Cracked Pepper Catering & Bakery

Pretty great choice for lunch in Peoria with their offering of paninis, salads, sandwiches, & soups. Pricing is not as cheap as your typical sandwich shop, but still around the $ 10 range. The pastries are very yummy & a great way for a sweet ending to the meal or something to go. Would recommend trying the bacon log — a long john style donut (no filling) with maple frosting & a strip of candied bacon in top. Think it sounds weird? Just don’t think about it or look at it too much & just take a bite… it will all be worth it!

I find it a shame that the scale only goes up to 5 stars. The folks at Cracked Pepper are amazing! Pay attention other restaurants because this is how it is done! Every time I go in, they’re friendly and the food is out of this world. Their danish is flaky, delicious the center tart yet not overly sweet, freshly made, a personal favorite. I loved them so much, that I decided to have them cater my wedding. The staff was wonderful, punctual, polite, and interacted with my guests. The bar was fully stocked and not a guest had a single complaint. The food was so beautiful, it almost seemed a shame to eat it. Chef came up with a unique, delicious menu that was price conscious, but also was a nod to our foodie tastes. The turkey/​roasted pepper pinwheels were my favorite. Cracked Pepper consistently achieves excellence in customer service and culinary skill. I have recommended them repeatedly for work functions as well as friends looking for caters. I wish there was a way to give them 10 stars.

The grilled veggie wrap is absolutely delicious!!! Sweet potatoes, caramel onion and other good stuff. I will definitely have this again and again.

Cracked Pepper has catered for me countless times. They are always on time with delicious food! Thank you Cracked Pepper for being so flexible and easy to work with!

I’ve been looking for a good specialty donut place here in Peoria as I moved here from Chicago where they have a ton of amazing donut places. This place definitely fills my Chicago cravings. I got a bunch to try: maple bacon, crème brûlée, éclair, and lemon bar. I recommend all of the above! I can’t wait to try lunch here one day.

Excellent stop for breakfast pastries or lunch. Amazing bacon donuts. Love their veggie wrap for lunch. They also cater box lunches for workshops or business meetings including delivery.

We used Cracked Pepper Catering for our Barn/​Farm wedding in August 2015. This was the second caterer we went to (given our first caterer advised us they could not accommodate some of the requests we had). Marla and her team were AWESOME!!! They made everything look beautiful, they didn’t ask me silly questions, they just figured it all out! We were so impressed and the food was amazing! Given our ceremony and reception were not in a «easy» place to work with, they did it all and were totally «YES» people. So relieved to have her and her staff there to make our wedding so amazing. We would highly recommend them as a caterer for any wedding.
Chelsea & Andy

Lemon: «a person or thing, especially an automobile, regarded as unsatisfactory, disappointing, or feeble» (
).
Get that definition out of your head!
At Cracked Pepper, the definition of lemon should be: «a cookie or bar, especially the lemon cookie, regarded as mouth watering satisfactory, moist and soft and way too addicting» (ebsb)
Lemon bars! Lemon cookies! Lemon! Bars! Cookies! Lemon it all!

I got married a month ago at the Gateway Building downtown Peoria. My husband and I were looking for something fun and unique for our reception so I did tastings with 3 of their preferred caterers. Our decision to work with Cracked Pepper was based on not only the quality of their food they provided at the tasting but the people as well. Marla was open to our ideas from the very beginning and found ways to make those happen all within our budget. We ended up having the following menu: A wine themed cocktail hour including cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, bacon wrapped dates and brisket stuffed mushrooms. Dinner consisted of a taco bar, a pasta bar and brisket, veggies and potatoes. Everyone raved about the food and even a month later I am still getting compliments. We also had mini cookies and cinnamon rolls on our dessert table and there were only crumbs left! I would highly recommend Cracked Pepper for any event of any size.

Love this place! Discovered it when they catered my brother in law’s reception and my husband decided to try lunch there. Everything at the reception was awesome. After my husband tried lunch, he took me there. My favorite at the bakery/​café is the pulled pork sandwich and mac n cheese. LOVE it. I will never get tired of eating here.

I have tried Sugar & Salt, so I was anxious to try Cracked Pepper! As soon as I walked in the girl behind the counter was not super helpful, I felt like I was an inconvenience to her. I was the only person in line. I finally ordered — rushed — and ended up with a sandwich that wasn’t what I would normally have picked first.
I got a LOT of food for $ 15, I was very happy with the price. I usually am not a big lunch eater, so I could split my sandwich in half and save the rest for later.
The pumpkin cake cookie that went along with my meal was outstanding. Soft, moist, full of flavor. I could tell it was fresh and I would definitely consider placing an order for bakery items if I needed them!
The seating area was tidy, clean, not too loud. The perfect spot for a casual little lunch — one that could be long or for a quick stop.
Overall, my experience with the food was great. I am willing to try this little shop again!

