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DaRae and Friends Reviews

DaRae and Friends

DaRae and Friends

Lexington, KY
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Reviews

4.4 out of 5 rating
4.4 out of 5 rating
27 Reviews
88% recommend it
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Awards

27
  • N
    N Wells Sent on 12/16/2021
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    Very Delicious

    Food was delicious, service was excellent, Janet and Vicky were so friendly and helpful, Joe was great and set up the meal perfectly for us. All my friends raved about the wonderful dinner. We will definitely use them again!
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    Tyrone T. Sent on 03/25/2021
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    My Recent Experience

    The food and the staff were 5- Star all the way!
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    Allison H. Sent on 06/18/2019
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    Highly Recommend

    The staff at DaRae's did an excellent job, answered the many questions we had, and helped us to plan the food needed. The food was delicious! We would highly recommend DaRae's for any event, wedding or otherwise. Wonderful experience!
    • illustration stars

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    Cara Sent on 06/05/2017
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    The food at our wedding was delicious, and displayed beautifully. We are still getting compliments about how delicious our food was. They had so many wonderful ideas and were more than willing to accommodate exactly what we wanted.
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    Katie Sent on 11/15/2016
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    The food at our wedding on 6/11/16 was delicious! Darae & friends took our ideas and made everything better than we could have ever imagined! We also used some of their bartenders who were excellent. Would recommend them to anyone, thank you!
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    Ashley Sent on 11/10/2015
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    They did a wonderful job at my wedding! Six weeks later and people are still talking about the food! We saw our friends leaving with to-go cups full of Mac and cheese, my boss mentions the mint tea lemonade once a week, even a speaker at our church brought up the potato bar. Darae was so wonderful to work with. We went with a cheese dip and mini hot Browns as an appetizer and three stations for the meal. We were concerned that it wouldn't be enough food for my finances friends and our hearty relatives, but there was plenty. The staff was just lovely and dealt with the rainy outdoor wedding with no complaints!
  • User2279064 Sent on 08/20/2015
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    We used DaRae and Friends for our wedding on August 1, 2015 and they were wonderful! We had many compliments on how good the food was and how great the displays were. Janice and Jessica out at Fasig Tipton were very easy to work with and very helpful. I will be recommending DaRae to everyone. Job well done!
  • User1859374 Sent on 10/12/2014
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    We got so many compliments on how great the food was! Great Southern food and very flexible to meet our needs. Would highly recommend this vendor!
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    Ann-Michelle Sent on 08/15/2014
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    DaRae and Friends catered our daughters wedding in June of 2014 and we could not have been more pleased with everything her company had to offer. The food was Fabulous! Presentation was top of the line, her staff were marvelous in every respect! We had over 500 guest to serve food and drinks to and a Cocktail Hour plus Burgers and Fries and Milk and Cookies! Every detail was taken care of by DaRae and her hard working professional staff! They brought our family leftovers for the following two days. Not many caterers are going to do that! And the travel time was over an hours distance! If you are planning a wedding for your daughter I highly recommend DaRae and her wonderful staff. In my book they are Top Notch!!
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    Whitney Sent on 05/17/2014
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    Great to work with and was very accommodating! The food was a hit with all our guests and they are still talking about it! Morrison was great to meet and she was able to accommodate all requests considering we love 5 hours away.
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    Katelyn Sent on 11/04/2013
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    I'm from Kentucky but currently live in Florida and my husband is from Alaska. When we decided to get married in Lexington I knew I wanted to have a very "Kentucky" wedding. Choosing Fasig-Tipton and Darae&Friends was the best decision I could've made. Everything about my experience was top-notch. Everyone I worked with takes a great pride in what they do and customer service. They are quick to respond with any questions you have concerning food, venue, etc... I could go on for days about how wonderful everything was but I think this will sum it up. People raved over our wedding but if I had a nickel for every time someone said, "this is the best food I've ever had at a wedding" I'd be a rich woman. The presentation, the uniqueness of the menu, service of servers...makes me smile just thinking about it. My wedding day was the best day of my life and I have DaRae and Friends to thank for that.
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    Kendra Sent on 05/30/2013
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    DaRae's services was absolutely fabulous!!! I was so impressed with the quality and quanity of food and of friendliness!!!! Thank you Thank you for your total awesome service and food! I can't thank you enough!
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    Susan Sent on 03/05/2013
