I had the pleasure of working with Erica Vitiello and Shawna Bates of Catering by LT on the Caniglia wedding this Summer at St. Francis Hall and was blown away by their food (seriously my stomach couldn’t stop growling during this entire blog post)!
Lebanese Taverna was the couple’s favorite restaurant and since they had a lot of guests coming from out of town, they wanted to make this DC trip for their guests even more memorable by serving them non-traditional wedding food. The bride’s original scare was that her guests were going to be turned off by the interesting dishes but let me tell you a little secret in this industry….your guests will ALWAYS eat! And by the looks of their plates, they LOVED IT.
Erica and Shawna were more than accommodating to my bride and groom, and treated them as if they were their only client. On top of that they took exceptional care of us vendors when it was time to dig in! You pretty much do that, and you’re GOLDEN in our books.
I asked Shawna, Director of Catering if she could answer a few questions so that we could get to know the company a little bit better and she was happy to assist.
Can you please let us know how long Catering by LT has been around and what began the division from the popular Lebanese Taverna Restaurant? Lebanese Taverna starting offering catering shortly after the Market location opened in 1991 and was offering full service catering by 1996. We decided to brand the catering in late 2012 and Catering by LT was born.
What have been some of your favorite or memorable events you’ve worked in the past? We have catered events at the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia throughout the years, our favorite is the National Day Celebration when we serve close to 1500 guest. We have also catered several weddings at different venues such as the Bethesda Ballroom, St. Francis Hall and Top of the Town.
Being as though you mainly serve non-traditional foods, do you feel competition from other catering businesses in this area? Sure, there are some incredible catering companies in our area. I do think our menu offers something special and more and more people are looking for that, something different and non-traditional. I feel by branding to Catering by LT it has allowed us to offer a broader range of food while still incorporating our Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flare. I would think we have given other caterers in the area something to look out for.
What are some long-term goals Catering by LT has planned for the future? We are always working towards more sales and improving on everything we do. With that said we are working on moving into a larger facility that can keep up with our sales. Our goal is to bring our unique niche to as many people as possible to explore and enjoy!
Thank you again so much to the team at Catering by LT! Can’t wait to work together again in the future 🙂
Tiffany Rivera is a Wedding Planner & Event Planner serving DC, Maryland, Virginia and beyond!