San Diego Catering · Chef-Founded · Family-Run

Corporate catering done right.

Chef-crafted sandwiches, bowls, hot buffets, and 40 menus from around the world — prepped fresh every morning and delivered on time across all of the greater San Diego area. Built for corporate teams, boardrooms, and on-site events.

Request a quoteSee the menu
Chef-founded
2020
Menus
40 from around the world
Service area
Greater San Diego
Family
Owned & operated

Every delivery includes

  • Chef-planned menus, made fresh the morning of delivery
  • Eco-friendly disposables + serving utensils
  • On-time delivery, set up for room-to-room service
  • Dedicated point of contact for every order
Prefer to talk it through?
619-380-2050
Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Quotes back the same business day
2020
Chef-founded, family-run
25+ yrs
Executive-chef experience
40 menus
From around the world
350+
Guests served at a single event
Chef Marco at our San Diego office
Chef Marco at our San Diego office
Our crew plating fresh in the kitchen
Our crew plating fresh in the kitchen
Our story

Chef-founded. Customer-centered.

The Cooking Penguin is what happens when a chef builds the catering company he always wished existed. Founder Marco Gaona has spent 25+ years behind professional ranges — trained at the International School Culinary Arts, seasoned by five years cheffing for Princess Cruise Lines, where spotless kitchens and split-second timing are the job description. The result: a chef who can run a spotless, high-volume kitchen and still treat every tray like it's going to the captain's table.

That range is why we can cook you a French bistro lunch on Tuesday and a full taco bar on Friday — and why teams from small boardrooms to 350-person celebrations keep calling back. Every menu starts with a conversation, gets built around your people, and is signed off by Marco before it leaves our kitchen.

Request a quote Call 619-380-2050

🤝 We donate a portion of our freshest food to partners of Feeding San Diego.
Why our food tastes different

Trained where excellence is the standard.

Marco cut his teeth in some of the most demanding kitchens there are — five years at sea with Princess Cruise Lines, cooking for thousands of guests a night where health inspections are relentless and dinner service never runs late. That discipline shows up on every tray we deliver.

The chef

Chef Marco Gaona

Founder · Executive Chef
  • 25+ years behind professional ranges
  • 5 years cheffing for Princess Cruise Lines — spotless kitchens, split-second timing
  • International School Culinary Arts
  • Designs and signs off on every menu personally
The standard

What 25+ years buys you

Professional-kitchen discipline, on every order
  • Cruise-ship sanitation standards in every prep
  • Split-second timing — service that lands on the dot
  • 40 menus mastered, from French bistro to Pacific Rim
  • Events up to 350 guests, plated without a hiccup
  • Every menu designed and signed off by Marco personally

Cruise-ship cleanliness. Fine-dining finesse. Farm-to-table freshness. That's the pedigree behind the penguin.

Why teams book us

The details matter — so do the people.

We're a family-run catering kitchen trusted by San Diego's shipbuilders, energy companies, health systems, universities, and city halls — and we treat every office lunch like the signature event it is.

Chef-led, every order

25+ years of executive-chef experience behind every menu — including years aboard cruise ships, where spotless kitchens and on-the-dot timing are non-negotiable. Marco signs off on every tray.

Built for office logistics

On-time delivery windows, trays portioned for room-to-room service, and a dedicated point of contact. Every order is tracked from booking to delivery so nothing slips.

Rooted in San Diego

We serve all of the greater San Diego area and partner with Feeding San Diego — donating a portion of our freshest food to help end local hunger.

Crowd favorites

The trays that empty first.

Real photos from real deliveries — no stock photography, no stand-ins.

Vegi Penguin

Vegi Penguin

Avocado, sprouts, balsamic glaze on marble rye
The Ice-Cubed Salad

The Ice-Cubed Salad

Grilled chicken, bacon, avocado, blue cheese
Rice & Veggie Bowls

Rice & Veggie Bowls

Salmon, shrimp, steak, or chicken — packed per person
See the full menu
Lunch & Dinner Buffets

Menus from around the world.

Forty chef-built menus spanning the cuisines Marco mastered over 25+ years — pick a part of the world and we'll bring it to your table, made fresh the morning of your event. Call or email and we'll build the menu around your people.

