Real Kitchen Reviews

From the very start Nick showed his professionalism, attention to detail and culinary genius in planning the catering for our wedding celebration. The food is unparalleled, and our guests couldn’t stop raving about it - the food was the #1 compliment we received from our wedding in May 2019!

The Real Kitchen team was instrumental in making our big day a success. In addition to planning & executing the delicious menu, Nick also organized all the necessary rentals (linens, flatware, glassware, highboys, cake stand, etc) and made sure to choose value options to help us keep costs conservative. We appreciated how detailed his proposal was compared to other vendors in breaking down all these costs for us. He was transparent throughout the process and also thoughtful - after our tasting we went home with all the leftovers packed up in eco-friendly containers :)

Nick also provided invaluable help planning our bar (we purchased alcohol outright & are so glad we listened to his advice on which store to use and what to buy). His & Real Kitchen's efforts really made the reception go extremely smoothly and allowed us to kick back and enjoy the evening. What more could you ask for? The service was top notch and the food was even better!

When we asked to do something a little different for coffee service they were flexible and accommodating. Even in the initial menu proposal they included ingredients from my region of origin which was a really nice personal touch. The room setup was also done perfectly and exactly as we had envisioned it. All of our requests were met with ease and professionalism, and the event went impeccably smoothly. Highly recommend Real Kitchen for their incredible food, professionalism, flexibility, and attention to detail! Great caterer!

Nick from RealKitchen is very easy to work with. We had a Sunday brunch style wedding and he put a great menu together. Everyone commented on how good the food was. If you want a boring chicken, fish, or red meat set plate menu, go elsewhere. If you want great unique food choices for your wedding, go to Real Kitchen!

Nick and his team were nothing short of amazing on our wedding day! My wife and I had initially booked a venue where the food was included with the space so we had no need for a caterer. That all changed when our venue burnt down 3 months before the wedding. We had to frantically re-plan the whole day in under 3 months, and of all the caterers we reached out to Nick was far and away the most helpful in working with us to get us everything we wanted within the same price range as our previous venue. We didn't even have time to set up a tasting before the wedding, we just went into the night hoping the food would be good. It was incredible! My family are in the restaurant business so they can be some tough critics when it comes to food but every single one of them still raves to me almost a year later (I'm a little late on the review) about how great the food was at our wedding. The staff was equally as amazing as the food was, they were all nice and never missed a beat. Huge shout out to everyone on the Real Kitchen team, especially Nick - you all made our wedding the best night it could possibly be!

This review is long overdue for our amazing wedding caterer. Real Kitchen prepared amazing food for our wedding day. We did family style dining but they provide a number of detailed quotes for buffet and a la carte throughout the planning process. They were easy to work with, helping us choose seasonal foods, and adjusting with us as our guest count inevitably changed. Real Kitchen did an absolutely phenomenal job staying in communication throughout the entire process and I would use them again in a heartbeat.

Nick and his team at Real Kitchen did an amazing job catering our wedding. Often times, guests go into a wedding expecting the food to be mediocre, but our guests are still raving to us about how good each of their meals were! Nick did an amazing job creating a menu that reflected the food tastes my husband and I have, and he managed to accommodate all of our guests’ many different dietary restrictions. The staff working our wedding were extremely professional, organized, and pleasant. They were very attentive to all of our guests and ensured the food and drinks were served on time and plated to the appropriate person without having to ask each guest what they ordered. Finally, our bartenders were also amazing. They made our specialty cocktails perfectly and engaged in fun interactions with our guest. We could not recommend Real Kitchen enough for a wedding or special events catering-they do fantastic work!

My husband and I made a point to only working with vendors who were easy to work with, flexible, responsive and organized. Real Kitchen was all of that and more. Nick, the executive chef was amazing to work with and such a talented chef. We never worried once during the whole wedding planning process because Nick and his staff were so incredible. We did not work with a wedding planner and we still felt so relaxed and everything went so smoothly. Even the pickiest of eaters at our wedding had clean plates and were raving about the food! Quality and perfection! Highly recommended.