This is coming in juuuuust a tad late, but Cracked Pepper catered my wedding back in May of 2012 and I am just getting around to Unilocal-​ing our vendors. We were very happy with the experience we had with Cracked Pepper from start to finish. They allowed us to come in and taste the food that we would end up serving and also helped set us up with a baker that could make the cake that my wife dreamed of.
As for the day of, they did a great job with the service and the food, as a whole, was good. I heard some murmurs from the folks who ordered the steak were not thrilled, but it was still a fine meal. The people who ordered the chicken and vegetarian dishes raved about the food all night. I had the steak, myself, and was not blown away by it… but when do you ever have a steak at a wedding and rave about it?
By the end of the night, we were thankful to have worked with a caterer that cared about making our wedding a special day. Price was totally reasonable, especially since we were serving 350 people! If you are having a wedding in the Peoria area then you should definitely give Cracked Pepper a chance.

My sister and maid of honor introduced me to this place. She hosted my bridal shower at «Salt,“and the food was AMAZING. so naturally I wanted Cracked Pepper involved with my wedding. Unfortunately, I couldn’t choose my own caterer but I COULD choose who made my cake. Sherrell (sp) the baker was SO awesome and such a beautiful spirit. She wanted my input on my cake and even asked if she could add some extra ideas that I LOVED. I didn’t see my cake until my reception and it was GORGEOUS. I was so happy with the work she did and the cake tasted AMAAAAZING!!! So moist and soft! My husband and I gave our guests the cupcakes and we took the whole cake home lol! They did such a beautiful job and their customer service is second to none. I love this place and when I visit Peoria again I WILL be frequenting this place on a regular basis. Hidden jewel!

I took a friend here in the early afternoon, just past the normal downtown lunch crowd time. It’s a pretty small space overall, so I think our timing was just about perfect as we walked right up to the counter and had time to ponder the elaborate hand drawn chalk menu for a while without feeling pressured from people behind us waiting to order.
Now, I was more focused on the person I was with than the various details of the place, but I got an overall good vibe from the interior and it was a nice cozy place to have lunch (although I could see it being a nightmare during peak lunch time rush) due to the diminutive interior.
I had the turkey panini w/​potato salad. Now, I must admit that I am a bit particular on my potato salads; some would might even say a bit of a «snob» (but I’m staying with particular), I really liked the potato salad here, good job! The panini was stuffed with meat and pretty huge, I was unable to finish but half of it.
I will go back and explore more of the menu as I get the chance.

My friend and I tried this place for a lunch on a weekday. The place was relatively empty at first. The décor is comfortable and charming with its display of cracked pepper mills. since we went late We both got the box lunch (add a side and a cookie). Two box lunches plus 2 waters came to $ 28 w/​tip. I had the Turkey club, side of Mac and cheese, and an oatmeal raisin cookie. The Mac and cheese was very good although it looked boring. I recommend it! The sandwich was crazy big. There was a lot of (pressed) turkey, tomatoes, but only one slice of cheese and one slice of lettuce. I loved the cranberry sauce in it! Next time I would customize it to add more cheese and lettuce. The bread was thick and there were 3 slices of it. The sandwich was cut in half (I thought quarters was the rule for a club!). I could only eat half of it. The cookie was ok. My friend had the Spinach and artichoke turkey panini, side of potato salad, and chocolate chip cookie. The «spinach artichoke was a spread. He too only ate half his huge sandwich. He said the potato salad was good.

I recently worked an event that was catered by Cracked Pepper and it was amazing! They had a fresh fruit bar, salad bar, and rotating entrees and sides. Everything that I had was absolutely delicious and they topped themselves every day. If you ever get a chance to try their Red Lentil and Sweet Potato salad, do not turn it down! I have never had anything like it and could have eaten the entire bowl. Their staff was incredibly gracious and attentive and I hope that they are hired again for this event next year!

The best Veggie Wrap I’ve ever eaten. Ordered the wrap yesterday not fully knowing what to expect, first surprise was that it’s served warm and then the taste just exploded in my mouth. Ablsolutely the best, will have it often for lunch. Have never been disappointed by Cracked Pepper.

Great sandwiches, and soups.

Cracked Pepper catered my wedding last September (9÷8÷12). I just realized I didn’t write a review. Marla (catering manager) was great, she offered ideas and listened to ours. We held it at the zoo and wanted all small plates and finger food to allow people to wander around and to allow the celebration to continue without breaking for a sit down dinner.
More than a few people at the wedding and after, commented how good the food was. Their service, presentation and quality were all great.
Get married and have it catered by Cracked Pepper.

This restaurant is great! The dining area has a cozy vibe, they make pastries including a «bacon log» and they have great-​tasting soups, sandwiches, salads and cookies.
Today I had a lemon cookie and a southwest chicken wrap and enjoyed every bite.