1. CRAVE CATERING + EVENTS
Craveus.com; 718-643-0361
Marco Morillo and Debbie Lyn have Nobu, Blue Hill, and Payard Patisserie & Bistro on their résumé and Sam Mason as their dessert consultant.
Meal to steal: A rodizio-themed outdoor reception for which they served a rotisserie-roasted pig, and churros with homemade café con leche ice cream for dessert.
2. FEASTS & FÊTES
Danielnyc.com; 212-737-2224
Daniel Boulud’s catering arm. No guarantee you’ll get the man himself, but his team is nearly as good.
Meal to steal: His-and-hers four-course dinner for the wedding of chef Bobby Flay. For the ladies: Scottish langoustines with a ginger crust and Dover sole rissolée with black truffles. For the men: smoked Maine lobster and Vermont stuffed squab with foie gras.
3. FRANCESCA EVENTS, INC.
Francescaevents.com; 646-227-9474
This planner (and French Culinary Institute grad) recruits the likes of Thomas Keller of Per Se, Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill, and Gerry Hayden and Claudia Fleming of North Fork Table & Inn.
Meal to steal: She brought in Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio for a Hamptons feast of hamachi, baby halibut, tuna, Arctic char, and roasted leg and braised breast of lamb.
4. COLIN COWIE LIFESTYLE
Colincowie.com; 212-624-0094
The ne plus ultra of event designers maintains a good rapport with chefs Todd English, Rocco DiSpirito, and Wolfgang Puck and mixologists Dale DeGroff and Will Shine.
Meal to steal: Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s wedding dinner at Spice Market, a family-style four-course supper featuring steamed lobster with butter-fried garlic, and grilled Niman strip steak.
5. TENTATION POTEL ET CHABOT
Tentation.net; 212-564-7530
Nicolas Daeppen reels in Tyler Florence, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Philippe Chow, and Laurent Tourondel.
Meal to steal: A party in Sagaponac where guests dined on Sylvia’s southern home cooking, the happy couple’s favorite Harlem soul food.