Tasting menu dinners
Seven small courses that follow the season, with a pairing for each if you want one.
A tasting menu is the dinner for people who love food: seven smaller courses instead of four bigger ones, more technique, a longer evening, and a chance to try things you would not order on your own. It is $175 per person plus groceries, and it works best for two to eight guests at one table.
What it is
Seven courses, each a few bites, moving from light to rich and back: something raw or cold to start, a soup or a salad, a pasta, a fish, a meat, something to reset the palate, and dessert. The menu follows what is best in New England that month. Some of the printed menus on the sample menus page are tasting menus; the courses change with the season, so ask for the current one.
Pairings
I am a Certified Cicerone, which is the beer world’s version of a sommelier, and I spent years in professional brewing before I cooked for a living. So a pairing dinner can run on beer as easily as wine, or both, or cocktails. I don’t supply the alcohol, so it works like this: once the menu is set, I write the pairing list course by course with exactly what to buy and where, you buy it and pour it, and at the table I walk everyone through each one alongside its dish. For cocktails, I make the base and mixers, rim the glasses and do the garnishes, and you add the spirit. The pairing plan is $100. If you would rather pick your own bottles, tell me what you have and I will build the menu toward it.
What it costs
$175 per person in chef fees, plus groceries at cost. Groceries run higher for a tasting menu than for a four-course dinner, since seven courses means more ingredients and usually a few luxuries, so I estimate them with the quote rather than quoting a range here. A tasting menu for six is $1,050 in chef fees plus groceries; the optional pairing plan is $100 on top. Past about eight the format starts to lose what makes it good, and at thirteen or more a server ($250) is required.
How the evening runs
Plan on three hours at the table. I arrive two to three hours before you sit down, cook in your kitchen, and send courses out at a pace that lets each one land. Printed menus at every seat, with the pairings listed if we did them. I clean up and leave after dessert. Everything else is the same as a private dinner.
Questions people ask
How much is a tasting menu dinner?
$175 per person in chef fees, plus groceries at cost, with a $650 minimum. The pairing plan, if you want one, is $100.
Do you do beer pairings?
Yes. I am a Certified Cicerone and a former professional brewer, so beer, wine, and cocktail pairings are all on the table. You buy and pour the bottles from my list; I walk everyone through each one.
How long does it take?
About three hours at the table for seven courses.