Choosing among catering companies in Denver is not the same decision as choosing a restaurant, and treating it as one is the most common and most expensive mistake a first-time client makes. A restaurant sells you a meal you can walk away from. A caterer sells you a contracted service performed once, at a location that is not theirs, on a date that cannot move — staffing, licensing, logistics, and liability all bundled into a single invoice you sign months in advance. The correct mental model is hiring a contractor, and the correct evaluation is the one you would apply to a contractor: what can be verified in writing before any money changes hands?
Denver adds a structural wrinkle that clients outside the market rarely anticipate. Many of the region's best-known event spaces do not let you bring in whoever you like. Denver Botanic Gardens publishes an approved catering partner list for its York Street site and requires an approved vendor at Chatfield Farms; Empower Field at Mile High and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts operate under exclusive catering arrangements. That means a venue's own website is frequently the single most useful piece of third-party evidence about a caterer available to the public — a venue puts its own reputation behind the list, and it is checkable in thirty seconds without taking anyone's word for it.
Colorado law adds a second checkable layer. Caterers operating here require a retail food establishment license, and state rules require a Certified Food Protection Manager on staff. Alcohol is governed separately and more strictly than most clients expect: a catering or bartending company may charge for service, but that fee may not be tied to the volume of alcohol poured. For this ranking we screened Denver-area caterers on evidence that can be checked from outside — a live website naming the business, a published Colorado address and phone number, approved-vendor listings on venues' own sites, Better Business Bureau file history, and peer or consumer award records maintained by organizations other than the caterer. Six companies cleared that screen. The five below are ordered by the weight of independently verifiable credentials, and every specific claim is attributed to where we found it.
How We Evaluated Denver Catering Companies
The Top 5 Catering Companies in Denver
2026 Rankings · Denver Metro
Catering by Design
Catering by Design holds the deepest independently verifiable record in this category, and it is not close. The company publishes a dated awards page running continuously from 2008 to 2026 — International Caterers Association CATIE awards in most years including Caterer of the Year in 2020 and Chef of the Year in 2013 and 2026, NACE Greater Denver Chapter Caterer of the Year in 2017, ILEA Denver IDEAs and ESPRIT awards across 2011 to 2018, Colorado Meetings and Events Best Caterer in the Denver Metro in 2018, and a Colorado Event Alliance ICON award for Best Catered Event in 2024. These are peer- and jury-judged programs administered by organizations with no commercial relationship to the caterer, which is what separates them from self-issued marketing claims.
The venue evidence is equally checkable. Denver Botanic Gardens names Catering by Design on the approved catering partner list published on the Gardens' own site for its York Street location, listing the same phone number the company publishes itself. The company operates from a Denver production facility at 11095 E 45th Ave, cooks on site at the event rather than reheating from transport containers, offers kosher catering, and pairs catering with in-house event design and décor — useful if you would otherwise be coordinating two vendors against one timeline. Its Better Business Bureau file was opened in November 1996 and carries an A+ rating, though the company is not BBB accredited. Review evidence is consistent across platforms: 4.7 of 5 from 168 reviews aggregated on Birdeye and 4.7 of 5 from 86 reviews on WeddingWire.
Footers Catering & Events
Footers is the longest-running family-held operation in this ranking and the one that publishes the most useful number about itself. Founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and passed in 2010 to his son Anthony and daughter-in-law April, the company states on its own site that it caters more than 500 events and serves more than 80,000 guests a year. Volume disclosure of that specificity is rare in this trade and it matters practically: a caterer running 500 events annually has standing crews, tested logistics, and rental relationships, which is what actually determines whether dinner lands on time at a venue with a loading dock two hundred feet from the tent.
The recent third-party recognition is concrete and dated. Footers was honoured in four categories at the Colorado Event Alliance's 2025 ICON Awards — Best Industry Collaboration, Best Venue Showcase, Industry Innovator, and Rising Star — with two of those awarded to named individuals on staff. It carries the highest review average of the five companies here, 4.8 of 5 across 165 reviews on WeddingWire. The company also operates its own Denver-area event venue and offers bar service, rentals and full coordination in-house, which narrows the number of contracts you sign. It does not appear on the Denver Botanic Gardens approved list, so confirm vendor eligibility with your venue first.
Biscuits & Berries
Biscuits & Berries is the only company in this ranking that is an accredited Better Business Bureau business rather than merely rated by it — a distinction worth understanding, because accreditation requires application, vetting and an ongoing commitment to BBB dispute resolution, while a rating can be assigned to any business with a file. It carries an A+ alongside that accreditation. The company has traded since 1991 and appears on Denver Botanic Gardens' published York Street approved catering partner list, where the phone number the Gardens publishes matches the one on the company's own site — a small cross-check, but the kind that catches listing errors.
