Ottawa is our farthest stop: thirty miles down Route 71 from Yorkville to where the Fox River meets the Illinois River. It is the LaSalle County seat, with Starved Rock just down the river, and a long way for a van, so delivery is $60. That fee is honest about the drive, and it means Ottawa orders are usually planned events for a crowd, not a platter for twelve.
Route 71 leaves Yorkville heading southwest and runs straight into Ottawa. We make the trip for events that are worth it to you: a wedding, a reunion, a retirement dinner, a company dinner. Drop-off buffets need three days' notice; anything with servers, two weeks. Call (630) 553-9533 and we will tell you plainly whether your order makes sense from this distance.
The $60 is flat, so on a buffet for 60 it is a dollar a head and on a $200 tray order it is thirty percent. For 40 or more guests, Buffet Menu 2 at $19.99 per person or Buffet Menu 3 at $20.99 with carved sirloin, chicken cordon bleu and baked salmon for $1.50 more is the right scale. A chef can carve sirloin, ham or turkey in front of your guests for $150. Hot food goes into chafers at $17 per hot dish, so the miles do not cost you temperature.
For a wedding or a staffed dinner in Ottawa, we send a team (see Weddings). Servers are $35 per hour each with a four-hour minimum and a 20% service charge shared with the whole team; they set up, run the buffet, clear tables and pack your leftovers. Weddings take a 20% deposit, other events 25%, with the balance due a week before. For a cocktail hour, the platter menu has jumbo chilled shrimp at $95 for 60, bacon wrapped dates at $74 for 40 and antipasto kabobs at $74 for 50.
A sandwich platter and a dessert tray for an office of twelve. At $60 delivery you would pay almost half as much for the van as for the food, and we would rather say so than take the order. Our Thanksgiving Dinner is pick-up only at the Yorkville kitchen on November 25; thirty miles up Route 71 and back is a real errand the day before the holiday, so plan for it (see Thanksgiving Dinner).
Buffet packages for graduation parties and family gatherings, boxed lunches for offices, trays for showers.
Buffet packageComfort classics
Herb roasted chicken, baked mostaccioli, meat loaf, pulled pork and more.
See the menu
Buffet packageA step up
Chicken piccata, marsala, pot roast, roast turkey and our famous pork chops.
See the menu
Buffet packageThe celebration menu
Carved sirloin, cordon bleu, cod, brisket and salmon.
See the menu“My wife and I had Upper Crust for our wedding. They did an absolutely fantastic job! Extremely professional, great communication, fantastic food, great service, and they are very willing to do the little details if needed (flexible!). They made us feel less stressed, we could trust them, and we feel like we received great value for the price we paid. I would recommend this caterer to anyone!!”
“Upper Crust just catered my daughter's bridal shower. The food was excellent and there was plenty of it. Staff was very professional, answered all of my questions and arrived on time for set up. I would definitely recommend Upper Crust catering.”
“We had some catering done by Upper Crust for our son's high school graduation. We had used them previously for a wedding reception as well. The food is always excellent and there were so many people who said how good it was. I have always been impressed with this company. They are kind and courteous and will always answer all your questions. Great job!!!”