Every event is custom tailored to your ideal vision and budget. We listen, and then create! Our seasoned Chefs excel in creating International Menus as well as California Cuisine, using only the most superb fresh ingredients. Our event designers will assist you with everything from fun & casual celebrations to the simply extraordinary.
When you're looking for affordable elegance, flexibility and the finest in service - don't settle for less than a Five Star event! Designing the ultimate event blends imagination, expertise and creativity, together with our clients' concepts to achieve a memorable and luxurious experience. We pair fabulous cuisine with gracious & attentive service to enhance your guests' experience.
When you're looking for affordable elegance, flexibility and the finest in service - don't settle for less than a Five Star event! Designing the ultimate event blends imagination, expertise and creativity, together with our clients' concepts to achieve a memorable and luxurious experience. We pair fabulous cuisine with gracious & attentive service to enhance your guests' experience.
Services
High-quality, made from scratch food. We are determined to raise the standard for catered food. Wedding and banquet food can and should be delicious, regardless of group size or cooking facilities available. Gracious Service from a Well Trained, Professional, Experienced Team. We know the Santa Cruz area is laid back, but that doesn't mean your service staff should be.
Our aim is to assist you in creating the ultimate reception, while making the arrangements as care-free as possible. We've designed our services to be elegant yet affordable. Here's a summary of the steps in working with us. When you've reviewed our Menus, and have an idea of what you'd like to serve, give us a call.
Planning a catered event can involve wading thru a maze of menus, proposals & incomplete information. Many caterers will send you a menu (or series of them) with or without menu pricing. Even then, the menu price is just one part of the total event budget. Later, costs for China, Silverware, Glassware, Linens & Service Staff are added on.
I really think you guys are the best caterers in the County. The food is amazing and always plentiful. And I love the professionalism of your staff. The Holiday party decision is made by a committee and my vote will be definitely be for you. Your team makes my job so incredibly easy. I just wanted to send a much belated thank you to you and your staff for the outstanding food & service at our wedding.
Your business event needs frequently change. From casual Staff Appreciation parties, to dynamic VIP marketing events, we've refined our corporate catering to enhance your results & protect your budgets. We offer highly flexible service including last minute orders, casual drop offs and full staffed service.
Reviews (26)
Nicole J.
Dec 21, 2021
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We are so glad we chose Five Star Catering for our wedding! Laura was an absolute joy to work with and she made us feel like the only couple in the world whenever we met with her. She was great at knowing what food would be in season and helped us curate the perfect menu for our guests, our venue, and the time of year. The food was so delicious and the servers all so nice and fun and good to be around. They really helped create the vibe I had wanted and were so glad to have had them there!
Marivic F.
Dec 21, 2021
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The name itself says it all! I had my wedding last weekend and all of my guest loveeeeeeeed the food! The food, the presentation, the service! Everything was perfect! Laura worked with us in putting all this vision together and made everything easy for us... I am very indecisive with making decisions, but Laura definitely made everything tasty and good! The desserts are A MUST for me and I had crème brûlée, chocolate mousse, donut bar, and s'mores! Fell inlove with it! Laura and staff thank you so much everything for making our wedding complete and beautiful!
Kelsi Borden
Dec 03, 2021
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THANK YOU to Laura and her team for helping make our wedding day the best day ever!
The food was absolutely delicious and her staff treated my husband and I like a King and Queen! We had countless guests come up to us saying that it was hands down the best food they had tasted at a wedding and we completely agree. We also had many people say it was the best wedding they had ever been to, and I know Five Star was a big part of that!
Laura put together an amazing event plan with many vegan options for my husband as well which were absolutely delicious.
The staff were all so sweet and professional
The food was absolutely delicious and her staff treated my husband and I like a King and Queen! We had countless guests come up to us saying that it was hands down the best food they had tasted at a wedding and we completely agree. We also had many people say it was the best wedding they had ever been to, and I know Five Star was a big part of that!
Laura put together an amazing event plan with many vegan options for my husband as well which were absolutely delicious.
The staff were all so sweet and professional
Robert S.
Nov 14, 2021
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Laura and 5-star catering provided the catering for our wedding in Carmel Valley, and while I was entrusted with only two jobs as the groom (food & booze), I feel like Laura and her team made me look far more capable then I actually am. My guests raved about the food being the best they'd ever had at a wedding.
