True Cuisine

What True Cuisine does

True Cuisine is a Chicago-area full-service catering company operating as part of SBR Events Group, founded in 2008 following Dave Raymond's acquisition, with the group tracing its origin to the 1982 creation of Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue Sauce. The company delivers chef-inspired scratch-kitchen catering for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings, offering plated, buffet, family-style, and specialty-station service formats from a single kitchen and headquarters at 235 E. Irving Park Road, Wood Dale, Illinois. Core product offerings include the True Cuisine upscale wedding and special-event catering line, a Sweet Baby Ray's Catering sub-brand focused on rustic BBQ, and a drop-off/delivery service for corporate meetings and box lunches with a $450-600 food and beverage minimum.

The business is a professionally services-led, event-driven catering operation. Pricing is per-event with custom proposals delivered within 24-72 hours by dedicated event consultants, and tastings are provided for full-service clients. Go-to-market relies on the company website, organic social (Facebook, Instagram), partner content (The Knot, Wedding Wire), and an extensive network of 70+ Chicago-area venue partnerships. The company employs 11-50 staff including an executive chef, general manager, director of sales, product director, marketing manager, and multiple event consultants and project managers. Geographic reach centers on the Chicago metropolitan area and surrounding Illinois suburbs with stated capacity to serve parts of Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and the company remains privately held under SBR Events Group with no institutional investors indicated.

Name

True Cuisine

Legal name

True Cuisine

Website

https://truecuisine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

True Cuisine is a Chicago-area full-service catering company operating under SBR Events Group, delivering chef-inspired scratch kitchen cuisine for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings across Illinois and parts of the Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Caterers (72232), Special Food Services (7223)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH), Local Chef/Restaurant Meal Boxes & Marketplace Prepared Meals (CRAHAJAI)

Keywords

• Event catering services
• Wedding catering
• Corporate event catering
• Drop-off meal delivery
• Event planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Wood Dale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Full-Service Event Catering: Complete catering services for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings including food preparation, on-site setup, professional wait staff, and cleanup. Revenue generated through per-event contracts with custom menus and service levels.
2. Delivery/Drop-Off Catering: Fresh meal delivery service offering chef-prepared entrees, sides, soups, salads, breads, and desserts packaged for pickup or delivery. Includes hot and cold box lunches and a la carte meals delivered to offices and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

True Cuisine is a full-service catering company that prepares and serves chef-inspired, scratch-made food for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings in the Chicago metropolitan area. It delivers events through on-site full-service catering (plated, buffet, stations, and family-style service with wait staff and cleanup) and through drop-off/delivery of chef-prepared box lunches and a la carte meals, complemented by in-house event design and planning services.

Product overview

True Cuisine is a full-service catering company operating as part of the SBR Events Group portfolio alongside Sweet Baby Ray's Catering. The company offers two distinct catering brands: True Cuisine Catering provides chef-inspired custom menus with refined flavors and trendsetting presentation for weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings, while Sweet Baby Ray's Catering focuses on rustic barbecue-style catering. Core services include full-service catering (with plated, buffet, stations, and family-style options), drop-off/delivery meals, and comprehensive event design and planning. The company operates from a scratch kitchen using fresh, seasonal, and locally-sourced ingredients, with professional event planning support including décor, florals, lighting, and entertainment coordination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wedding Catering Services Comprehensive full-service wedding catering in the Chicago area including plated multi-course meals, lavish buffets, and custom hors d'oeuvres stations, paired with menu planning, design, décor, floral arrangements, and entertainment coordination for engaged couples and wedding planners.
• Corporate Event Catering Corporate event catering for Chicago-area businesses covering private business meetings, lunches, conferences, award ceremonies, employee appreciation events, retirement parties, holiday parties, and cocktail receptions with on-site service staff and full setup/cleanup.
• Social Event Catering Custom dining experiences for fundraisers, cocktail parties, anniversary events, birthday parties, bar/bat mitzvahs, and private parties with flexible service styles and professional event execution.
• Drop-Off/Delivery Meal Service Fresh meal delivery service offering chef-prepared entrees, sides, soups, salads, breads, and desserts packaged for pickup or delivery, including hot and cold box lunches and a la carte meals with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and sodium-friendly options for offices and smaller events.
• Event Design & Planning Services Full-service event management including décor, flowers, lighting, entertainment, and audio-visual services bundled with catering through the SBR Events Group portfolio.
• Sweet Baby Ray's Catering Barbecue-focused catering brand under SBR Events Group featuring rustic cooking methods with locally sourced ingredients for more relaxed event experiences, known for award-winning barbecue including brisket, ribs, and smoked meats.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SBR Events GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrue Cuisine is part of SBR Events Group, a collection of catering brands including Sweet Baby Ray's Catering. This partnership enables cross-brand menu customization and shared operational resources. Dave Raymond founded both True Cuisine and Sweet Baby Ray's Catering in 2008.
• 70+ Chicago-Area Venue PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerExtensive network of preferred venue partners including Alter Brewing, Amazing Space @625, Barrington's White House, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Goodman Theatre, and many more. These venues are featured on True Cuisine's website as recommended locations for events.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Design Cuisine: Mid-Atlantic full-service event caterer for weddings, corporate, and social events with chef-inspired menus. Comparable premium full-service model and event-design adjacency.
• Big Delicious Planet: Chicago-based catering company offering full-service event catering and corporate meal programs. Competes for both high-end weddings and recurring corporate meal contracts in the same geography.
• Limelight Catering: Chicago-area event caterer specializing in weddings, corporate events, and private parties. Comparable full-service execution model with venue partnerships across Chicagoland venues.
• Sterling Catering & Events: Chicago-area full-service caterer providing event catering for weddings, corporate functions, and social gatherings. Overlaps directly with True Cuisine's Chicago full-service and drop-off offerings.
• The Catered Affair: Hospitality-driven event caterer specializing in weddings and corporate events with comprehensive event production. Comparable premium positioning and bundled décor/event-services offering.
• Catering by Michael's: Premium full-service event caterer serving weddings, corporate, and social events with chef-driven menus and design services. Comparable upscale positioning, full-service execution, and event-design upsell model.
• Food For Thought Catering: Long-established Chicago-based full-service event caterer serving weddings, corporate events, and social gatherings. Direct competitor in the same Chicago metro market with comparable full-service, delivery, and event-design offerings.
• Boka Restaurant Group (Boka Catering): Chicago-based restaurant group offering upscale event catering alongside its restaurants. Competes for premium weddings and corporate events in the same metro and offers comparable chef-driven menus with full-service execution.

Emerging players

• ezCater: Online marketplace for corporate catering connecting businesses with local caterers for office meals and events. Represents the technology-driven competitive layer in the drop-off / corporate delivery segment where True Cuisine competes.

Broad incumbents

• Aramark: Global food services and facilities management giant serving corporate, educational, and event clients. Overlaps with True Cuisine on corporate event catering and drop-off meal programs at much larger scale and broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SBREvents
• Instagraminstagram.com/sbrevents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about True Cuisine