About Us

A highly trained and award-winning staff brings the memorable elegance of a Personal Touch catered event to you. Please feel free to contact our offices today to start planning for your upcoming event.

Our Story

Personal Touch Catering was founded in 1985 originally to fulfill dining center requests for faculty, staff, and student special events. The department has evolved from a small operation into a large, award-winning organization.

Personal Touch Catering does a variety of events from simple coffee breaks to elegant, formal dinners and receptions. Delivery and pick up service is also available. We tailor our services to meet our guest's expectations.

In 1987, Personal Touch Catering relocated its operation to the Owens Banquet Room located in Owens Food Center. The Owens Banquet Room is an elegant, spacious ballroom that can accommodate up to 400 guests. It is equipped with state-of-the-art sound equipment and a baby grand piano.

Personal Touch Catering continues to grow each year and now employs more than 75 people. Over the years, Personal Touch Catering has received numerous accolades for special events and menus. Our sales team will make your event a success.

Our Staff

The staff of Personal Touch Catering combines years of experience to make each event perfect. The staff includes an administrative and sales team, an operations team, and a production team. Throughout the years, Personal Touch Catering has been honored with national awards for menu design and special events.

Personal Touch Catering is dedicated to making each event a memorable one, from a simple coffee service to an elegant gala dinner. The staff will recommend menus designed for your occasion and then coordinate accents that will make your event unique including working with the florist, selecting wines to compliment your menu, or helping to select linens. The Personal Touch Catering team will handle every detail from beginning to end with efficiency and style to make your event memorable.

John Barrett Director of Personal Touch Catering barrettj@vt.edu	Timothy Johnson Catering Operations Manager timothyj@vt.edu
Ladecca McAllister Sales Manager ladeccam@vt.edu	Krystal Turner Catering Office Coordinator klturner@vt.edu
Alicia Perrault Operations Manager aperraul@vt.edu

Client Testimonials

"Thank you and your staff for the wonderful job that you did with the William Preston Society Dinner. The decorations were especially well done and the food was excellent."
Charles W. Steger, President

"On behalf of the Annual Blue Ridge Ball Committee, I would like to extend an enormous "thank you" for producing a magnificent evening. Every aspect of the ball was outstanding: dramatically appropriate decorations, lovely table settings, extremely efficient service, and artistically presented, delicious cuisine."
Julie Earthman, Ball Chair

"Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! What a wonderful job you did for the Virginia Tech Foundation Dinner last weekend! We just received rave reviews about everything from the food (especially the food) to the decorations to the service!"
Debbie Rhea, Special Events Coordinator

"What can I say? The food, service, and decorations provided for the dinner and jazz Black Alumni Reunion were exceptional. Thanks to you, this event was a smashing success!"
Barbara Pendergrass, Dean of Students

"Everything went so smoothly and I know this is due to much advance preparation and attention to detail by very capable staff. Everything was delicious and so professional from start to clean-up."
Norrine Bailey-Spencer, Associate Dean, Pamplin College of Business

Honors

2002:

• Personal Touch Catering was awarded a gold citation Western Virginia 2001 ADDY Award for their new flash web site designed by ACCESS.

• Personal Touch Catering - 2nd Place National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) Catering Special Event.

• Personal Touch Catering- First Place, NACUFS award for catering special event.
• Personal Touch Catering- Third Place, NACUFS award for catering standard menu.

• Personal Touch Catering- Third Place, NACUFS award for catering standard menu.