Feel Good Foods

Four words: OUT OF THIS WORLD. Amy and her team really brought their A-​game when they catered our wedding in San Francisco this October. I initially found Feel Good Foods as a preferred vendor through a different venue, but decided to keep her on when we went with another location. Amy was super communicative from the get-​go, absolutely willing to make changes and additions to the menu. We had several vegan guests at our wedding and we had no problems incorporating their dietary needs. There were a few hiccups during the event itself, but that was more due to guests not realizing that the vegan entrees were not part of the family style menu, not a result of Amy’s team making mistakes.
The food – my god, the food. It was fabulous! In my experience, wedding food is at best okay, in most cases unmemorable, and at worst, just plain bad. It is typically never worth the cost per person. Feel Good Foods blew my expectation out of the water. We elected for a family style meal, which meant instead of spending time plating individual plates and letting food get cold in the meantime, they were able to serve more quickly and the food was piping hot when it came out. In particular, I need to mention the swordfish. This was actually a last minute change – we originally planned to have sea bass, but it turned out that sea bass would not be available (all of FGF’s food seasonal, organic, and locally sourced). How fortuitous this turned out to be, as this was my favorite part of the meal and probably the best swordfish I’ve ever had in my life. We ended up taking some leftovers back to our room, and 5 hours later, it was still delicious.
The catering package we chose came with pre-​ceremony spritzers (N/​A), two bar snacks, three passed appetizers, a salad, two entrees (plus plated vegan entrees), two sides, coffee/​tea service, and cutting/​serving of our cake. Given the quality of food and the service, I would have gladly paid much more than we did. I would consider it an absolute steal to get that same meal at a restaurant for the per person cost.
All in all, I can’t recommend Feel Good Foods enough. The ease of communication and coordination with Amy prior to the event, and the service and food during the event itself were nothing short of outstanding. Thank you for making my wedding – dare I say it – the greatest wedding of all time!

Upon the recommendation of our wedding planner, Diane Allen in Big Sur, Feel Good Foods was the caterer for our wedding. Did they impress! I come from a family of foodies, and we were all thrilled with Amy’s work. From the specialty cocktails to dinner to late night carnitas tacos by the fire pit, everything was incredible! (I still think about that romesco sauce :)
If you have a chance to work with Amy, do. Her prices are very reasonable for what she provides, and she is very talented! If farm-​to-​table is your thing, you will be very pleased with her — we sure were!

[Late is better than never]
Through some good luck, we found Feed Good Foods catering for our wedding (which occurred in August 2013). Simply put, they were amazing. The food was great tasting (it’s a year later and when people talk about our wedding, they still talk about how great the food was), the food was beautifully plated, and Amy was extremely easy to work with. For instance, we wanted to have ‘family style’ service at the tables (to enhance the feeling of community and together-​ness vs. having a buffet or individually plated meals) and she was extremely accommodating of this request, which was admittedly different.
The day of the wedding, they just took care of everything and were even able to deal with some unexpected mishaps without breaking a sweat. We just had complete peace of mind working with Feel Good Foods: I cannot imagine a better catering service (especially for the price).

Feel Good Foods just catered the dinner for our wedding – after 32 years together – and the food was delicious, the service lovely, and everything absolutely outstanding. In addition to all that, we had the party at the home of a friend and there was what could have been a major disaster (in a word – sewage) right before the ceremony. This necessitated changing the location of the tables, band, bar, food preparation, etc. which Amy directed all in a matter of minutes and with such calm that we, the bridal couple, didn’t even know anything about it until afterward! This is professionalism at its highest level. So if you want not only fantastic food but protection against any emergency, Amy Padilla is your go to woman!
Ellen and Janet

Feel Good Goods catered our wedding reception and it was just wonderful! The food was truly outstanding and was presented beautifully too. They helped make our reception really special and memorable — so many people commented on how delicious things were. We didn’t have a wedding planner or any other «vendors» except for FGF as we just simplified or had friends & family helping with things. Amy was so organized from the beginning that we felt really comfortable just letting them do their thing and everything went perfectly. They handled all the rentals too which was so helpful. It was really important to us to have the food at our wedding be really special and that’s exactly what this was! THANKS!

Feel Good Foods catered our wedding and they did a fantastic job. We had looked into a few different caterers that specialize in local, organic food and Feel Good Foods was the most reasonably priced and came with great recommendations. I began working with Amy far in advance of the wedding and, as other reviewers have noted, it was a pleasure working with her. She’s got the wedding catering down pat! As we got closer to the event, I very much appreciated her attention to detail and her prompt responses to emails and phone calls as numerous adjustments had to be made. The day of the wedding — Heidi did a fantastic job making everything run smoothly, including a last minute change from a set-​up inside to one outside — no small feat (and much appreciated!) And, even though we ended up starting the meal service significantly later than what we had planned, they were able to adjust and the food was still super delicious. Feel Good Foods offers more than just great food for excellent prices — what really makes them exceptional is how much service they provide on top, such as arranging rentals, coordinating logistics with the venue and other vendors as needed, and helping us walk through what made sense given our wedding plans. If you’re considering a wedding anywhere in the Bay Area — I highly recommend them!

Feel Good Foods catered my daughter’s wedding yesterday. I thought that the dinner was fabulous, and our foodie guests from New York and San Francisco raved about it. (The tri tip was great and the beet ravioli and bean salads were amazing.) Equally important, Amy Padilla, the owner, was a joy to work with and did a faulous job of dealing with difficult circumstances — an outdoor wedding on the rainiest June 4^th in Northern California history. She was so flexible, coming up with contingency plans to address the various potential disasters. Our 120 guests had a wonderful time and the whole event went as smoothly as could be imagined given the difficult circumstances. And, as noted before, the food was really terrific.

I have used Feel Good Foods for a number of professional events over the years for top quality, local, sustainable food made with love and care. So when it was time to pick a caterer in the Santa Cruz area for my wedding, it was an easy decision!
Amy was as close to a wedding planner as we had at our celebration, and thank goodness we had someone as organized and experienced as Amy on site for the majority of the event! I know that Amy was the calm force behind the curtain (or in the kitchen) that guaranteed everything went smoothly from the moment we arrived for appetizers. And the food was beyond excellent (lamb, halibut, polenta cakes, a local cheese buffet — yum)! FGF are professional, easy to work with, and full of ideas for menu planning and timing.
Their focus and commitment to supporting local purveyors and producers is inspiring. We are so glad we used our wedding dollars to support Amy, Heidi, and the many farmers they work with! I would highly recommend them to anyone planning a small or large-​scale catered event in the Santa Cruz area!

Being a very particular person about food (as is my wife for different reasons), I did not think we would be able to find someone that would meet our criteria to cater our wedding. It’s almost three weeks later and someone mentioned their wish to just have some of the fried chicken again, followed by «oh and those beet appetizers.» The service was beyond outstanding! They were, we have to say, PERFECT! in all ways. I never say this. I mean, I am nice but it is NOT easy to get a perfect rating from me. They are in Santa Cruz but also will do gigs in the bay area. The presentation was outstanding. Taste — whoa! The service — rock star service! I will definitely recommend them to anyone for any occasion. Oh, and, they are a sustainable/​green working company. They work with their local farmers for their meats and produce. seriously, they have got it. wish i could post a photo of their beautiful presentation as the food came out.

Feel Good Foods catered my wedding three years ago, and people are still talking about how good the food was. To be fair, it was all vegetarian and vegan, so I think in part people had very low expectations, but the food was also just really good. Very fresh and flavorful.
Two small complaints:
1: The waitstaff wasn’t super-​professional. They weren’t good about coming around and refilling water, etc., and the bartenders shot all the champagne corks onto the roof of the house where the wedding was held, completely clogging up the rain gutters.
2. I heard later that several items on the buffet ran out long before everyone was served. A professional caterer should be able to accurately estimate how much of each dish is needed.