Its consumer award record is the longest sustained run here on the platforms couples actually search: The Knot Best of Weddings selections across 2012 to 2021 and WeddingWire Couples' Choice awards across 2014 to 2021, both of which are computed from verified client reviews rather than awarded by a jury. Trade recognition includes Colorado Meetings and Events Best Caterer in 2015, 2016 and 2020 and ColoradoBiz Best Of listings in four years. Review evidence sits at 4.7 of 5 across 120 WeddingWire reviews with a further 88 on Yelp. Bar service is delivered through a stated partnership with Peak Beverage rather than in-house, which is a clean arrangement but means two vendors and two sets of terms.
Epicurean Catering
Epicurean is the scale operator in this category and the right call when headcount is the binding constraint. The company states on its own site that it has operated for more than 40 years and serves over 1,000 events a year, and it holds exclusive catering rights at Empower Field at Mile High along with a catering relationship at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Exclusive venue contracts are the strongest form of third-party evidence available in this trade — a stadium does not hand its concourse hospitality to an operator that cannot demonstrate volume capacity, insurance and food safety compliance year after year.
It also appears on Denver Botanic Gardens' published York Street approved catering partner list, and its Better Business Bureau file, opened in 1977, carries an A+ rating without accreditation. Review evidence is thinner in average terms than the three companies above — 4.4 of 5 across 107 aggregated reviews — which is a pattern common to high-volume operators whose events include large corporate and sports hospitality where individual guests did not choose the caterer. For a 60-guest wedding you will likely get more attention elsewhere on this list; for a 1,200-guest gala or a multi-day conference, Epicurean's infrastructure is the differentiator.
Three Tomatoes Catering
Three Tomatoes has the longest continuous history of any company on this page. Its Better Business Bureau file records a start date of January 1977 and carries an A+ rating, giving nearly five decades of trading under the same name in the same city — a durability signal that a category with high failure rates should not be dismissed. The company works from a production kitchen at 255 Yuma St in Denver and publishes an unusually wide named service area: the Front Range from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs, the Eastern Plains, and mountain destinations including Aspen, Telluride, Steamboat Springs, Vail, Summit County and Estes Park. If your event is in a resort town rather than the metro, that reach is the practical differentiator here.
It ranks fifth for a stated and narrow reason rather than any judgement about the food. Measured against the four companies above, Three Tomatoes publishes materially less independently checkable credential detail on its own site — no dated award record, no accreditation badge, and no venue approved-partner listings. Review evidence is real but lighter: 4.6 of 5 across 51 WeddingWire reviews with a further 57 on Yelp. Ask for the retail food establishment license, certificate of insurance, and Certified Food Protection Manager confirmation in writing before booking, as you should with any caterer whose credentials you cannot verify from outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a catering company in Denver need a license?
Yes. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment requires a retail food license for catering operations, the same category that covers restaurants, grocery stores and mobile food units. Colorado also requires that a Certified Food Protection Manager be on staff, a credential most commonly earned through the ServSafe Manager program administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and taught locally by the Colorado Restaurant Association. Off-site events may additionally require a temporary food service licence depending on the jurisdiction and the venue. Ask any caterer you are considering for a copy of its current retail food licence and the name of its Certified Food Protection Manager — a legitimate operator supplies both without hesitation, and reluctance is itself an answer.
Can my caterer serve alcohol at a Denver event?
Not automatically, and the rules are stricter than most clients expect. Colorado's Liquor Enforcement Division treats alcohol service separately from food service. A catering or bartending company may charge a fee for providing bartending and beverage service, but that fee may not be tied to the volume of alcohol served. A bartending company may collect alcohol its client purchased from a licensed retail liquor store and bring it to a private event, but may not charge for doing so. Where alcohol is being sold rather than hosted, a special event permit or an appropriately licensed premises is required. Establish early which of these structures your caterer is proposing, because it changes both your budget and who carries the liability.
Why do Denver venues restrict which caterer I can use?
Because the venue carries the consequences if service goes wrong. Denver Botanic Gardens publishes an approved catering partner list for its York Street site and requires an approved vendor at Chatfield Farms. Empower Field at Mile High and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts operate under exclusive catering arrangements. Approved-vendor lists exist so that the venue knows the caterer holds current licensing and insurance, understands the site's kitchen access, load-in routes and shutdown times, and has worked the space before. Check the venue's own website for its caterer list before you fall in love with a menu — a booked venue with a closed list will decide the question for you, and a caterer's presence on such a list is genuine third-party evidence rather than self-promotion.
