Private Chef - Dinner Party

Kicking around the idea of hiring a series of private chefs to do dinners at a rotating friends home. 10-12 people. We provide wine from our cellars.

I have catered many dinners but they are often larger in nature and I’m thinking a higher level of food than a traditional catering operation.

Anyone else do this? Any tips?

We don’t have corkage here so if you want to drink great wine but not pay restaurant markup you have to cook at home. We do that all the time but are thinking of making it a little easier on ourselves by hiring a chef to do the cooking.

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I’ve done a few of these.

I assume you have a decent sized kitchen? I would insist on the chef cooking on location. A lot of these “private chefs” around here will just bring trays and reheat and I have never been impressed with the food if that is the case.

You can save money by providing plates and flatware.

Where are you located? In NYC this is something I’ve done and my friends do somewhat regularly. PM me if you want details.

I have one in three weeks; I’ll let you know.

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I don’t think kitchen size will be an issue for any of these houses but that was on my list of things to ask chef.

What I’m trying to avoid is the cook off site and warm up onsite. That’s catering in my book.

I am in Oklahoma.

Do local restaurants offer event spaces for rent, where the staff can cook and serve there, leaving no cleaning for the host? Then, just bring your own wine.

done it a couple times w success. Chef brings a server/helper also. Can be fun.

My comments are similar to Alan’s. I’ve done this 4-5 times with good results. The lady is from Paris and works in a French restaurant here in Vegas. She does the private chef routine to make extra $ and I pay her generously. We have a menu planning session, she buys all the ingredients, and cooks everything at my house, bringing a lot of utensils, gadgets and even the table settings. Then she cleans up and takes everything away. I furnish the wine and glasses.

I opt for this approach for meals that are a bit beyond my capabilities. She’s on top of the ingredients, sauces, etc. that I’m clueless on. She also did a Vegan meal when we had a finicky guest and it came out really well (Italian food).

We’ve done it 2-3 times although with larger groups. They did all the clean up with the exception of a few dishes left in the dishwasher.

People can hire me! [wink.gif]

But I know how to cook just one dish.

They will do clean up in your home

I hesitate to recommend Facebook, but our little burg has a very active ISO (in search of) page. Like a local swap shop and life help desk. For example: looking for a kids car seat, looking for a cleaning person, have a book shelf to get ride of, etc… I’m quite sure if I posted this question I would get several good recommendations.

Yes. But can’t bring your own booze.

I have done it a couple of times in Westchester NY, and one time it was brilliant, the other good. Same chef, the second time, he had just closed his restaurant and had to staff with students at the CIA. He made it work, but whereas the first meal was sublime, the second was very good, the service a little less ept.

There was a lot of bottles at both events; if you are doing something similar, make sure you have a dedicated wine person, or you will not enjoy it. If the person is not used to fourteen pours, do make sure he practices a couple of times.

I have done many of these. If you get the right chef you will be VERY happy.
Not cheap. More expensive than a restaurant but you get personal attention.
We have hired local chefs in the past. They are almost always willing to come to your
home for the right night and finances.

A caveat. Make sure you hire someone to serve and clean along with the chef. To me it is a necessity.
Enjoy!

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This is brilliant! would love some private chef leads in the Los Angeles area…

Thanks in advance!

What Don said, there should be a team minimum chef and 2 wait staff for serving and cleaning. I’m sure it would be worth it if you can find a good chef.

I
Maybe I’ll look for a different chef next time… [wink.gif]

Part of what gave me the idea to ask on this was I visited with Jeff Nimer at a golf tournament a few months back. Jeff is a chef in LA and a big wine guy. Some here may know him, as he told me he used cook for some of the tastings Rudy put together back in that time. The resort we were staying at had chalets and he was cooking every night that week and serving great wine. Food was amazing You might look him up at his company’s IG.

https://instagram.com/hautechefsla?utm_medium=copy_link

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