Here is the update. This past Saturday CBR catered our wedding and it was fantastic. You kind of expect a few things to go wrong at a wedding and the food is usually where that happens. So we were prepared for a few hiccups, but they never came. Honestly, my wife (that's still weird to say) and I love Katie. She and the rest of her team were amazing. We had a difficult venue and were were on the second floor with no elevator. Which meant that everything that had to be served had to be run up a large flight of stairs. But I will go through this better point by point. The Food - Probably the most important. Was great it was exactly like what we tasted at the tasting and not just ours everyone's was perfect. All the steak perfectly cooked and the salmon was the same. The apps were a huge hit and they even made my grandmothers meatballs (perfectly I might add). Oh and everything came out hot! Which is tough when 150 people get served at once. The service - the entire team was great they worked quickly and were excellent with all of my guests. The Katie - Honestly made this great. Every time I saw her she was running around like crazy. If something went wrong we never saw it. Also in the planning she was so easy to work with and made sure that we were getting exactly what we wanted. She even followed up the day after our wedding making sure everything was ok and apologizing for some minor thing no one noticed. I cannot recommend these guys enough. They worked with in our budget and created the dinner for our wedding that was exactly what we wanted. All of the issues were on our side including a literal 11 hour guest who Katie handled with ease. In short all of our guests were happy we were happy and it all went well. read more

We hired Chef by Request Catering for my daughter's graduation/going away party. Staff was helpful and courteous, food was delivered and set up on time, but most important- the food was delicious.......and there was A LOT! read more

We had a wonderful experience. Lots of communication to help plan our party. The staff was on time and so professional! Bartenders, chef, and servers were self directed which made our party stress free! read more

Everything went smoothly for our corporate Halloween event at our home! We had a chef make the appetizers in our basement, 2 servers helping me with the setup, followed by clearing plates and glasses for guests!! They were fun, professional, and really worked well as a team. We also had a bartender that everyone loved! She made a mean cosmo. One of my fave catered events, and I've done a lot. Amanda was amazing to work with. read more

Used them for our company dinner. On time, perfect set up, food hot and good. Delivered to our location. Really turn-key and done. Strongly positive recommend. read more

Recently, Amanda & her crew provided the buffet for a memorial for a family member. I could not have been more pleased! Amanda is easy to work with, knowledgeable & readily responds. Her staff are kind & helpful. Many compliments were heard about the food. which is always appreciated as the host. I HIGHLY recommend Chef by Request. read more

Mortified. They knew my order was coming for days and decided to mess me after we had been emailing back and forth for days. Then suddenly they said the needed to know in an hour my final order, mind you they had still not answered my questions. THEN they went within 2 min from an hour deadline to suddenly a 20 min deadline, saying they needed it before kitchen close, for the Holiday. (which makes no sense as they aren't making the food for a week) So I sent it in 3 not 20 minutes later. Amanda who works there chose not to check her email knowing an order was coming for 45 minutes after saying she needed it in 20. Then had the audacity to email back 3 minutes after kitchen close: Unfortunately, it is now too late to place an order..... Happy Holidays. HAPPY HOLIDAYS?? This literally ruined my baby gender reveal - which was in a week. I was in tears finding another caterer and 8 months pregnant (that is a lot of tears) but THANK GOODNESS Corky's Catering took pity on my sobbing and figured it out last minute for us and making my baby reveal magical. ( and made sure all food allergies were addressed and taken care of) read more

I have used Chef by Request for a Mother's Day lunch and most recently for my daughter's baby shower. Both times the food was exceptional. Amanda was great to work with, responding to my questions and changes in a timely manner. I definitely recommend them! read more

I will ALWAYS use Chef by Request! The planning coordinator, Amanda, was always responsive and extremely helpful in suggesting what I needed or would possibly think of needing/wanting for my event. Everything was complete and on time and the food was OUTSTANDING. They were very upfront in being short staffed and recommended another company for me to hire wait staff/bartender. The GM was friendly, communicative and hands-on. The support staff were professional, friendly and interactive. YES YES YES to Chef by Request!!!! read more

We used Chef by Request for a bridal shower brunch in our home, and they exceeded my expectations. Amanda was responsive and communicative regarding all my questions and meeting all our needs. Set up was done efficiently and looked great! Best of all, many guests commented about how good all of the food was, including the fabulous desserts. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them or use them again for any event. read more

