With caterer late, they passed the plate

When the caterer arrives at the wedding reception well after more than 200 guests (and an emergency run for $1,000 worth of food from other sources), the newlyweds are not likely to be happy.

Mr. and Mrs. Russ King still aren't, and they are seeking a full refund from Big E.

But the cantankerous caterer also known as Chef Eric Austin indicated to me Thursday that they shouldn't hold their breath. In fact, Big E was quite huffy over the fact that he was only to be compensated for the cost of the food, $800, and not his time or culinary skills, while in a pinch the newlyweds found $1,000 to spend at Famous Dave's, Lunds and other eateries.

Russ King, a keyboardist who founded the now-defunct New Congress, and Stephanie Devine-King, singer and manager of the group, got married at Bunker's on Sept. 11. Bunker's is a special place for the couple, since they've played gigs there with New Congress and members of Mint Condition, along with others.

"We went and did a tasting at Big E's house with him and his wife, Melanie [Kell]," Stephanie said. "She kind of took the lead on most of the conversations after we went to their house. We agreed on a price of $800 -- pretty reasonable. We just wanted jambalaya and some wings." Stephanie claims Big E said he just wanted to get his name out there again and wasn't trying to make a profit.

"We had the same time for months," Stephanie said. "Nothing changed. We talked to her [Melanie] the day before, and she said What time can I come set up? Russ said anytime between 4 and 6. Our ceremony starts at 6 p.m. Obviously, we don't want you walking in while we're getting married. The ceremony was going to take 20 minutes, and we were going to be eating at 7."

After the wedding ceremony was finished and there was no caterer in sight, Stephanie said, "We started calling them. And called and called and called for an hour. We made a decision to order other food. We called Famous Dave's and asked What do you have left in the kitchen? It cost $600 and some bucks. I had my minister and one of my attendants run to Lunds and buy $200 worth of food. Bunker's is like putting out appetizers."

Within minutes of securing other food, the groom got a call from Melanie cheerily announcing they were on the way. "Didn't even acknowledge they were late. Russ was livid" when informed the caterers said they didn't think the food was supposed to be ready until after 7 p.m., Stephanie said. "They show up at 8:20."

Stephanie said there was a scene in the parking lot when Russ tried to get in the chef's REAL LIFE grill. Friends took Russ inside after "Big E's like You'd better get out of my face," said Stephanie. The bride accepted the belated food because "the food we had to fill in still wasn't enough for everybody." But on the spot she said she wanted a discount.

"There was certainly no formal plan for me to be there at any specific time," Big E told me. He said he would write a "letter to them [asking]: 'How can you gather $1,000 on a short notice to get other food and give me $800 for the food I was supposed to prepare?' I'm just as pissed as they are, because this wasn't anything formal; this was Big E, you're a friend, can you do our event? It won't happen like that again."

Big E blames the newlyweds for his tardiness. "At 7:20, when they said Forget it, don't bring it, I stopped production, and when they said OK, bring it, it's 8 o'clock. I won't stand for that. I will send you an e-mail between Melanie and them [that said] I don't want the food before 7, but around 7-ish. I have an e-mail to that effect."

But it was never forwarded, probably because on Monday, Melanie told me there was no such e-mail. "This is so ugly, so unnecessary, I don't even understand," said Melanie, who claims Russ said he didn't want the food until "at least 7 p.m. I said, 'OK we will see you 7-ish, after 7.'"

Melanie said the first furious phone calls from the newlyweds went to her work number -- when she wasn't at her office -- instead of her cell phone. "He might have felt I was ignoring his calls, but I didn't know he was calling," Melanie told me. "I didn't think there was a problem at all." Until she called them.

Russ played a voice mail from Melanie, time-stamped 7:26 p.m., in which she takes full responsibility for the snafu.

In part, an e-mail from the newlyweds to Melanie reads: "Stephanie and I are so disgusted by your attitudes and failure to show up for our wedding on time. You didn't even show up within a reasonable time-frame for any wedding reception!!! Who serves dinner at 8 p.m.??? UNBELIEVEABLE!!! Please send a full refund to..."

If it makes Big E feel better, he should know that Russ, who said he doesn't expect to play music without getting paid, was planning on giving the chef a big tip. Melanie confirmed to me that Russ told her about this detail, which she kept from Big E, thinking it would be a nice surprise from his (now former?) friend Russ.

Had they not been able to collect money from Stephanie's mom and wedding guests for the emergency food, they could have just eaten cake. Wuollet bakeries had the four-tier wedding cake there by 4 p.m. The cupcakes, which Sweet Sylvia Bakery & Patisserie gave as a gift to the wedding party, arrived around 5:15 p.m.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.