Ken's Creative Kitchen

I am the Mother of the Bride and Ken's Creative Kitchen just catered my daughter's wedding reception in Washington DC on Saturday evening. It was spectacular! All of the guests not only raved about how delicious the food was but also how it was presented. The staff was excellent, took wonderful care of all of our guests. Ken helped us plan the entire event. He helped us with the layout, all of the linens and rentals and of course the menu. His creativity and knowledge made this entire planning process a true delight. He has a unique way of allowing the bride and her family to be stress free as he takes care of it all. Ken's Creative Kitchen is extraordinary, absolutely superior. Our "person in charge" that evening was Helen and she could not have done more to make this night an extremely sensational evening. My daughter said "This evening was magical", something she dreamed of, and Ken's Creative Kitchen was a major contributor to the evening to make that all come true.

I don't even know where to begin - Ken's food is DELICIOUS! We are constantly hearing rave reviews of our wedding food and couldn't agree more. The apps, main course and extra desserts were fabulous. Hellen is an absolute GEM! She took care of everything allowing us to enjoy our special day. She even brought us plates of food so that we could take a minute to enjoy it. You mention something to her and seconds later it is done. Our wedding has turned into a foodie's dream wedding -the compliments are still rolling in. I cannot recommend Ken and Hellen enough.

Jamie and her staff were amazing and really helped to make our wedding a perfect event. We went with Fall comfort food - chicken pot pies, green beans, etc..... and various pie for desert. I am still receiving compliments on how amazing the food was. I highly recommend Ken's Creative Kitchen.

There is just no doubt. If you want great catering for a wedding around Annapolis or DC, Ken's Creative Kitchen should be your first choice.My wife and I are both foodies, and so the food for our wedding was a big priority. We spent an enormous amount of time finding just the right caterer. We didn't want the traditional "check the box" boring meal delivered on a plate, and so we expected to have trouble with caterers who were used to that formula. Our first meeting with Ken, however, convinced us that we had found someone who not only shared our love of food, but loved to be creative and come up with new serving ideas. Ken started by catering our picnic "crab feast" the day before our wedding. And it was obvious, from the start, that they would go the extra mile for anyone. That day it was raining - pouring, in fact - and although we were under a pavilion, Ken's team had to find cover to cook and get everything ready. They ran back and forth in the rain dozens of times, moving things back and forth. And not only was the food great, but we never heard a word about the rain, or the conditions. All we heard was "do you need anything else"? They were real troopers.The day of our wedding was amazing. Ken's team, lead by the wonderful planner, Helen, really pulled it together. Not only did they serve amazing food but they coordinated the whole day for us from ceremony to our departure. For the food, we had a little bit of everything, including an oyster bar, a cheese table, passed hour d'oeuvres and four different kinds of wine (and six different types of beer), along with signature cocktails and champagne to serve. We had three different entrees at each table, and a kids table with their own food. All of that, and the serving staff didn't miss a beat. They were constantly out at tables, looking to assist our guests, and making the serving and clearing look effortless. Our planner caught every little detail. We, of course, were so distracted that we barely had time to go get anything - but our planner took care of it all. She pulled a tray of oysters for us before they ran out, so we could try them. And every time we turned around while we were dancing, she was right there with a glass of water (or a slice of cake, to make sure we tried that too!)You know those places that claim to take personal care of you? Well, this one did. We even stopped at Ken's back porch restaurant for breakfast around the time of the wedding and Ken personally came out and congratulated us by name. We wouldn't just recommend that everyone try Ken's. We would say "go there first"! If we have an event in DC or Annapolis again, we won't even look for someone else. We know exactly who will be serving us - and are completely looking forward to it!

Ken and his team are the best in the business! From beginning to end, every aspect of working with them was not only professional but genuinely enjoyable. Ken is an awesome guy with years of experience who offered us helpful and much appreciated advice throughout the entire process. The day of our outdoor wedding was a bit chaotic b/c it was raining, but the minute our catering manager Helen arrived on scene everything started to work out. Helen is an amazingly hardworking and dedicated person and everything she does is with the utmost of care and attention to detail. And with her beautiful face and kind-hearted personality, it sometimes felt like I was talking to my fairy godmother! The kitchen and wait staff were also excellent, no one waited more than a minute for a drink or bread refill -- our guests even commented on how friendly they were and that they all looked nice and put together -- funny that anyone even noticed this let alone commented on it. But this is all part of the outstanding service and quality that you get when you work with Ken. And finally, the food. An overwhelming number of our guests commented that it was not only the best food they've ever had at a wedding, but that the crabcakes, scallops and beef tenderloin were the best they've ever had, period! There is a reason Ken and his staff are the best in the business -- in addition to everything mentioned above, they are also easy to work with, flexible to schedule tastings, understanding with concerns, speedy in responding to calls and emails and always had genuinely positive attitudes. Hiring Ken and his staff was hands down the best decision we made during our wedding planning process.

