by Ed Carroll
Weddings have become more than a celebration–they’re a personal statement.
One of the most popular ways to personalize the day lately? The food. Couples are ditching the standard chicken piccata in favor of seasonal, locally sourced dishes that feel fresh and uniquely to them.
Whether it’s offering menus with year-round staples that complement seasonal selections or fully rotating offerings based on what’s fresh, some caterers—from Spice Catering to Cleveland Field Kitchen to Marigold Catering—are fully embracing the moment. Those who favor locally sourced options give weddings a true sense of time and place, using ingredients whose availability depends on elements like rainfall, weather, and wildlife.
As Nora Willauer, a cellist who held her wedding reception in Beachwood in June 2023, said, “We love sourcing produce from small, local farms—it’s more nourishing, tastes better, and supports our community. We chose Spice Catering for our celebration because they share those values, sourcing ingredients from their own farm and other regional growers.”
Kelly Hanley-Potts, chef and founder of Cleveland Field Kitchen, a boutique catering and event company in Chagrin Falls, says her clients want their weddings to reflect their values—and they see themselves in her mission.
Hanley-Potts originally wanted to be a farmer, even turning a plot on her family property into a 2,000-square-foot garden.
After college, she knew she wanted to do something food-related–and support local farmers by using top-quality, seasonal ingredients from regional purveyors.
That philosophy lives on through Cleveland and Field Kitchen’s catering menus, which spotlight ingredients from farmers across Northeast Ohio.
“I thought, well, this is a really nice opportunity to still have those connections with the farmers that I built, with where the food comes from and with seasonality—and just do it in the catering world,” she said. “There’s just not that many people in the catering world doing that, at least not here.”
The company offers a base menu available year-round, along with evolving spring, summer, fall, and holiday menus—a practice more typical of a restaurant than a caterer, she said.
Another local catering company committed to showcasing locally and sustainably sourced ingredients is Spice Catering Co., Willauer’s wedding caterer, which was founded in 2004 by chef Ben Bebenroth. From the beginning, Bebenroth rooted
the business in a hands-on, farm-to-table philosophy—literally growing produce in his grandparents’ backyard and operating the company from their basement. He later sourced from gardens he planted at his home in Brecksville before expanding to a 13-acre farm in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which continues to supply the company today, along with other local farms.
All of their menus are hyper-seasonal, and they source everything they can from local farms—many of whom they’ve worked with for years, said catering director and partner Jess Edmonds.
“At the end of the day, the difference with us is the seasonality and really farm fresh methods,” she said. “You don’t see a lot of that in high-volume catering. You’ll see a lot of prefabricated apps that are frozen and they’re opening those boxes. Our bread service is homemade. We don’t just unwrap the Minerva butter and soften it. We soften it, then we whip it, and then we dress it with flaxseed, salt and flour. There’s just a lot of special touches that are pulled from these original roots of farm to table.”
One couple who valued sustainability and locally sourced food at the reception was Zach and Chelsea Shew of Cleveland, who were married at a family friend’s winery, Schweiger Vineyards & Winery in St. Helena, Calif. They flew Bebenroth, Edmonds and a few other Spice team members out to cater their wedding and handed chef Bebenroth full reigns of the menu.
He and his team crafted a completely in-season menu based on what was available locally just days before the wedding. Guests enjoyed a lavish spread, including local lamb racks, fresh crab cakes, a spicy poblano gazpacho served cold in baby watermelons, and— taking advantage of California’s more relaxed laws—a locally sourced baked edible for dessert.
“Having[the wedding]at a vineyard is obviously a ‘wow’ statement, but to this day I still have friends or family members that were at the wedding, and they’ll say, ‘you know, I would have never thought that the best meal I ever had in my life was at a wedding,’”said Zach Shew.
And it was because every detail—from the ingredients to the presentation—was completely in tune with the season and the setting.
That kind of immersive culinary experience is exactly what chefs like Hanley-Potts strive to create: a menu that not only feeds guests but reflects the place, the people, and the moment.
“That’s how food can connect us and likewise with seasons,” said Hanley-Potts. “I feel it just offers this really fresh, beautiful table of abundance that you can put out. It can be as simple as plates of heirloom tomatoes with Florida salt and fresh basil. It just looks beautiful and then they taste different, because they’re grown right here.”
To connect with the caterers:
Cleveland Field Kitchen
clevelandfieldkitchen.com
216-505-1144
Chagrin Falls, OH
@clefieldkitchen
Spice Catering Co.
spicecaters.com
216-432-9090
Cleveland, OH
@spice_catering_co