Mediterranean — beef kebabs
Mediterranean — beef kebabs
Herb-marinated chicken
Herb-marinated chicken
Full buffet setup
Full buffet setup

Lunch & Dinner Buffets

Asian Fusion Buffet BowlsAsian InspiredAvocado Toast BarBBQ Chicken & Pork RibsCajun ComfortClassic American ComfortClassic Backyard BBQClassic DeliComfort PastaCompany PicnicFish Taco BarFrench BistroGreek ComfortHawaiianHomestyle RoastItalian CasualItalian Penne & AlfredoItalian-American ClassicItaliano PenguinoLatin RoastMeatball BarMediterranean Bowl BarMediterranean Greek KabobsMediterranean Unique ClassicMexican Chicken MoleMexican FajitasMexican FiestaMiddle Eastern FlavorsPacific RimPenguin Power BowlPeruvianRustic Farm TableSouthern ComfortSpanish InspiredTaco BarTaco TuesdayUK Penguin (Shepherd's Pie Bar)

Breakfast Buffets

Continental ClassicAmerican ClassicAmerican ComfortHot BreakfastHealthy Fresh StartLatin-InspiredLight BreakfastBreakfast Buffet

Every menu includes a fresh salad, entrée options, sides, and bread service — with appetizer displays, charcuterie boards, and dessert tables available for any event.

Ask About a Menu
How to order

From brief to table in four steps.

Whether it's a Monday staff breakfast or a Friday lunch for fifty, the path is the same — and every quote comes back within the business day.

01
Step 01

Send us the brief

Request a quote online or call — share headcount, date, address, and any dietary preferences. Takes under two minutes.

02
Step 02

We scope the menu

You get a chef-reviewed quote and a delivery window within the business day. Tweak as needed.

03
Step 03

We prep fresh the morning of

Ingredients arrive the day before, bread bakes at dawn, chef plates the trays. Nothing is pre-packed overnight.

04
Step 04

Delivered + set up

Our team delivers on time, sets up for easy room-to-room service, and leaves you with eco-friendly disposables.

Fine print, no surprises

Ordering details.

The straightforward policies we operate by — so your office manager, EA, or procurement team always knows what to expect.

Ordering lead time
Email or call Mon–Fri, 8 AM – 5 PM. Deli orders: 24 hours in advance · Special menu orders: 48 hours in advance.
Service area
We serve all of the greater San Diego area.
Last-minute cancellations
A 4-hour cancellation notice is required. Late cancellations are charged in full.
Menus from around the world
Made fresh to order in many of your favorite cuisines — just tell us your occasion.
Payments
Visa, MasterCard, and Discover accepted.
Dietary needs
Vegetarian, gluten-free, and lighter options on every menu — tell us who we're feeding and we'll take care of them.
Request a quote Call 619-380-2050

Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM · Serving the greater San Diego area · catering@thecookingpenguin.com

🐧 Please note: our kitchen is closed the final week of December and the first week of January.

Straight from our kitchen

Real deliveries. Real spreads.

No stock photography — every photo here is a tray our crew plated and delivered to a San Diego office.

Smoked salmon platter with edible flowers
Assorted bagel bar with homemade cream cheeses and jams
Farm-to-table setup at a client office
Individually packed power bowls
Herbed egg platter with marigolds
Smoked salmon with capers
The family

Meet the penguins.

Three owners behind every order: the chef who dreams up the menu, the marketer who tells its story, and the operator who makes sure everything runs.

The Cooking Penguin team

The owners — Randy, Marco & Nathaniel — outside our San Diego kitchen.

MG
The Cooking Penguin

Marco Gaona

Founder · Head Chef

25+ years behind professional ranges — five of them cheffing for Princess Cruise Lines, where spotless kitchens and split-second timing are the job description — trained at the International School Culinary Arts. Marco still designs every menu and signs off on every tray.

RG
The Marketing Penguin

Randy Gerson

Marketing & Sales

When he isn't running The Cooking Penguin's marketing and sales channels (or on the ice playing hockey), Randy helps businesses grow — 30+ years of sales and marketing experience.

NH
The Finance Penguin

Nathaniel Hosmer

Finance & Operations

By day, an analyst helping large companies manage their money. For The Cooking Penguin: contracts, financial operations, vendor pricing, and your primary point of contact for invoicing.

Ready when you are

Give your team a lunch they'll actually talk about.

Send us a brief, get a chef-reviewed quote within the business day, and let us handle the rest — from prep to delivery to clean disposables.

Request a quote Call 619-380-2050
Speak directly
619-380-2050
Mon–Fri · 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Or write
catering@thecookingpenguin.com
Quotes back the same business day
Let's feed your team

Ready when you are.

Tell us about your event and we'll get back the same business day with a custom quote.

Request a Quote

Quotes back the same business day.

Ordering terms: We serve all of the greater San Diego area · 4-hour cancellation notice (late cancellations charged in full) · Visa, MasterCard, Discover accepted · Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm.