Elevate Your Food Experience
Create memories

Cocktail Caterers is a food and design catering company. The business is located in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood and serves the New York Metro area. Owners Kurt Kretzschmar and Michael Watts opened their company in 2007. Customers can choose from customized menus ranging from small plates, tasty bites, hot food stations and tablescape buffets for private or corporate affairs. Cocktail Caterers is certified by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and is a Small Business Association member.

Proudly an LGBT Certified Business NAICS Code: 722320 - Caterer

Kurt Kretzschmar, Executive Chef/Owner, enjoys creating dishes like the ones he grew up eating. Foods made from the best and freshest ingredients available. Growing up surrounded by immigrants really instilled the importance of cooking with passion. It didn’t matter if it was Christmas Dinner or a Sunday Dinner. All of the meals felt special and he learned that the food didn’t have to be fancy or have 20 components; it just had to be made with great ingredients and love.

Always having a love of food, Kurt enrolled in Johnson and Wales University in Providence,
Rhode Island where he honed his skills and learned the disciplines of the Culinary Arts and Food Service Management.

After graduating he worked on Long Island at a prestigious country club where he developed his catering creativity by making elaborate table displays, elegant hors d’oeuvres and beautiful platters. After leaving the country club he headed to Europe to travel and experience
foods from all over Europe. “One of the most influential moments in my culinary life was an experience I had while staying with family friends in San Mango, Italy. "My friend’s Aunt was making dinner for about 20 guests and I was watching her make a Putenesca Sauce and handmade Pappardelle. Almost every ingredient in the sauce came from their land. It was the most intense, wonderful flavors I had ever experienced. To this day it is like the Holy Grail of fresh flavors that I chase daily”

Because of his experiences in Europe, especially in San Mango, Kurt realized the importance of buying local, fresh ingredients. “At Cocktail Caterers we believe in supporting local businesses and purchasing locally grown and raised products. We tailor all of our menus based on our client’s tastes and style and then combine them with local, seasonal ingredient and add an International flavor based on our travels and experiences”. We like to call it "Tastes From Our Travels."

Cocktail Caterers was opened in 2007 by Kurt and his husband, Michael Watts, CEO/Owner. They bring the best of both worlds to ensure their clients equally enjoy the "front of house" and "back of house" experiences. Their goal is to create a customized menu, attentive staffing and a personalized attention to detail. Their biggest compliment is hearing that their clients "taste passion" and feel the comfort of having "friends taking care of the food and logistics."