Castle Catering Uncovered

At my daughter’s wedding reception, Belfast Castle, Oct 2012, I expected good food, not mass catering that was probably contracted out as cheaply as possible. Canapés: The vol-au-vents looked old, tasted stale. The fish contained bones that had to be removed from one’s mouth in public. Two guests ran to the toilets to spit out the prosciutto, describing it as slimy and disgusting. Starter: the chicken Caesar salad's “home made” croutons were stale, soft and obviously not home made. The chicken bits had that taste of 2-day-old chicken, and mine had almost no dressing while my daughter’s was overloaded with dressing. Other guests mentioned the dressing problem and the stale chicken. Main: I had the most unusual looking salmon “en-croute” I have ever had the misfortune to eat. My filo was completely raw. I suspect the salmon was cooked the day before then wrapped in filo and microwaved. It was grey, translucent and cutting it was like cutting through thin leather. My daughter, the bride, exchanged hers for the beef. I would have done the same only I did not want to draw further attention to the problem. The beef was ok as were the desserts. One lady had a vegan meal, later began vomiting all night. She drank only white wine with the meal so her illness was not drink related. She commented that it was the worst tasting vegan meal she had ever eaten; the word she used was “disgusting”. Another guest described how he had seen a waiter drop potatoes on the floor, scoop them up and put them back into the serving tray. We received a substantial refund plus apology from Castle Catering but this will never fix the embarrassment and damage done. My advice: sample everything on the day before it gets near the table.

Alexandra Connolly - 22/11/2012 | report this review