Nick and the members of Real Catering were fun and great to work with. Nick accommodated apps requested by us that he doesn't normally do and they turned out great. He provided guidance when we needed it, but let us plan the food and service based on our preference. His serving staff was sweet and efficient. Everything turned out perfect! We were really impressed with their professionalism, the food and service.

Working with Nick was AMAZING.
He's such a chill dude, yet very detail-oriented, thorough, talented, and considerate.

Some couples may enjoy catering tastings, but we honestly them to be pretty awkward. Our tasting at Real Kitchen was the exception -- Nick listened to what we wanted, providing smart suggestions on how to optimize the food and keep costs in check, and delivered some kick-ass food.

Throughout the process, Nick was on the ball with making sure we were covered in terms of crew, rentals, and planning. His team made our ceremony cocktail (which our guests were delighted by), handled the room flip, ensured our guests had ample drinks and appetizers, and made dinner happen. Also, when we were craving some pre-ceremony snacks, the catering lead brought us an overflowing plate of appetizers that got us through the night. All of our requests were handled with ease and the entire experience was great.

We could not recommend Nick and the Real Kitchen team more highly! Book them!!

My husband and I got married March 31, 2018 at Ovation in Chicago, and Real Kitchen catered our wedding. The food was unreal and the service was perfect.

From the very beginning of meeting and working with Executive Chef Nick Schmuck, we knew the execution of the menu and logistics would go off without a hitch. Nick is friendly, organized, super talented, and is an expert at implementing large scale events. He had great advice for us in the beginning of our planning process regarding our timeline for the day, and other great odds and ends. It was really helpful and appreciated!

During our tasting, we were blown away by the caliber of all of the dishes! Our friends who strongly recommended working with Nick were 100% right. We loved how simple, yet flavorful and beautiful all the dishes were. The ingredients were top notch and we really liked how the majority of the dishes were vegetable-forward. Our guests very much enjoyed that too!

We loved our entire menu, but if we had to pick our favorite dishes were the Mojo Roast Pork “Cuban” with Smoke Ham, Gruyere, & Cornichon (aka mini Cuban sandwich) / Prosciutto Tart with Romesco, Dates, & Almonds / Moroccan Pork with Apricot, Prunes, Couscous, & Pistachios / Green Beans with Shallot & Garlic Confit & Roasted Tomatoes, and Roasted Beets with Orange & Fennel.

Our friends and family members were also blown away by our menu, and are still talking about how amazing and memorable our wedding food was!

Additionally, Nick handled all rentals and hiring staff for the evening, which was a huge help! Everything he recommended was perfect and we wouldn’t have changed anything.

Bottom line: please consider Real Kitchen to cater your wedding. You won't regret it, and everyone will absolutely love the food!

Real Kitchen catered our wedding. The entire experience was amazing. We first saw Real Kitchen on a Facebook ad and decided to reach out to them after getting quotes from a series of overpriced and unsatisfying better known options. In our initial email, I told Nick of our limited budget. About 30 minutes later Nick replied "I like a challenge, I think we could make something work for you." A few days later we sat down with Nick for a sampling, not only was it the best food we had, true to his word, Nick put together a really affordable quote and even recommended a place to get a reasonable quote on alcohol.

A few weeks before our wedding, we realized we had a little extra money in the budget for appetizers. Again, Nick stepped up and offered us a reasonable package for appetizers, too.

We corresponded with Nick periodically throughout the process and he couldn't have been more helpful. By the end, we were consulting him about things not even related to the food.

Come the wedding day, everything was perfect. The tables were prepped and looked amazing! The food was amazing. Two weeks later, people are still calling me and raving about the food, especially the salmon appetizer, the vegetarian lasagna, cheesy polenta and the short rib. Just to put in perspective how amazing the food was, one of my guests was herself a wedding caterer. She said this was the best food she has ever had at a wedding.

In addition to the food, the catering staff was also amazing. The captain in particular stood out. He came up early in the night, introduced himself, and encouraged us to have a good time as everything would be taken care of. He didn't lie. Every instinct I had to worry about something going wrong or being unattended, he was two steps ahead of me.