Laura's menu was not only incredible (the chicken with pine nuts and cheese, the salmon crostinis, the tri tip, and the pork stuffed mushrooms appetizers were big hits), but her knowledge of the venue and her flawless setup and attention to detail made me feel like 5-star
Laura's menu was not only incredible (the chicken with pine nuts and cheese, the salmon crostinis, the tri tip, and the pork stuffed mushrooms appetizers were big hits), but her knowledge of the venue and her flawless setup and attention to detail made me feel like 5-star
Alex C.
Oct 06, 2021
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Five Star is just that, Five Star. They deserve and earned all 5 of these stars. I would recommend them to anyone and I would use them again.
Laura was awesome and totally understanding and flexible with all my requests and responsive as she could be with the wedding boom happening this year!
She was super incredible with my food choices and the #1 compliment we have gotten about our wedding was how spectacular the food was both on our rehearsal dinner and our wedding night.
We did a buffet of Mexican food for our rehearsal dinner and goodness it was so good (and I didn't even do a tasting
Laura was awesome and totally understanding and flexible with all my requests and responsive as she could be with the wedding boom happening this year!
She was super incredible with my food choices and the #1 compliment we have gotten about our wedding was how spectacular the food was both on our rehearsal dinner and our wedding night.
We did a buffet of Mexican food for our rehearsal dinner and goodness it was so good (and I didn't even do a tasting
Molly S.
Aug 26, 2021
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Food is incredibly important to my husband and I, so when it came time to select a caterer for our wedding we knew we wanted to work with someone who cared as much about food as we do. Five Star turned out to be the perfect partner for creating a wedding day menu that was memorable, delicious, and locally focused.
From the beginning, we appreciated Five Star's approach. Starting with our first introduction call, Laura was down-to-earth, direct, and a good listener. We knew we wanted a vegetarian menu that focused on local, seasonal ingredients; Laura was immediately on board. She provided
From the beginning, we appreciated Five Star's approach. Starting with our first introduction call, Laura was down-to-earth, direct, and a good listener. We knew we wanted a vegetarian menu that focused on local, seasonal ingredients; Laura was immediately on board. She provided
Zachary Morgan
Aug 15, 2021
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Siberius J.
Jul 24, 2021
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Wow, this is an amazing catering company. We were new to wedding planning and weren't sure about costs, what was included, etc., but Laura was fantastic to work with and the overall cost was very fair. Five Star helped us do it all: in addition to the food, we were able to get a bar and all the rentals we needed. This was incredibly helpful to us because we didn't want to forget anything, and we also didn't want to have to work with a bunch of different vendors to figure out all the rentals we needed. Laura was amazing to work with.
Our guests raved about the food. Typically guests
Our guests raved about the food. Typically guests
Katie Jiunta
Jul 18, 2021
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Laura at Five Star did an amazing job with our wedding day. The food was DELICIOUS and the staff was attentive and professional. We had a seamless day as Five Star helped to put the finishing touches on our wedding. Laura was responsive and even scheduled a walk through with us in person a few days before the wedding since we were coming in from out of town. This walk through helped us to feel supported and relaxed about the wedding day! Laura thought of every last detail. On our day, the food tasted exactly like it did on our tasting and everyone raved about the stuffed mushrooms (app) and short
Yvonne L.
Jul 18, 2021
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We worked super closely with Laura and Five Star Catering with only a short amount of time left until our wedding, and they made our wedding day so much more amazing than we could have even imagined! From the very beginning, Laura was extremely communicative and helped us with deciding a menu and even timeline that worked well with us. We had a milion questions for her, and she always took the time to explain the details to us as well as provide insightful advice. On the actual day of the wedding, the Five Star team was absolutely phenomenal! They went above and beyond in taking care of one of
Vivien P.
Jul 17, 2020
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This review is better late than never. It's been a little over a year since my wedding and I am still so unbelievably happy with how things went. Five Star Catering is AMAZING! I highly recommend them. Laura was so sweet, detailed, professional, and will work with whatever budget you have. I never felt pushed to purchase anything I didn't really want. Everyone said the food was delicious. The only thing that was disappointing was that I didn't get to eat more of the fontina stuffed chicken. Thank you Five Star Catering for your wonderful service and making my day extra special.