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    My husband and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about Darae and friends . Not only was the food outstanding , the service they provided us with from beginning to end was exceptional. It's very evident that they know what their doing ! Not only did I (the bride) highly enjoy the food and service, my entire bridal party and wedding guests did too. I am still getting complements from friends about how delicious the food was!! I would definetely recommend them to anyone. They truly care about their clients needs. I even had to change some things around last minute, and didn't stress because they were already on top of it! Will for sure be using them again, such a great menu etc and I am so delighted to have had them be a big part of my big day!
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    Laura Sent on 10/31/2010
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    We had such wonderful and delicious food from Derae & Friends Catering. We had an opportunity to meet with DeRae before actually booking them and she made us feel so comfortable about the whole process that we had to go with them. A few weeks before the wedding, we got to have our tasting and loved everything. We even got to take leftovers home from the tasting! As the guests arrived at the reception, they had hors'doeuvres and tea passed in mason jars for the. We had an afternoon wedding, so our food was a buffet of hors'doeuvres. By the time I got there, my mom had asked them to open the rest of the buffet, so I didn't get to see it as it We had fruit and cheese, hot mushroom dip, bacon & cheese spread, chicken dijon croissant sandwiches, ham biscuit sandwiches, grilled vegetables, bruschetta,and cream cheese & craisin pinwheels. It's hard to pick my favorite, but I think my favorite was the chicken dijon croissant sandwiches. I heard multiple people rave over the hot mushroom dip and you can't go wrong with their Southern-traditional ham biscuit sandwiches. They made up a huge basket of plates for me and my husband to take with us, but we also ended up with all the leftovers at our house. Great food and we didn't have to worry about anything!
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    Blair Sent on 01/27/2010
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    DaRae and her staff did an amazing job catering my wedding! They worked with me on the theme of the food and how it should be displayed. They bent over backwards to make me and my family happy on this special day. DaRae set up a wonderful tasting for my family and now husband. This was so helpful in solidifying our decisions on what we wanted. Once DaRae knew that I wanted a Kentucky themed wedding, she had no shortage of wonderful ideas for food and an amazing signature cocktail that EVERYONE who attended our wedding still raves about today! They were also willing to work with me on the cost which was so helpful given how expense weddings are. I will ALWAYS use DaRae and Friends Catering for any event I host in the future.
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    Jen Sent on 01/26/2010
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    DaRae & Friends catered our wedding & they exceeded my every expectation! They were BEYOND helpful in every aspect of the event in which they were involved. They put my mind at ease when it came to planning & preparation. They delivered a GORGEOUS buffet of yummy food, provided helpful servers & were an all around fantastic value. A year and a half later I still have family & friends raving about what a great experience they had...and someone ALWAYS brings up the tasty food! I am so thankful for their service on our special day!
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    Erin Sent on 01/27/2010
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    DaRae and Friends did an amazing job creatively making my dreams and more happen. My guests felt honored with each detail and abundance that soared over the expectations of most. It was a mix between comfortable hospitality and luxary. I love DaRae; she and her staff are so easy to work with.
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    Lindsay Sent on 10/18/2015
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    We used DaRae for our wedding reception and cannot say enough good things. We got married on September 26, 2015 and are still getting frequent compliments on the food three weeks later. The buffalo chicken wontons are probably the greatest thing you'll ever eat! I'd recommend DaRae to anyone looking for a caterer and would definitely use them again!
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    Amanda Sent on 06/12/2008
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    This caterer was great for our small outdoor wedding reception. They decorated really nicely with the colors of our wedding and they were excellent about making sure people had drinks, etc. They did mess up on one of our food selections and ended up giving us the wrong thing but we go refunded on all of it. They were great to work with!!!
  • User1082824 Sent on 02/01/2013
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    Being in the wedding industry myself, I have met and dealt with many different caterers, and DaRae and Friends is among the best. From the beginning stages to the final event, they helped with whatever I needed. DaRae herself sat and met with us several times, which was a great personal touch. Our reception (at the Bodley Bullock House) couldn't have gone smoother. We received rave reviews on the food (especially the bacon cheddar cheese ring and the tomato bisque shots with mini grilled cheese!). The staff was excellent, even helping us to cut and serve the cake at no cost. I highly recommend DaRae and her staff to any bride who is searching for a professional, experienced and talented caterer.
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    Brooke Sent on 07/13/2016
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    If you are a central Kentucky bride, selecting DaRae and Friends for your catering makes for a truly memorable reception. From the first time I met with DaRae, her calm confidence put to ease my stress about making one of the biggest decisions of the planning process. DaRae kindly hosted not one but two tastings for me to accommodate my fiancé’s and mother’s schedule. We were thrilled with the incredible variety of choices, the high quality of all the food, and the ability to customize our menu in a detailed fashion to craft a unique reception. After our tastings, choosing DaRae was such a simple, easy choice.