For my mother-in-law and father-in-law's 50th anniversary our large family was looking to hire a private chef to come to their house and cook a great meal. My father in law was going through Chemo and so we were looking to do something special but keep him at home. The staff was so helpful and informative with giving us options on what could be done. They were wonderful and accommodating. read more

Excellent food and service every time! Owner Dave Miller has a lot to be proud of! The staff at Chef by Request alway goes above and beyond; they are professional down to every last detail. Amanda Ingles is excellent at her job as the director of weddings and events and our delivery and set up gal was delightful, polite, kind and prompt. It is comforting to know that every one of my family and business catering needs will be great thanks to Chef by Request! read more

I requested a quote from Chef by Request for my wedding, and did not receive any type of response or reply for 2 weeks. I emailed again to follow up, and thought maybe my email got lost and give them the benefit of the doubt. I received a generic response saying the wedding coordinator, Danielle Guzman would be in touch that day. She did not get in touch with me that day. A few days past, and Danielle said she would get the quote out to me that morning, but I did not see anything all day. Finally, the following evening I contacted her and a few hours afterwards I had received a quote. This was probably the most unorganized quote. None of the items that I had requested were on there, and I knew that I did not want a caterer that I would have to chase down all the time. It was no surprise, Danielle did not bother to follow up on the information she had provided me. Who knows if they would even show up on time and prepare for my wedding day. I am not sure if this company is extremely busy or the staff is completely incompetent. Good luck to anyone trying to get a quote or customer service out of this company. read more

We had a corporate luncheon for the holidays and this was the caterer. I had some pretty good food, but this was by far the best catering I have had. Very professional presentative, and tasted exquisite. If I ever need a caterer I will be calling them first and I recommend them for any event! Thank you Katie Merkle who was the event specialist read more

I was at an event this weekend that was catered by this company and it was awful. The steaks were all over the map. My wife's was well done, mine was medium, my uncle's was rare on the boarder of raw. All of them had huge slabs of fat. They should have been trimmed before they cooked them off site. Twice baked potatoes were gray bland no seasoning. The Shrimp Dijon was so salty no-one could eat it. The shrimps were like eating salty rubber bullets. The servers were good. The did a great job. I feel bad for the hosts. They did not get their money's worth. I would not use them. read more

We had a corporate lunch today. I call it the ballpark special. It was burgers and brats, with slaw chips and carrot cake for dessert. It reminded me of the food at the rooftops by wrigley field. And we all know that we don't go to a rooftop to watch a game for the food. The slaw was .. well I don't know what it was. It wasn't made with real mayonnaise and had no flavor. The brats and the burgers were cold 5 minutes after delivery, and they put some kind of stinky green leaf all over the dessert plate [it's like someone went into the backyard and picked them right off of the tree]. Who does that? They were inexpensive, and now we know why. Epic fail on the taste testers part. Sorry, I could not find anything good about the food today. read more

Chef by Request courts clients very well. HOWEVER, they turn our poor product and service, and blatantly pulled a 'bait and switch' on us. We had a wonderful tasting in their office and loved the food. We raved about it to family and friends for months up to our wedding. At our wedding, a fatty beef was served (my guests said they would chew and had to spit out fat pieces into a napkin), and bone-in light and dark meat chicken was served, when we had tasted a chicken breast earlier. When I delivered this feedback, they requested pictures of the food from the wedding or tasting. Who would think of doing that? Sorry, I was busy being a bride and not an event coordinator. . After the wedding, such as brunch on Sunday and Father's Day which was shortly after the wedding, family members said they did not expect a chicken leg or wing at a wedding and talked about how 'gross' the beef was. It was completely embarrassing. I also learned that the food was taken and given to staff as their meal (totally fine and agreed to prior) BEFORE ALL THE GUESTS HAD EATEN, EVEN MY MOM. I can't speak to the appetizers as there was one flatbread passed in the area my family was taking pictures and there was probably 30 people hanging out in this space. I got one compliment from 175 guests - the potatoes were good. Hopefully that fact speaks for itself. Like the other reviewed said, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND PLEASE SELECT A DIFFERENT VENDOR. In the end, we were offered a refund on the cost of the beef - fair. The owner alleged that bone-in chicken pieces was 'elegant and trendy'. Sorry, that is not elegant, that is BBQ style. Not the look I was going for. Amanda is the coordinator we worked with, and she did a fine job. However, their owner is arrogant and insulting in his email communication. read more

