Reusswig
Aug 15, 2017
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We worked with Kenneth Woodman and Team at Entertaining Company and could not have been happier. Kenneth was a joy to work with, and always thinking of the details to make the event professional, elegant, and FUN! We have never received more compliments on the food at our Gala,giving a modern touch to a traditional greek menu (we were at the National Hellenic Museum after all!) and the table settings were gorgeous. The team day of was incredible, keeping guests happy (even as we had some technical difficulties) with drinks and food so that everyone left happy and full. I've worked with many caterers
Tina C.
Aug 05, 2017
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I have no idea where to start...my husband and I had such an amazing experience working with Julie & her team in planning our wedding and then on our wedding day.
From a planning perspective, when we begun planning the food was the item we were the most perplexed about since I'm indian and my husband is not indian. We were struggling coming up with a way to have a wedding that combined our favorite aspects of both cultures while also making sure our guests felt welcome and comfortable. Thanks to Julie we were able to make that a reality. She helped us create the absolutely perfect menu
From a planning perspective, when we begun planning the food was the item we were the most perplexed about since I'm indian and my husband is not indian. We were struggling coming up with a way to have a wedding that combined our favorite aspects of both cultures while also making sure our guests felt welcome and comfortable. Thanks to Julie we were able to make that a reality. She helped us create the absolutely perfect menu
Elissa B.
Aug 07, 2016
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A couple of years ago I used Wendy and her company for my wedding. Being that we were not having a large, traditional wedding (this was my husband's second marriage), my intention was to have a small, luxurious event. I had access to Wendy in addition to working with Kenny, and the entire process was seamless. The Entertaining Company delivered not only with their exquisite food, but with commendable customer service. Recently, I worked with them again to host an intimate milestone birthday for a close friend and the experience was equally phenomenal.
Laura C.
Feb 21, 2016
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We used the Entertaining Company for our 9/5/15 wedding on board Chicago's Classic Lady. The food was amazing and guests raved about it. Our officiant who has done thousands of weddings said it was the best meat he has ever had at a wedding. They were extremely professional to work with and answered questions quickly via email throughout the planning process. We were very nervous going into it though because we were told we could not do a tasting because our budget was not high enough... so we were booking based solely off of reviews. Having not tasted anything ahead of time, we were counting
Natalia B.
Dec 04, 2015
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My fiance and I set up a tasting with Kenny at the Entertaining Company, and I will admit--it was love at first sight. We had contacted several catering companies around Chicago, and none were as responsive, and charming as this experience. We had a glorious experience with our tasting. Kenny was insightful, and a strong advocate for us! Not only did he sit with us, but he listened, and ensured that our tasting menu was EXACTLY what we wanted. Our pallets were tantalized, and our company was tantalizing! Truly, an extraordinary experience. We booked on the spot, and cannot wait to share their scrumptious
Hanna H.
Nov 08, 2015
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This is a great company! They catered our wedding, and - a year later - people still talk about the great food!
Those hors d'oeuvres! Those entrees (beef, chicken and vegetarian were equally good - hard to tell which was the best). And outstanding service by all.
Special mention of Kenny, who advised and guided as all along and "ran the show" in a wonderful way!
Those hors d'oeuvres! Those entrees (beef, chicken and vegetarian were equally good - hard to tell which was the best). And outstanding service by all.
Special mention of Kenny, who advised and guided as all along and "ran the show" in a wonderful way!
Laurie R.
May 20, 2014
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As a fundraiser, I have had the opportunity to work with several caterers in Chicago. In my opinion, Entertaining Company has them all beat. I love that they are always coming up with unique twists on items that really help make the food memorable. Beet red cous cous? Purple forked mashed potatoes? YES! and both beyond delish.
They are also very open to mixing things up, like pairing sides differently and combining elements of different appetizers to get you what you want.
I am honestly shocked at the few bad reviews here about staffing because I have worked with them for years and everyone
They are also very open to mixing things up, like pairing sides differently and combining elements of different appetizers to get you what you want.
I am honestly shocked at the few bad reviews here about staffing because I have worked with them for years and everyone