Between the amazing food and amazing staff, Real Kitchen really came through for us.

Real Kitchen catered our wedding three weeks ago, and words will never do justice about how amazing this crew is and the food is. From the moment we spoke with Nick, he was the only caterer in Chicago to work with our budget and our needs. He took the time to talk us through the pricing and what all was included and worked to get us the lowest cost possible, all while providing the best food we have ever tasted. After our initial phone conversation, we need that after we had our tasting we were booking him. It isn't often that you get a chef that is willing to meet you halfway and make your wants/needs important. Nick is the man.

On top of being the only caterer to work with our budget, this is hands down the best meal we have ever eaten. From cocktail, to dinner and everything in between this food was absolutely incredible. We have people to this day coming up to us saying that they felt like they were eating the best home cooked meal they've ever tasted while at our wedding. The food, service and people who work here stole the show! The best part is Nick takes fresh seasonal foods and incorporates them into the menu. We had our wedding tasting in the spring, so some of the vegetables were different at our wedding, but he told us that from day one which made me even more excited to know that the food was so fresh and so clean clean!

I will never be able to express how much we appreciate Nick, and Real Kitchen. They were absolutely incredible and I will vouch for them any day! Thank you so much!!

We used Real Kitchen Catering for our wedding and could not have been happier! Nick and the staff were very professional and helpful in every aspect of the process. We simply told them what our typical favorites are, and they created a delicious menu. Our guests were getting seconds and we didn't have to worry about a single thing throughout the night. We highly recommend them for any event or a stop in for lunch/dinner!!

Real Kitchen catered our wedding reception and did an awesome job. We worked with Nick and he was helpful and knowledgeable. He was fast with responding and was willing to work with us on budgeting. He had great referrals that we used without even looking up other vendors because we just trusted him. On the big day the staff was perfect. They kept the buffet stocked, tables clean, and I even saw them bringing water to the guests (it was a cocktail reception so this was above what we expected from the staff) The food was also delicious! We had friends and family commenting us on it all night. Our experience with Real Kitchen was perfect and we recommend them for your upcoming wedding.

I had read about Real Kitchen on Check Please a while back and found them again in my initial wedding caterer search. I wanted a caterer who was sustainable and affordable and that was almost impossible to find. We also had a lot of dietary restrictions to accommodate and we wanted to spend about 1/2 per head than is typical. From the first responsive email exchange to the night of the wedding and the thank yous after-every interaction with Nick and his company was fantastic. He runs a very mission driven business and it shows in everything he does. From his attention to detail, how he sources ingredients, and who he includes in his business-his talent and values shine through. He was so creative in the menu and we received a compliment on the food from virtually every guest that attended. We had a delicious brisket, a cajun chicken dish, a succotash, a seasonal fruit and veggie salad, a roasted cauliflower dish, and several amazing canape options. We also included Khaled's pastries for dessert. Nick is providing a place for a Syrian baker to bake and sell his pastries while he and his family adjust to living in Chicago. The pastries were absolutely delicious. We need more businesses like this in Chicago! He also very easily and affordably made changes to the invoice for last minute requests. I couldn't believe how affordable it all was. I plan to frequent the restaurant for years to come and tell everyone I know to hire Real Kitchen any opportunity they get.

Real Kitchen catered our wedding and it’s going to be hard for me to express quite how much I love them! We had about 90 guests, cocktail style, with an eclectic menu that Nick generated for us during our initial tasting. I knew I liked him when I asked what the tasting fee would be and he responded with, Nothing- you’re about to get robbed left and right, just by getting married, and I won’t make it worse! Real Kitchen was our first tasting, and we had tastings with several other caterers, but we kept thinking about the great food and variety in Nick’s menu, and had to go with them.

For our tasting we had a sampling of the menu, made a couple of small adjustments, and then trusted that everything we didn’t taste would be delicious (we were correct)! Nick was always available via email or phone to discuss our plans and ensure that we felt comfortable with everything happening. He was really conscious of our budget and worked with us to provide cost-saving ideas, where it wouldn’t negatively impact his services, and his pricing was super reasonable overall. His original quote was within a few hundred dollars of the final amount- it was awesome not to have a huge jump in cost once we finalized our numbers and contract!

