Private dinners

Four courses, cooked in your kitchen and served at your table.

This is most of what I do: a four-course dinner for two to twenty people, cooked in your kitchen while you host. I write the menu for your group, shop for it, cook it, serve it, and clean up. You sit down with your guests and stay there.

Two ways to serve it

Plated, $125 per person

Four courses, each plated in the kitchen and brought out one at a time, restaurant-style. My most requested format. Best for two to about twelve guests at one table: anniversaries, milestone birthdays, dinner parties.

Family-style, $100 per person

Four courses on platters, passed down the table. Looser, more abundant, and the food stays hot for a bigger group. Best for eight to twenty: birthdays, holidays, reunions, the in-laws.

Either way, dinners start at $650 in chef fees (five guests at the plated rate) and groceries are billed at cost, typically about $35 to $45 per person. A server ($250) is required for plated dinners of 13 or more and family-style dinners of 17 or more. Full numbers and worked examples are on the cost guide.

The menu

Every menu is written for the table in front of me. I start from what is in season in New England and from what you tell me about your guests: the favorite dish, the one thing someone will not eat, the allergy, the kid who only eats pasta. Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, and shellfish-free guests get a course designed for them, not a plate with things removed. The sample menus show what a month looks like; treat them as a starting point.

How the evening runs

  • We settle the menu by email a week or two out. I send a first draft; you react; we fine-tune it.
  • I arrive two to three hours before you want to sit down, with the groceries and my own knives, pans, and induction burner. Small kitchens and old ovens are fine.
  • You set your own table, or I bring my tabletop kit at no charge: stoneware, glassware, silverware, linens, candles. Printed menus go at every seat either way.
  • Courses come out when you are ready for them, not on a timer. I introduce each one in a sentence and get out of the way.
  • I don’t supply the alcohol, but once the menu is set I send a bottle list matched to each course; you pour, and I walk everyone through each one at the table.
  • After dessert I pack the leftovers, wash everything I used, and load out. Most nights I am gone within forty-five minutes.

Occasions

Birthdays, anniversaries, date nights, dinner parties, thank-you dinners, holiday meals, the night the whole family is finally in one place. Pages on the common ones: birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. For weddings, reunions, and retreats, see events.

Questions people ask

How many guests can you cook for?

Two to about twenty for a seated dinner. Plated works best up to about twelve at one table; family-style is better for larger groups. Above twelve plated guests (or sixteen family-style) a server is required, $250 for the evening. For bigger parties, see the events page.

What do you need from my kitchen?

A working stove or oven, a clear counter or two, an empty sink, and some fridge space. I bring everything else.

How far ahead should I book?

Two to four weeks is comfortable. Fall Saturdays and holidays go a month or two out. If your date is next week, ask anyway.