I had contacted chef by request for a consultation for an event for 150 people. After some perseverance, i was finally able to make a consultation appointment in June. After consultation, we were told we would be receiving a proposal. I never received a proposal. I sent a couple of emails asking again for the proposal. It is now september. I still never received the proposal. I decided to hire another caterer. If this is how they do business, I dont think I would like their business at all! I will keep this in mind for future events. Way to drop the ball chef by request! Update: one year after initial inquisition, chef by request emailed me asking if I would like a proposal. It is now July 2017. Original consultation was June 2016. Wow. Just wow. Sorry, I am in contract with another company. It's quite interesting getting snubbed for a whole year. read more

Excellent Service, food and wedding as well as corporate planners...have done several events with chef by request and they exceed expectations...the chef is a well known, award winning, culinary genius and his company has only the best people working for him. The food is exquisite! Thank you for many great parties!!! read more

Chef by Request. Catering is outstanding, Amanda will work with you from start to finish, help design your menu, arrange and staff the most delicious event . David and Leslie Malay read more

I just received my meals now and I am very disappointed with the service and packaging of Chef by Request. All the boxes were leaking and most of the food was out of the containers. There was barely anything left to eat that wasn't leaking out of the boxes. Besides the condition of the food, all these meals arrived days late. I'm traveling for a week tomorrow so the food will go to waste because i was expecting the delivery to be done on Saturday. Isabela read more

Amanda and staff were extremely accommodating and professional. They helped us create a beautiful event that we will remember forever! I had many guests come up to me throughout the night saying that it was some of the best food they had had at a wedding. Seriously, don't pass up the pork belly appetizer! We planned our wedding from out of town, so it was particularly stressful to not know how things would turn out. We are so thankful to have worked with Amanda and CBR. They were a pleasure to work with: the food was great, the staff were friendly and diligent, everyone understood weddings, and it all came at a transparent and reasonable price. Thank you CBR! read more

CBR catered my son's first birthday party at Knoch Knolls Nature Center in Naperville. The setup was beautiful and the food was delicious. We had many compliments. Coordinating the details with Amanda was a pleasure. I will certainly use them again for future events in the area. read more

Chef by Request Catering - Caterers Near Me - Lisle, Illinois

Used Chef by Request for our wedding. Fantastic food, got compliments all night long on the meals!

Serving raw chicken at a friends event! Not cool at all. Then topping it of by stopping payment on the reimbursement, and telling them to F them selves? I wonder how long these people have been doing this type of stuff. Bad caterer! BAD BAD they only got one star so I could post this rating read more

This is the third time I've used Chef by Request; the first time for our daughter's vegan wedding at Danada House (which was DELICIOUS) and the 2nd time I used them for a bridal shower in my home. This time was for another bridal shower in my home. Amanda helped me plan the menu while staying withing my budget, and the whole initial coordinating of the event was a breeze. Jackie was our server at the shower and she is truly amazing. Very professional, personable, and extremely helpful. She was "under the radar" the whole time setting up, cleaning up, doing dishes and putting all the leftovers away. My kitchen was spotless before she left. chef by Request is my "go-to" for any catering needs! read more

We are planning our daughter's wedding in Chicago , to be held at A New Leaf. They have a list of caterers they exclusively use. I have had no luck getting feedback from a few of these caterers. Katie Merkle from Chef by Request Catering, however, has bent over backwards with menu suggestions, ways to cut costs, etc., without even knowing if A New Leaf will allow them to cater our wedding. A wedding planner in Chicago raved about Chef by Request, saying she would choose them over any of the city caterers, with both fantastic food, service and affordability. If Chef by Request's food is even half as good as the customer service I have been receiving, then I am really hoping A New Leaf will add them to their preferred list! read more

We just had Chef By Request cater my daughter's high school graduation party, and it was a wonderful experience. We had a special request in that everything had to be vegetarian, and they were more than accommodating in putting together a great list of options. We had changed our minds a few times on what we wanted, and Chef By Request was always quick to provide us options. I would definitely use them for our next event. read more

