Crystal Bay Caterers
reviews and complaints

I had a very bad experience - so bad I contacted Operations and Review / Office of Customer and Government Relations Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. She pointed out Crystal Bay Caterer report sanitation report online, it speaks for itself - I saw Crystal Bay is rated as a Risk level 2: This is the definition she provided me of Risk Level 2 - they are so bad they have to be inspected twice year, most clean companies are only required to get reviewed once a year. This is the criteria I was given to earn a Risk level 2:
* Cooks raw animal food and cools any cooked/heated TCS food; OR
* Conducts a special process [ROP; growing sprouts; smoking TCS food for preservation; curing TCS food; uses additives or components to make a food nonTCS (such as using vinegar to achieve a pH of less than 4.2 for sushi rice); holding live clams, mussels, oysters or scallops in a water tank; custom processing animals for personal use (e.g., cook your catch)]; OR
* Serves any raw or undercooked animal food - requires a consumer advisory

I processed an official complaint, #2018025311 on 5/15 - as all of Crystal Bay Caterer Sanitation reports, it is online; but this summary is not an inspection report, but the response to my specific above complaint

"Violation Observation Intermediate - Certified Food Manager or person in charge lacks (which is Chef Sam LoPiccolo) knowledge of foodborne illnesses and symptoms of illness that would prevent an employee from working with food, clean equipment and utensils, and single-service items."

I Crystal Bay Catering (chef and owner Sam LoPiccolo) hosted my friend Barbara Christmas 2017 for us. Everyone got sick afterwards - the food was definitely not good. So after the event and I got time I look into it further. I looked Crystal Bay Caterers up on the internet on Fla Department of Health inspection. Crystal Bay Caterers (chef and owner Sam LoPiccolo) was inspected as early as on April 19 2018 and they have like an Administrative Compliant recommendation filed against them for consistent bad sanitation reports over the years. Their kitchen crew do not even wash their hands before they handle food, it is in the report.
Barbara already did a Yelp review on them, but obviously the word did not get out in time for us - Crystal Bay Caterers (chef and owner Sam LoPiccolo) ruined my Christmas - before you use them you should look Crysta Crystal Bay Caterers (chef and owner Sam LoPiccolo) up on the internet Florida Health Dept. Business: CRYSTAL BAY CATERERS District: Region 2 •License Type: Catering License Number: CAT6013815 - lasts review had an Administrative complaint recommended (Follow-up Inspection Required) for 5 violations - repeat violations.
Read some history, this Crystal Bay Caterers (chef and owner Sam LoPiccolo) has to be reprimanded by Fla Health Department for stupid simple things like not washing their hands before using their bare hands preparing raw food. What a [censored] Chef Sam LoPiccolo is, the Health Department is in your kitchen, you know you are being watched, and you still do stupid (and gross stuff) right in front of them? I can only image what Chef Sam LoPiccolo does when he is not being inspected. Again, do not take my word, look up their entire report yourself before you use Crystal Bay Caterers owner and Chef Sam LoPiccolo

My initial complaint, from personal experience with Crystal Bay Caterers, was kitchen state, food handling procedures and general sanitation - which was latter reinforced by reviewing this companies Florida Health Reports (on line). One of by big issues is kitchen staff not washing hands at all, let alone wearing gloves when handling food. This information of poor sanitation is also available online on the Tallahassee Democrat.

Back up to the above is a site called HealthCodeViolation. This web site lists 281 restaurants and catering companies in Boca Raton.
• 224 have Zero violations, 80 %
• Crystal Bay Catering has 11, which is a worse score than 246 other food service companies in Boca.
• Crystal Bay Catering has a worse health inspection score than 88 % of all the Boca Raton food services. If this was a test on a Bell Curve, Crystal Catering would get a "-D". from a generous teacher.

What is more concerning was owner Sam LoPiccolo reaction to a good faith customer review - see complaint online by google "University of Alabama Compliance Office Code of Conduct Violation Birmingham Alabama" A copy of the letter he sent was scary, and that is a mild example. What was even more scarier was that before he sent that email to me, he was harassing my wife at her place of work. Why would he and email my wife to make me take down my reviews I did? That behavior is what you expect in a Martin Scorsese Mafia movie, not a catering company chef in Boca Raton.

Desirable resolution would be instead of sending me nasty emails threatening legal action for a legitimate review/warnings, Sam LoPiccolo with Crystal Bay Caterers just cleans up his kitchen. We already have one documented instance in Dec 2017 of people getting sick over his food. See Yelp review Crystal Bay Caterers by Barbara K. @ Delray Beach, FL.

I have had two issues/experiences from this company, sanitation and professionalism - two personal experiences as recent as 11/13/2017 and 11/8/2017.

Sanitation is not limited to my experience, Google Crystal Bay Caterers Sam LoPiccolo Catering Concerning Health Inspection report - consistent violations and fines and fines going back to 2012 Boca Raton Florida. Professionalism was Sam LoPiccolo, harassing my wife to make me take down my reviews. Sam LoPiccolo finally did contact me, you can read his email directly and judge his professionalism on online report 1412602 "Complaint Review: University of Alabama Compliance Office