    It is worth noting that we did have some communication issues between the tastings and the wedding. For a span of about a month (two months before my wedding), it was very difficult to get in touch with DaRae via email and phone to confirm our final menu selections and arrange our last payment installment. However, about three weeks before my wedding, communication issues were resolved, and the staff became much easier to contact.

    The reception confirmed our decision as DaRae and her wonderful staff surpassed all expectations. Guests were thrilled with the unique “stations” of food that promoted mingling as opposed to one long buffet line, and many commented that it was the best food they had ever eaten at a wedding reception. Furthermore, the incredibly thoughtful on-site workers ensured that my husband and I ate by bringing food to our sweetheart table, checked on us throughout the evening to bring us another bite to eat or keep our glasses full, and sent home hearty portions of leftovers at the end of the night.
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    Hannah Sent on 07/09/2013
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    The food was amazing and they set up the whole reception for us. The only negative thing was their response time was slow and the communication was lacking. When he came down to it, the reception was beautiful and the food outstanding and they did a great job overall.
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    Amelia Sent on 08/31/2011
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    We were very pleased when we met with DaRae and the final product was wonderful. On subsequent visits we met with Beverly who we were not impressed with. In personal visits and telephone conversations, we mentioned having two specific beverages, but somehow those never made it into the notes (these were important because it was a 95-degree July wedding day!). It wasn't until I called and left a message with another employee that Beverly finally realized that we wanted those added to our day. Beverly also had informed us to expect 6 servers and in reality 7 were present which was problematic because we had only set aside 6 envelopes with tips. So overall, the food was good but we expected more in the way of customer service.
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    Sarah Sent on 07/28/2011
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    First off for the good news- the food was absolutely wonderful. We have gotten nothing but rave reviews, and we both loved it too. Now for the bad news: we were told from the first meeting we had that local food (including the pork) would be absolutely no problem. We actually went with DaRae and Friends for this reason (it was really important to us). We asked during the tasting, and were told it would be okay. And then one week before the wedding, an e-mail statement was "we'll do our best". Not okay. Also, the per person food price jumped substantially ($2.50) two weeks before the wedding- which was when we actually finally saw the summarized food costs/contract (before then only verbal agreements). Not okay. Also, there were certain things that had been communicated via e-mail that I was being asked about while taking photos, despite having already communicated them much earlier. Not okay. And finally, there was an unknown photographer in the reception hall prior to the ceremony whom I learned by introducing myself, worked for DaRae and Friends. He was not only taking photos of the food, but was also taking photos of me during my standing alone time just prior to the ceremony, which was weird. It would've been nice if someone had let me know this guy was going to be there beforehand, and had discussed what the photos would be used for, etc. I'm still kind of creeped out by it. Not okay.
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    Cindy C. Sent on 05/07/2022
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    Run, don’t walk, to another caterer.

    I cannot fully express my disappointment in this catering service. Besides being an hour late and arriving at the same time as our guests, there were many other issues.
    The bar and appetizer should have been set up and ready when the guests arrived.
    Obviously they were not. I was led to believe DaRae arranged beautiful fruit and cheese arrangements. This so called “display” was laid at the end of the buffet table and not very impressively arranged. This was set up minutes prior to dinner, not at the beginning of cocktail hour. Our invoice shows both mint tea and lemonade. Bourbon was poured into the tea making it not drinkable for the kids and teenagers in attendance. The lemonade and water decanters were nonexistent.
    Thus at least ten of our guests had nothing to drink. Though the shrimp and grits were tasty, they were served on the plate separately; as though the grits were one dish and the sauce was another. I’ve always had shrimp served over the grits. The portions were meager, explaining the full pans of shrimp and grits brought out after the guests were served.
    The servers and attendants did the best they could, but were obviously in over their heads. I don’t believe they were properly trained for the tasks they were performing. The bartender reeked of smoke. What we planned to be a beautiful tribute to our son and his bride turned out to be an embarrassment. I would have been more pleased with this company had they told us from the beginning that they did not want our business. Needless to say, I will discourage anyone from using this caterer.
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