Real cooking, on time, anywhere on the mid-Peninsula.
San Mateo Catering Company started with one stubborn idea: catering should taste like a kitchen made it that morning, not like it was thawed in a warehouse and trucked in. Everything we serve is cut, seasoned, cooked, packed, delivered and set up by our own crew — whether that's a 20-person product review off Bay Meadows, a rehearsal dinner in Burlingame, or a 250-guest reception on a Hillsborough lawn.
A San Mateo crew with a production kitchen behind it
San Mateo Catering Company operates under Fresh Pulp Holdings LLC, a Bay Area catering group running several regional brands. Between them they cater well over a thousand events a year and have fed more than a million guests.
What that means for you is practical, not flashy: your event is run by people who know mid-Peninsula logistics — visitor badges and dock schedules in Bay Meadows and Foster City office parks, tight downtown San Mateo loading zones, how 101 and 92 behave at 11:30 on a Tuesday — while the food comes out of a kitchen with the buying power and capacity of a much larger operation. A ten-person leadership lunch in Burlingame on Wednesday and a 200-guest wedding in Hillsborough on Saturday get the same discipline.
Appetizer Station
Full-Service LunchThe cook behind the menu
Jason has spent more than a decade testing this menu the only way catering can honestly be tested: live, mid-service, with a line of guests waiting. A dish earns its place only if it still tastes right forty minutes into a chafer, survives a run up 101 in traffic, and gets people back for seconds.
That filter is why the menu is deliberately broad — Italian, Mexican, barbecue, Mediterranean and California plates — and why vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are written as real dishes rather than side-thoughts. Proteins are butchered in house, dressings and sauces are made from scratch, and the seasonal sections shift with what Peninsula and Central Valley growers are actually picking.
Hot Office LunchWhat we cater around San Mateo
Our mid-Peninsula work ranges from a standing weekly team lunch to a black-tie evening reception. The formats we run most:
- • Wedding catering — plated, buffet or family-style, with staffing, florals and rentals on a single contract
- • Full-service events — galas, fundraisers, company milestones, conferences and holiday parties with uniformed staff
- • Drop-off catering for San Mateo offices, clinics, meetings and neighborhood get-togethers
- • Individually boxed meals for trainings, all-hands days and large-group logistics
- • Holiday catering — Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and December workplace parties
- • Event florals and rentals as add-ons or booked on their own
Passed Appetizers
Elegant Buffet
Dessert DisplayWhere we deliver
San Mateo is home base, and we cater across San Mateo County and the mid-Peninsula: San Mateo, San Mateo Highlands, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Foster City, Millbrae, San Bruno, South San Francisco, Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, Half Moon Bay, El Granada and Pacifica — plus the wider Bay Area for larger full-service events. One flat delivery rate covers our core San Mateo service area, so a downtown office pays the same as a home up in the Highlands.
Courtyard Setup
In-House Floral ArchLet's plan your San Mateo event
Send your date, guest count and venue and we'll come back the same business day with a fully itemized proposal — menu, staffing, rentals and delivery, with nothing left vague.