About us


Nearly 2 decades ago, Culinary Concepts was conceived in the heart of San Diego, the brainchild of a small group of event professionals, well-versed in the catering and restaurant industry. There was the experienced chef, bringing his international training and talented command of the kitchen to the table (pun intended!). Then came our fearless leader, a business-savvy sales director, full of creative and visionary innovations and not the type to shy away from any challenge (big or small). Next was the décor specialist THE authority in event styling, who single-handedly necessitated that our little one story warehouse expand — rapidly! – to accommodate the props, linens, buffet accents, and equipment we used to bring our client’s dreams to life. Along with our skillful and professional event staff and tireless kitchen team, Culinary Concepts began to blossom.

From the very beginning, the goal of Culinary Concepts was to fill a void missing from San Diego’s catering industry – we strove to be a company that didn’t simply offer our clients menu A, B or C, but one that really listened to their customers and put creative energy into the creation and planning of each event. People took note of that attention to detail and our goal of making each event unique, and gradually, word spread across the county that we were the ultimate in creative, delicious and personalized catering.


Culinary Concepts is committed to enriching and improving the lives of our employees, and we achieve this goal through mentoring and continued education. Almost 20 years later, all of the members of our original team are still with us, including our original kitchen team—one of whom started as a dishwasher and is now a talented chef and integral part of our kitchen, and of course Chris (Chef Manfred’s son) who started helping out in the kitchen at age 3, and has grown to be one of our top chefs! The experienced members of the team are passionate about handing down the knowledge and skills that they possess to new team members. Over time, we have also added a knowledgeable sales team, and an invincible operations manager.

Through the years, we have grown by leaps and bounds. We owe all of our growth to our loyal customers, active word-of-mouth advertising, and extremely successful partnerships with local venues. We really are extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people, and look forward to our continued growth creating memorable events in the future!