Vandervate BBQ — Local services in Yakima

What an amazing spread! The best, BEST bbq You can get outside of Texas! Just ask all 120 people at my daughter’s wedding.

John got to the venue at 4am and started the brisket, it was such a wonderful experience to have our dinner cooking there onsite. And smelling the goodness all day while the wedding party got ready, and during the ceremony and cocktail hour. A true bbq wedding experience! We had brisket, chicken thighs, homemade sausage, potato salad, rolls with butter, garden salad, and the most out of this world delicious mac and cheese. Our guests all raved over the quality and quantity of this meal. Better than anything you could expect. John and his crew went above and beyond and dinner was flawless. Ten stars!! I will not work with any other caterer after this. To put it into perspective; I met with 6 different caterers, John was the most prompt in our communication, so pleasant to work with and NO ONE could beat the quality and experience that is...

The BBQ and sides were absolutely delicious! John clearly has a passion for barbecue, and you can taste it in every bite. His homemade sausage and the seasoning were exceptional, and I loved the dill in the potato salad. Plus, the portions were HUGE—no one left hungry!

There were plenty of side options, and John was so accommodating to our dietary needs. He provided baked potatoes and tallow-free beans, which was perfect for our diverse group. The service was top-notch too—the entire team was friendly, and John kept offering me little bites of food throughout the event, which I really appreciated as I was busy running around.

The pricing was incredibly reasonable at about $23 per head, especially for the quality and quantity of food. We had a buffet line for 260 guests at an outdoor fundraiser, and everything went off without a hitch.

I highly recommend John and his team...

John and the Vandervate BBQ team catered my wife and mine's wedding and did an absolutely incredible job! They rolled up with a huge smoker built into a special trailer and parked it right next to the venue and people loved being able to see John and his crew at work. They didn't just do meat either, they made all the sides as well.

Some of the BBQ purists might be upset at the idea of putting BBQ sauce on a tasty slab of brisket or ribs but Vandervate BBQ makes their own from scratch, I highly recommend the espresso sauce!

I would absolutely have Vandervate BBQ cater another event! And pro trip... get yourself a double serving of the dill...