How much does catering cost per person in Denver?
Denver pricing varies enough by service style that any single figure is misleading, but the structural drivers are consistent. Drop-off and delivery corporate catering sits at the low end, buffet service in the middle, and plated dinner service with a full front-of-house team at the top. Beyond the per-guest food price, expect separate lines for staffing, rentals such as china, glassware, linen and tables, delivery, bar service, and a service charge that is not the same thing as gratuity. Ask every caterer you shortlist for a written itemised quote covering all of these on the same guest count, because bundled per-head numbers from different companies are frequently not comparable and the differences usually live in the staffing and rental lines.
What should be in a Denver catering contract before I sign?
Seven items, in writing. The final headcount deadline and how much the number can move after it passes. The staffing ratio — how many servers and bartenders for your guest count, named as a number rather than as a promise of adequate staffing. A service timeline with cocktail hour, first course, and last call at specific clock times. The overtime rate if the event runs long and who is authorised to approve it. The cancellation and postponement schedule with deposit forfeiture at each stage. Whether the stated service charge is distributed to staff, since a service charge is not legally a gratuity. And a clear division of what the caterer supplies versus what you or the venue must rent separately.
How far in advance should I book a caterer in Denver?
For a Saturday wedding in the Denver peak season of June through early October, twelve months ahead is normal and nine months is the practical floor for the companies on this list, several of which run at or near capacity on summer weekends. Corporate events with weekday dates and simpler service can often be booked eight to twelve weeks out, and drop-off catering in days. Book the venue first, then the caterer, since an approved-vendor restriction can eliminate your preferred company after the fact. If your date falls in the December corporate party window, treat it like peak wedding season — that calendar compresses into roughly three weeks and staffing is the constraint.
Sources & References
-
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Retail Food Program — licensing for restaurants, caterers and mobile units
Backs the retail food establishment licensing and Certified Food Protection Manager requirements cited in the FAQ. Blocks automated requests (HTTP 403); verify by hand.
-
Colorado Department of Revenue, Specialized Business Group
Liquor Enforcement Division — licensing, special event permits and industry bulletins
Backs the rules on catering and bartending service fees, client-purchased alcohol, and special event permits. Blocks automated requests (HTTP 403); verify by hand.
-
National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation
ServSafe Manager — ANAB-accredited food protection manager certification
The credential behind Colorado's Certified Food Protection Manager staffing requirement referenced on this page.
-
Colorado Restaurant Association
Colorado Restaurant Association — membership, compliance resources and ServSafe training
The state trade body; delivers ServSafe Manager certification classes locally. Backs the food safety training guidance.
-
Denver Botanic Gardens
York Street Catering & Event Partners — approved caterer list
The venue's own published approved-caterer list. Backs the Botanic Gardens partner claims for Catering by Design, Biscuits & Berries and Epicurean Catering. Blocks automated requests (HTTP 403); verify by hand.
-
Colorado Event Alliance
ICON Awards — Colorado event industry awards program
The awarding body behind the 2024 and 2025 ICON award claims on this page.
Our Recommendation
For a design-forward wedding or a corporate event where presentation carries weight, Catering by Design offers the deepest externally verifiable record in the Denver market — an eighteen-year run of jury-judged industry awards, approved-partner standing at Denver Botanic Gardens, and in-house décor that removes a second vendor from your timeline. For a family-held operation with published volume and the highest review average here, Footers Catering is the alternative, and its bar, rental and coordination services in-house reduce the number of contracts you sign. If Better Business Bureau accreditation and a long record of client-voted awards are what reassures you, Biscuits & Berries is the only accredited business on this page. For events measured in four figures of guests, Epicurean's exclusive stadium and performing-arts contracts demonstrate a scale nobody else here claims.
Whichever you choose, ask for three documents before you pay a deposit: the current Colorado retail food establishment licence, a certificate of insurance naming your venue as an additional insured, and a written quote itemising food, staffing, rentals, delivery, bar and service charge separately on a single guest count. Then confirm with your venue that the caterer is eligible to work there. Those four checks take an afternoon and eliminate nearly every way a catering booking goes wrong.
Denver Dean's List maintains editorial independence. We do not accept payment for rankings or accept advertising from the companies we evaluate. Rankings are based on publicly available reviews, verified credentials, and editorial research. Company information should be independently verified before making hiring decisions.