For the event, the staff was amazing!! We loved them all- super attentive to my husband and I especially. The bartenders made drink suggestions and kept everyone filled in a super timely manner. The servers did a great job of navigating the crowds and getting the food out and the food was served as it was ready (instead of a one-time put the buffet items out), which worked great.

My only regret is that I didn’t get to eat more, but that’s how weddings go! Everything I did have was delicious and Nick and his staff really made the evening wonderful. Our guests have all been talking about how delicious everything was- we wouldn’t have changed a thing, and we can’t recommend Real Kitchen highly enough!!

We used Real Kitchen for the catering at our wedding at Prairie Production last week and it was absolutely wonderful! From the beginning, food was pretty much the most important thing to me for our big day (hey, I like to eat). After getting quotes from a handful of places that either seemed too expensive, too fussy, or just not delicious enough, what sold me was Nick's friendly, easygoing approach and the amazing menu he proposed. After the tasting where we cleaned our plates, we were sold! He would have happily adjusted things for us, but honestly we didn't want to change a thing. At the wedding, people could not stop raving about the food and I continuously heard that it was the best wedding food they had ever had, and in some cases, just the best food they had ever had. I felt like what we got for our money, both in quantity and quality, was excellent. We also can't say enough about how friendly and attentive the bartenders and wait staff were. Nick is awesome and the food is awesome, what more can you ask for? Thank you so much for making it a perfectly delicious evening!

Real Kitchen’s food is delicious and everything just got better from there. Nick worked with us to provide the right variety of foods, meeting all guests’ needs, as well as the ingredients that allowed us to stay within our budget. His team took care of all set up and tear down for both the ceremony and reception. The entire staff was unbelievably helpful. They did all table settings, set up flowers and table decorations, passed drinks and additional food items when needed, tended the guest book and gift tables to ensure they were organized and easily accessible all night, and set up our favors. They did a terrific job adjusting the setup of tables and seats when things didn’t fit exactly according to our layout. Anytime we started to move or set up something on our own, someone was there immediately finding out exactly what we needed and taking it over for us. The bar tenders were terrific and also on top of things. We can’t say enough about what a huge help the whole catering staff was – they did more than we could have asked for and continuously put our minds and our families’ minds at ease throughout the night.

Nick and his team catered our wedding back in September. Planning a wedding from a distance is not easy - I was living on the West Coast when planning and moved to the East Coast when it was wedding time.. oh and I was abroad for the month before my wedding. He helped with rentals, planning and executing the menu as well as hiring the servers and bartenders!

Nick was so open to our ideas and indulged last minute requests without changing the price too much on us. He really helped keep the costs reasonable which was a big deal for us as we paid for our own wedding. His staff was super easy to work with and the bartenders he hired helped make and serve three signature cocktails and a punch without long lines. Another piece of advice - don't skimp on waiters and bartenders - never want a line for those things!

My husband and I also LOVE food - 30th birthdays at French Laundry.. birthday trips for tacos to Mexico City.. wanting to eat at random restaurants in obscure foreign city type of people, and Nick's food honest to God did not disappoint, both in taste and quantity. Food is the thing people continue talking about after a wedding and ours were all positive. This is not a category you want to skimp on. People will forget lighting, if you had a fan or not at the ceremony or even a menu, but people will remember the food (+ alcohol).

The process was easy, the food was tasty and Nick is an awesome guy - what more could you want from a caterer?!

Nick catered my wedding in August and it was AMAZING. The wedding was large, ~300 people and despite the size and the challenging circumstances of our wedding venue, Real Kitchen did a fabulous job. Right from the start they were really helpful - from advising on the what types of dishes would work best given the size of our group to working with our budget to being responsive to the culinary ideas and preferences we had. Nick came up with an amazing menu that reflected the venue we were in and our goal of having a menu that our guests were excited about. Not only was the menu impressive, the food was DELICIOUS the day of the wedding. Compliments continue to pour in from our guests who were so impressed by the food. Real Kitchen was also really helpful with logistics - selecting and ordering rentals, finding staff (including bartenders) and at the end of the night cleaning up the venue. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thanks so much Real Kitchen!

