Top Rated Local® is pleased to announce that Bar Harbor Catering Company is an award winner for catering companies in 2019.
If you are looking for a full-service catering and event planning company that puts their focus on you and your unique event, look no further than this award-winning company!
Bar Harbor Catering Company has received many overwhelmingly positive reviews across five different verified sites with an average rating of 4.84 stars, earning them an impressive Rating Score™ of 98.37 and two 2019 Top Rated Local awards for ranking as one of the top 25 businesses and one of the top three catering companies in Maine!
Here’s just one of their many five-star reviews:
“Bar Harbor Catering did a rehearsal/welcome lobster bake for 180 people on a beach, which is not the easiest logistics, but it was spectacular. People are still talking about it. The food was wonderful; they were organized, creative, and the staff was attentive. It was effortless on our part. I would use them again in a minute if I were doing something again in Maine.” – B.C.
It is because of excellent reviews like this that Bar Harbor Catering Company is now able to call themselves a Top Rated Local award winner!
Not Your Average Catering Company
We were excited to learn all about Bar Harbor Catering Company and how they have gotten where they are today, so we sat down with the owner, Mandy Fontaine.
The first thing we wanted to know was what it is that makes Bar Harbor Catering Company stand apart from its competitors. Mandy started out by telling us about their commitment to their customers and how they work to make each event reflect the client. All in all, their exceptional customer service is something to be admired. Mandy said:
“We spend a lot of time getting to know all of our clients and creating an event that reflects them. The little extra touches, and going above and beyond expectations, that’s what makes every event special and unique.”
She continued:
“We treat every customer, and especially every vendor, like VIPs. Our motto around here is ‘Good enough isn’t enough.’ We really try to follow through with that in everything that we do.”
Mandy told us a bit about the service they offer, and how they are able to pull off such incredible events:
“We have a big team, so we’re prepared to handle pretty much anything, wherever the event may be. Whether it’s a campground, an estate, a farmhouse, or a remote island, we can go anywhere. One of the things that I think most of our clients are surprised by is that we actually cook all of our menu items at each event location. Essentially, we’re setting up a high-end restaurant wherever we go. If you’ve ever seen Top Chef Restaurant Wars, it’s pretty much like that. A lot of people think we just cook food, load it in our van, drop it off and then go. It couldn’t be anymore different than that.”
When we asked Mandy about the Bar Harbor Catering Company business mission, she told us:
“Our mission is to produce extraordinary events with legendary customer service and modern Maine cuisine created by happy people. We have a distinct advantage in our business that we work mostly on milestone events, like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and business openings. We have an internal phrase, called ‘magic moments,’ meaning the little things that go above and beyond that people might not think of. We really aim to put smiles on everyone’s faces by being magic makers. That’s what makes us happy.”
Building Success And Giving Back
In addition to building the kind of online reputation that any small business would envy, Bar Harbor Catering Company has spread the word about who they are and what they do by giving back and being active in the community. Mandy told us:
“We don’t do a lot of traditional marketing in the sense of buying ads or anything like that. We’re more focused on getting in front of potential clients by participating or donating to community events, like cooking competitions, non-profit donations, non-profit discounts, things like that. In this way, our product and service stand for themselves, and our customer base grows naturally in return. Word
of mouth marketing is where we’re really driving.”
She went on to tell us about some of the other ways they are giving back and making the world a better place:
“Aside from the client customer experience, we’re really proud of our zero waste program. If you’ve ever worked in professional kitchens, there’s a lot of waste and we’ve gotten our kitchen production trash down to less than a normal size bathroom trash can everyday through extensive composting and recycling. We’re part of a local organization, called ‘Climate to Thrive,’ whose aim is to be completely energy independent by 2030, and we’re really proud of that.”
There are many businesses out there that are looking to build as impressive a reputation as Bar Harbor Catering Company has managed to. We asked if Mandy could share any expert advice with these companies. Here’s what she had to say:
“Treat your online presence just as you would your in-person reputation. We always put our best foot forward. We’d always rather have no posts over one with the mediocre photo or something that we’re not totally proud of. We’ve been really, really strategic about that.”
Congratulations to Bar Harbor Catering Company for being a 2019 Top Rated Local award winner, and special thanks to Mandy for taking the time to speak with us!