Charlie M.
Feb 24, 2020
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Such a shame. Poor communication and response! I tried getting in contact with Five Star Catering multiple times to talk about our catering needs and our wedding. They were referred to us as a preferred vendor. My first email was not responded to, then I sent another follow up email a week later. Got a response from Laura that they were busy with another event but she would be available to talk anytime before 3:00pm the next day. I asked if 11:00am would work, she responded saying she had another call at that time and that she could do 10:30am or 11:30am. I agreed with 10:30am. Called at our scheduled
Yvette S.
Nov 19, 2019
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We were married at Sand Rock Farm and Five Star is a required vendor, which was not a big deal as we didn't have to go searching for a caterer. We were really impressed during the tasting event that was held in February and excited that the food was actually pretty good.
During the wedding day, everything was well-executed and so organized. The table settings were so lovely and simple. The food was pretty pricey, but it included so many elements from appetizers to mixed drinks. We even added a french fry bar as a "late night snack" (that was an additional cost but so worth it)
During the wedding day, everything was well-executed and so organized. The table settings were so lovely and simple. The food was pretty pricey, but it included so many elements from appetizers to mixed drinks. We even added a french fry bar as a "late night snack" (that was an additional cost but so worth it)
Diana F.
Nov 15, 2019
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"No one likes the food at weddings, but yours was actually really delicious." We heard this over and over again after Five Star catered our wedding. And it was true! Our wedding food rivaled that at expensive restaurants. I'm still craving it. There wasn't a single dish that missed the mark. Five Star has some very talented chefs.
Not only was the food delicious, but the servers were great as well. They were professional, prompt, and even took special care to make sure that we ate. While everything was served family style, we were at a sweetheart table and they actually took
Not only was the food delicious, but the servers were great as well. They were professional, prompt, and even took special care to make sure that we ate. While everything was served family style, we were at a sweetheart table and they actually took
Jessica M.
Nov 08, 2019
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My wedding venue recommended them as an affordable option. I had a very small list of required vendors to select from and they all charged an arm and a leg. Five star seemed to offer the most extensive menu and overall best value for the package I was interested in. I like how they offer approachable menus that are not too stuffy. And sooo many ways to customize it. There packages were pretty inclusive with linens if needed. My tasting was SUPERB. The month leading up to my wedding, Wendy was great in communicating and coordinating all the final details and I felt nothing but confidence.
Fast
Fast
Stephanie V.
Sep 23, 2019
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Five Star Catering's name is no misnomer! They were excellent in all respects when we used them to cater our wedding -- their food was delicious (so many of our guests were shocked that this was how good wedding food could be!), their service was fantastic and they were extremely organized and easy to work with. We used the Farm to Table menu which I highly recommend. My friends and family are still talking about their grilled artichokes.
I worked with Wendy the most, who was extremely sweet and so professional -- her and the rest of the 5 Star Staff made my life so easy on the day of the
I worked with Wendy the most, who was extremely sweet and so professional -- her and the rest of the 5 Star Staff made my life so easy on the day of the
K. M.
Aug 28, 2019
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Five Star catered our August 2019 wedding at Sand Rock Farm in Aptos and we are so very happy to have worked with them! From appetizers to dinner to dessert, the food was delicious. Wendy was great to correspond with via email and phone, accommodating many small changes in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Their menu options were great (it was hard to narrow down our choices!) and we appreciated that all costs were clear, reasonable and inclusive of many things that other caterers might have charged separately for. Their staff was also professional and kind during the event. Highly recommended
Ann Fitts
Aug 10, 2019
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I was the mother of the bride, and we financed the October 2019 wedding at the beautiful Sand Rock Farm in Aptos. The venue has a number of required vendors they work with, and Five Star Catering was one of them. Fortunately, they were fabulous to work with, and we could not have been happier with all that they did on our wedding day. How often do you actually hear people compliment wedding food? We have received so many emails complimenting the food and the staff.