Many, many thanks to Real Kitchen for catering our wedding in June. This was a complicated occasion:

- A home setting
- 125 guests, including some who are gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and nut-free
- Five different waves of food, each with approximately 5 items, during a 12-hour open house
- A home kitchen that served as both the kitchen and the primary passageway through the house (In other words, lots of hands sneaking samples and waiting to pounce on the food before it could even be fully plated.)

Nick customized our menu to work for both our tastes and our setting. The cuisine, which ranged from Pesto Arancini with Roasted Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella to Jambalaya to Beef Kalbi with Kimchi Lettuce Wraps to Butternut Squash and Black Bean Empanadas, was superb. While our setting was casual, the flavors of the food were very sophisticated. Everything was put together fresh in our kitchen. Kerri and Alex cooked up a storm in front of our guests for almost 12 hours and never lost their patience, their smiles, or any of the dishes :) !

The most common comment we heard from our guests at the party was, "I should have stopped eating hours ago, but everything is just so good!" Coming from our food-obsessed friends and from family members who own restaurants in other states, this was very high praise. Several months later, our guests are still talking about how good the food was -- So much so, that my husband insisted we name our new cat Real Kitty in honor of Real Kitchen.

Many thanks to Real Kitchen for your role in making our special day memorable and delicious.

Nicole F. and John B.

Real Kitchen catered my daughter's wedding and it was fantastic! I can't say enough great things about Nick and his staff. The food was outstanding. We are still getting compliments on how good everything was, and many people said they have never had such amazing food at a wedding. The appetizers were unique and beautiful. We did family style serving and it worked out great. The service was very quick and guests were able to try all the incredible food. The food was hot and so delicious! The servers were pleasant and helpful and did a great job of cleaning up. We had Nick handle everything from the food to the table, linens, and dish rental. He was patient, and went through details we had missed. It made our lives so much easier. We only had to deal with him, and he took care of everything. It all went very smoothly and was a very reasonable cost for the great quality and ease of organization. I would highly recommend Real Kitchen for catering and to grab a meal. We always managed to eat when we met with Nick. I highly recommend Real Kitchen. They are exceptional!

Real Kitchen had catered my wedding last weekend at the Floating World Gallery and exceeded my expectations! They worked within my budget and cooked the most delicious meal. I would highly recommend the braised beef short ribs with mashed potatoes. All of my guests raved about how great the food was at the wedding. One of my bridesmaids actually told me that she would have licked the plate if she was home alone eating the meal but didn't feel it would have been appropriate in a wedding setting. And Nick was so easy to work with and I couldn't thank him enough!

Coming from Minnesota to my daughters Chicago wedding , I was a bit nervous. Nick provided the highest quality of service to our family. The food was absolutely outstanding! The bride loved it , and she's a chef also in the area. Every detail was taken care of in a very timely matter. As I kept inquiring about things Nick was very professional and did everything I asked. I would highly recommend Real Kitchen and Nick for your wedding!!!
Lucy and Andy Carl
Stephanie and Steve Cascio

Our wedding was perfect and I loved everything about it, Real Kitchen helped make our day perfect! Over and over I have had friends and family tell me how amazing the food was! Nick and everyone at Real Kitchen were a delight to work with and made the catering one thing I didn't need to worry about. Thank you, Nick for coming up with a unique menu for us that was perfect for everyone!

Nick and the Real Kitchen team catered my wedding this past weekend, and we couldn't have been happier. After reaching out and talking to multiple vendors, we knew Real Kitchen was the right choice for us. We knew we wanted to excel in the food and beverage area for our wedding. After our tasting with Nick, we knew his food was far and away above what we tasted prior to him. He really geared the menu to what we liked and made it our own, and we were amazed at how delicious it was. Nick had great communication throughout the process and was always open to come up with ideas on how we could stay within our budget. Our guests raved about how great the food was at our wedding, and how it was "us". Just about all anyone can ask for. Real Kitchen is the real deal.