Jamie and the entire staff at Ken's were AMAZING! Jamie was fantastic to work with throughout the entire process - she was extremely professional and friendly, and overall she is a great person! She was very flexible working with us over the 9 months leading up the wedding. We made several changes to our menu and she was always willing to work with us and offer suggestions and ideas. Hurricane Irene hit the day of our wedding and Jamie and her staff were incredible. We lost power at the reception site and they were not phased - the entire staff was organized and calm. Everything was cooked to perfection (they were literally cooking with propane by candelight!) and we have had so many compliments on the food - over and over I have heard that it was the best meal our guests had ever had a wedding. The food was excellent and presented beautifully. I had a ton of details at the reception site and Jamie made sure everything was set up perfectly - despite the hurricane conditions. She kept the reception running smoothly (even when we found out we had to evacuate the reception site ) and staying calm and organized. Jamie and her staff did an excellent job - I would definitely recommend Ken's Creative Kitchen!

Words cannot even describe how AMAZING Ken's Creative Kitchen is!!! They catered my wedding and did an outstanding job in every way possible. They were my favorite thing (other than my husband) about my wedding! From the beautiful, delicious food, to the friendly, fast service, and the organization of the event. When planning, Ken Upton was extremely helpful in offering ideas to make this wedding unique and fun for not only us, but our guests as well. I knew from the first phone call that we had found our caterer! Helen was our event supervisor, and I LOVED her! She did an incredible job of organizing, and making sure we were well taken care of. She was wonderful with making schedule changes (as we were running late). We watched her run around all evening to make sure everything was going smoothly for us. We did not have to worry about anything on our wedding day because of her and the amazing staff. All of our guests complimented how wonderful the food was ("best filet mignon ever"), and how friendly, hard-working, and efficient the staff was. No one had empty drink glasses all night!! Even my florist said that they treated her so kindly and served her meal as if she was a family member. I was in complete awe of how perfect they made our wedding day. Brides, do not even consider another caterer! Ken's Creative Kitchen is the only caterer I would ever recommend to anyone. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you Ken, Helen, Nicola and all of the staff who made our day better than we could have ever imagined!

Ken and his staff are the easiest, most fun people to work with! Our tasting was not only YUMMY and amazing, but FUN because of Ken! His crabcakes are to die for - that is all our guests talked about. And the best part is, he was cheaper than the other caterers I looked at in the area! Go with Ken! All of our guests had licked thier plates clean at our wedding - I heard it was the best wedding dinner anyone had ever had!

Stop looking right now ... you will not find a more talented, gracious, thoughtful, and efficient catering team anywhere! Ken Upton and his phenomenal staff catered the wedding receptions of both our daughters, one at a venue they used often, and one in a venue completely new to them. Both events. led by Helen as event manager, were so smoothly run, the food so stunningly beautiful and delicious, the timing and flow so perfect, that the compliments from those who attended never stop. Helen is ahead of the game every step of the way, tending to every detail and guiding the staff through an impeccable event from start to finish. Putting a cool beverage in the hand of the bride (or the mother of the bride!) at just the right moment is one tiny example of her thoughtful approach. With so much to take care of in wedding planning, working with Ken gave us complete confidence in the meal being served and the overall management of the reception. He was great fun to work with, and you will not find better value anywhere. Hats off to Ken's Creative Kitchen!

My wedding was a few months ago and my husband and I are still thinking about Ken's!! And we're still regularly craving more of our menu too! Ken and his team are simply the best, and a true joy to work with. I loved every part of my experience with them, and would recommend them to everyone. If in doubt - try out the Back Porch Cafe, you'll be glad you did!

We built our entire wedding around Ken's food -- and then his team knocked our socks off with their service. They are professional, attentive, clean, organized, and adaptable. From the planning stage, where Ken made many tweaks to our menu until we loved the final product, to the day-of, when his team was just amazing, it was all A++++. Oh and by the way, people said this was the best wedding food they'd ever had -- they're still talking about it. Thank you Ken!

My husband and I were married 12/11/10 at the Annapolis Maritime Museum. Ken's Creative Kitchen was an integral part of our wedding planning. Not only did Ken's provide the catering, Ken and Jamie suggested our venue, helped select and coordinated our rental, and recommended other vendors including the cake, tent, and flowers. Ken's really provides the whole package in terms of event planning, they guided us through the entire process. Ken's attention to detail is unmatched, from the China and linen to the elegantly arranged bar Ken truly created an elegant and inviting setting. Ken's staff was wonderful, we couldn't have asked for better service. Helen Stuart was our event manager and she really put us at ease we knew we could trust her 100% and she ran the entire evening flawlessly. Helen guided us through every stage of the evening without it looking 'staged' and coordinated impeccable service by the staff. I would highly recommend Helen as an event manager to anyone hosting an event.And of course, the best attribute of Ken's Creative Kitchen is without a doubt the food! Our wedding was 12/11/10 and we heard rave reviews at every holiday gathering we attended. Our friends and family cannot stop talking about how delicious Ken's food was. If you want to provide your guests with a truly memorable meal look no further than Ken's Creative Kitchen.

