The Caterist

About The Caterist

The Caterist

Caterers

Created by Chef Lynda Ross and (personal information protected by Zola) Caterist brings boutique catering to Chicago. We use fresh ingredients, classic techniques, and modern design to bring a truly unique experience to your event. The Caterist is one of the most creative ventures to hit Chicago catering. We like to focus on what our clients want--and we've found they want creativity, dependability and versatility at an affordable price.

Services

Bartenders
Cleanup and breakdown
Consultations and tastings - for a fee
Delivery and setup
Event planner
Rental coordination - directly invoice couple
Serving staff

Cuisines

African
American
BBQ
Cajun
Chinese
Eastern European
Farm-to-table
French
Fusion
Greek
Indian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Latin American
Mexican
Middle Eastern
Seafood
Southern
Southwestern
Spanish
Thai

Dietary accommodations

Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Halal
Kosher
Nut-free
Organic
Vegan
Vegetarian

Meal types

Breakfast/brunch
Buffet
Dessert service
Family-style meal
Food stations
Passed appetizers
Seated meal
Stationary appetizers
Wedding cake service

Beverage services

Bartending
Beverage servingware rentals
Mixers/non-alcoholic options
Provides liquor license

Drink types

Beer
Coffee service
Liquor
Mobile bar
Non-alcoholic
Signature cocktails
Wine

Reviews

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5.0 out of 5

4 reviews

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Bride
•Verified review
•Asher C.•Oct 13
The Caterist was an absolute delight to work with for our wedding! From the very beginning, they were highly responsive, answering all of our questions promptly and addressing any concerns we had. Their communication style was fantastic. The quality of their work was fabulous - they completely customized the menu to our tastes, incorporating cultural foods like delicious fried plantain (which our Caribbean guests raved was the best they'd ever had!) as well as using our own family recipe for mac and cheese. They even created custom cocktails for us with cultural twists. The crème brulee station was perfect. The end result was a truly memorable and personalized menu that all of our guests loved. We couldn't have asked for a better catering experience - highly recommend The Caterist for any couples looking for a fabulous, customizable option for their wedding day! They went the extra mile helping set everything up for dinner! Shoutout to Erin for helping perfectly execute our micro wedding and larger wedding 2 years later!
Great food and service
•Verified review
•Abby•Apr 20, 2025
We loved working with the Caterist for our wedding. We wanted to have our food reflect our family cultures - Polish, Irish and Scandinavian, and the Caterist really created a fun, unique menu for us. We had a vegan meal, and at the tasting we had two options - it was really hard to pick one, because they were both so good! At the wedding, my fellow vegans agreed it was the best vegan dish they had ever had at a wedding, and guests raved about the short ribs - all the food was excellent, as well as the service.They created a perfect signature drink for us for our last winter wedding. One of our favorite parts of the wedding was having dinner together and just watching all our guests enjoy the meal.
Thank you, Caterist!
•Verified review
•Mallory K.•Jan 20, 2025
The Caterist was an absolute dream to work with for our wedding. From their professional and detailed communication style to their accommodating and creative approach, they made the catering process seamless and fun. The quality of their work was truly impressive - the food was delicious, high-end, and high-quality, leaving all of our guests raving. They treated the bride and groom with white glove service, and worked amazingly with our venue to ensure everything ran smoothly. The Caterist was absolutely the right hire for this job, and we couldn't be happier with how they contributed to making our special day perfect.
Amazing
•Verified review
•Jacklyn H.•Sep 22, 2022
The caterist were super professional! The handled every detail of our wedding with ease. We could tell from the moment we went to our first tasting that they were detail oriented and they didn’t disappoint. Our guests raved about the food and the service! We would book them again in a heartbeat!