There were delicious passed appetizers and drinks during the cocktail hour and dinner was served family-style at round tables. It
There were delicious passed appetizers and drinks during the cocktail hour and dinner was served family-style at round tables. It
Anita Steburg
Aug 01, 2019
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We used 5 Star Catering for my daughter’s wedding. Everyone was raving about the food. The chicken with Fontaine cheese was delicious but my favorite was the root vegetables. They were easy to work with and accommodated special diet requests. The servers and bartenders were very professional and personable. I can not recommend them enough. Thank you 5 Star!
Grace H.
May 30, 2019
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Laura and Wendy and the five star team did an awesome job catering my wedding and I couldn't thank them enough. They are truly professional and provided so many helpful tips during our planning processes. The food was delicious and the portion was generous. The service, set up and clean up was also fantastic. You can tell that they pay attention to lots of details. Everyone on their team was super friendly. Really happy that we hired them to cater our wedding.
Shannon Seigle
Nov 03, 2018
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Outstanding job at monarch cove in capitola..8/25!!.small wedding..about 30 folks..they have very large menu..from which to choose catering choices..food was delicious..they even accomodated a few "picky" eaters..no problem..efficient, professional..very nice folks!!:)..not a single problem..couldnt have asked for better..would highly recommend..easy to communicate with..answered calls right away:)..local folks!! ..also..set up, tables, chairs, etc. All perfect..as you can tell. ...Just cant say enough!!
Katie P.
Oct 28, 2018
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Five Star catered our wedding at the Memory Garden in Monterey a few weeks ago, and everything was amazing from start to finish! We initially liked that Five Star offered us a tasting before we signed a contract with them (the other preferred caterers for our venue would only let us do tastings if we booked them first, which was confusing to me... I wouldn't want book a caterer without trying their food!), and everything at the tasting impressed us. Laura was great to work with, incredibly responsive and accommodating of a variety of guest allergies and preferences. So many people told us
D. G.
Oct 08, 2018
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I am an event planner and I tried Laura's food during one of our events and I was amazed by how delicious it was. I also loved how organized the service was, it was smooth, professional and well managed. From now on Five Star Catering is my number 1 caterer to recommend to my dear clients.
Laura worked with our event theme Masquerade, she added many decor touches as fresh flowers, glass raisers, vases with fillers. We worked together so well! In any party food and guest service are very important and they were amazing!!!
Laura worked with our event theme Masquerade, she added many decor touches as fresh flowers, glass raisers, vases with fillers. We worked together so well! In any party food and guest service are very important and they were amazing!!!
Dia Q.
Mar 29, 2018
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We used 5 Star for our June Wedding at Monarch Cove Inn. Our criteria was that we wanted to bring our own alcohol and they got great reviews. We worked with Laura and she was a pleasure to work with. They were really accommodating with everything we asked for. Everything was workable in some way. My favorite things were the Mushroom Corralitos, Seafood Crepe and Tri-tip. I gave them a recipe of what I make and they did the best they could. If you do this, you should be really specific and not be really disappointed if it's not exactly what you're expecting. All the staff were really friendly
Sinead O.
Apr 30, 2016
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Thanks to Five Star Catering company our wedding was a DREAM. Laura Holmquist was so friendly and helpful from the first day we met her. She was bubbly, positive, open & flexible from our first tasting to the day of our wedding. Everyone we met with was all about helping us make our wedding possible.
We didn't have a wedding planner, and Five Star Catering made it so easy to not have one! They handle all table/chair/linen rental plus delivery and set-up & break-down and pick-up. For place settings, I sent a youtube clip of how I wanted napkins folded, left the menus and decoration
We didn't have a wedding planner, and Five Star Catering made it so easy to not have one! They handle all table/chair/linen rental plus delivery and set-up & break-down and pick-up. For place settings, I sent a youtube clip of how I wanted napkins folded, left the menus and decoration
Fern River Resort
Jun 04, 2014
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Outstanding. Best all around caterer so far for our weddings at our venue. Best equipment, most staff + polite and professional. Professionally dressed. Best food out of 4 different caterers so far. Proper heat and equipment for food safety and best clean up after the event. Does it sound like we are a business who prefers this caterer? We are and we do. There still are two other caterers close to us though who have yet to perform here. Still waiting for the wedding party to choose them so we can compare but 5 star is a great choice.