I can not say enough about Ken's Creative Kitchen. Everything is superlative. During our recent wedding, a guest from New York City came up to us and said it was by far the best wedding food she had ever had anywhere, including NYC. People wrote us after the wedding to say that our meal rivaled any they had ever had in a fine restaurant. All this was accomplished without a kitchen on the wedding site! Their staff is incredible and the service was impeccable. They are personnable and so easy to work with. Simply the best!

One word: FABULOUS!!!!!! They are not cheap but you definitely get the quality that you pay for. The food is divine!

Ken's Creative Kitchen was AMAZING! I had interviewed four caterers in the area, and chose Ken's Creative Kitchen. Nothing can compare to Ken's. We had a wedding of 200 guests at a venue where Ken and Jamie (our events manager) and Ken's entire staff had to bring in everything, from grills, tables, china, everything. The reception hall was set up exactly how we had envisioned. From the beginning of the cocktail hour to the end of the 5 hour reception, there was not one guest who had to wait for anything. Ken's staff was on top of everything. Drinks were constantly filled, and the dinner for 200 guests was served very promptly - no one waited for anything. My menu consisted of filet and crab cake, potatoes, asparagus and stuffed tomatoes. The food presentation at the wedding was exactly what I experienced at our food tasting. How Ken was able to cook 200 steaks PERFECTLY still baffles me, but he pulled it off 100%! Some of the comments that I received included - "This was the best wedding meal EVER", as well as, "We never waited one minute for a refill on the wine or drinks' and "the servers were the most professional and accomodating staff we have ever seen at a wedding". Also I was told by the venue facility that the reception hall was left the cleanest ever in the history of the weddings held in that facility. Ken made my daughter's wedding the dream that she had envisioned, and we thank Ken and Jamie and all of the staff for making her day exceptional. Do not hesitate to choose Ken's Creative Kitchen for any special occasion. They are definitely the BEST!

I wish there is a 10 on the rating because that is what this company deserve. Our wedding was so perfect. Ken, Tina and their team execute everything flawlessly. We didn't have a wedding planner or decorator, so we provided them with floor plans that shows where all the various items needs to be placed (pillows, candles, lantern, fake mustache, little photos, vases and ..and...and ). They placed everything perfectly. We asked for an Indonesian/Italian food to represent our culture. All of our guests were telling us how good the meal was. We also use Ken's recommendation on the florist and lighting vendor. They were superb. Our day was perfect because of the hard work of Ken's team.

Ken catered my daughter's wedding and did a fantastic job. The food was amazing, the wait staff was wonderful and Helen, our event coordinator, did a perfect job.

Ken Upton and his employees were an absolute pleasure to work with. We chose them because of other weddings we went to they had catered, and we were not disappointed. Planning the reception with Ken was a breeze as he knew more about what to expect than we did. We just followed his lead. Helen, the on site manager, was invaluable. She was very attentive, flexible and made the event easy for us. She deserves an big "thank you". The food was excellent as expected. We had the fillet for the main course... crab cakes, shrimp and spinach filo pastries for appetizers. They also brought chicken and vegetarian which were needed.As far as the catering portion, they made our wedding day perfect.

I don't think my wedding would have happened if it weren't for Ken and his team. We met with them and they completely designed a menu for us and that right there took so much stress of off me. And because of his great reviews we didn't even do a tasting. We didn't need to, everything was beyond words delicious. And as for our event manager, Helen, she is an angel. I felt like I was falling apart on my wedding day, and she was so on the ball it was like she was reading my mind. I had everything I needed before I asked for it (or even knew I needed it). Her voice was just so soothing! She called me throughout the day to let me know how things were going and it was just what I needed. They really did everything for us, I couldn't sing their praises enough. They are the best in the business, that's for sure!

My husband and I were married on July 30th at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Ken's Creative Kitchen catered the wedding. Ken and his staff are superb, especially Helen. Helen was like one of my bride's maids, always ensuring I was ok and anticipated every want/need. She was the warmest and friendliest person at the venue that day, treating guests like family. Everyone that came into contact w/ Helen commented on what a stellar job she did and asked if she could be invited to every party going forward. Now onto the food, there isnt a better crab cake in town. The poor servers didnt get 2 steps outside the doors before they were swarwed w/ guests wanting another crab cake. I would and have recommened Ken and his team to everyone who will listen. I am so grateful that I was able to share my wedding experience w/ such an amazing group of people.