Thank you for this opportunity to share with you my experience at "CHEF BY REQUEST". My guest were at a fund raiser put on by "Naperville Settlement" on September 6, 2014 called "Dinner on the Town". They had us spin the wheel to pick a restaurant to go to with our party and 4 other guests. My spin landed on "CHEF BY REQUEST". My party and I were quit intrigued I must say, as none of us had been there. We along with 4 other guests were chauffeured to this place. It was small, quaint and decorated so lovely. We walked in and the fragrance of the food was dwelling in the mist of the air. We were greeted by two lovely ladies Amy (the Chef) and if my memory serves me correctly, the other lovely lady was her sister named Cindy (our personal waitress). They lead us into a very cozy nice room. The table was nicely decorated with candles and flowers. However, my mind and senses were still being tantalized by the lovely smells coming from another room. The conversation was spectacular as we all were getting to know one another. We were served wine red or white to our liking. Amy came in and gave us a lovely description of the dinner she was about to present to us. Our first course was gingerly seared scallop in a martini glass with some lovely type of rice. The next course was tomato bisque and a colorful green leafy salad. The tomato bisque was perfect. I must say, I have never had salad dressing that was explosive with vibrant flavors like the kind we were served. The main course was glorious in presentation as my taste buds were dancing with joy for those lamb chops. We were served some type of lovely potatoes and asparagus types with fanciful flavors. The conversation at this point slowed down to a murmurer as we all we captivated in enjoying these wonderful delights. I have had lamb chops before from many locations in my journeys. I have found only two, yes only two places that can prepare them and gingerly season them to perfection. Basil's Greek Dining and NOW, "CHEF BY REQUEST"!!! I am not a big eater however, plate was swept clean as I was not about to leave one spec of that lovely goodness on my plate. For dessert, she topped it off with a cheese cake to die for. Oh my goodness, I do not eat sweets however, the presentation was so inviting that I had to try it. I was overwhelmed as it was not too sweet but oh just right. Amy, (who was the Chef that night) I along with my 7 guests were 'honored and privileged" to dine at your chef table. You and your lovely sister did a 5 star presentation from the start to the finish. My review on "CHEF BY REQUEST" is this; if you are interested in appealing and pleasing your guests for any event, I would highly suggest you have them cater your event. Their food will be the a great asset to any event. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, Debra read more

We hired CBR for my son's high school graduation party this month (June 2019). This is about the 5th time that we have used CBR for fairly large outdoor events at our home (150ish people). Without exception, the service and food have been outstanding. They have been perfectly reliable, never failing on any element. The guests consistently compliment the service and food. Most recently, we worked with Amanda in making the detailed arrangements, and she was extremely helpful and patient. Edwin and Liz staffed our event, and we couldn't have asked for a better run celebration. read more

Great company. Helped me with a corporate luncheon event. Great service and food is amazing and FRESH.

I have been trying to get in contact with Chef by Request since Dec. 16. I said that I wanted more information about catering for my wedding. I knew the holidays were a busy season, Danielle Guzman (Wedding Coordinator) said she would call me, which never happened. I have been calling the company for more information once a week for three week with no reply. I finally got a call through today (Jan. 15- 1 month later) and received a quote for my wedding brunch as 60 a plate (with us purchasing outside alcohol), I did the math they gave me and came up with 33 a plate, half the cost. I sent an email asking to point out my mistakes.. with no reply. I will give them 1 week to answer, while still pursuing other caterers. I am extremely upset with their service and lack of communication. Especially since they were our #1 choice and since we were willing to pay this company thousands of dollars for our wedding. I am suggesting that if a bride wants smooth sailing with a caterer, do NOT choose this company. read more

Amanda Ingle coordinated our dinner and wine event and she and the team made it easy and wonderful. From selecting the date to menu selection, my wife and I were so surprised at how stress free it all was. On the night of our party, the chef and service team arrived promptly and professionally. They were super easy to work with and came fully prepared. We enjoyed our evening with our guests and left everything in their hands. The food was excellent, our kitchen was left spotless and, as Chef Chad said, the whole point was to finish the event and never know they'd been there. I'd recommend this service to anyone. read more

Chef by Request served as the beverage and bussing caterer for our wedding recently. We had another caterer (Smoque Barbeque!) do the food. CbR was excellent throughout the planning process and did a fantastic job executing our event. They were flexible and understanding of our nontraditional requests. They worked well with our other caterer both before and during the event. We couldn't have asked for smoother or friendlier service! read more

Amazing appetizer selection and each was more delicious than the next. We had a milestone birthday celebration in a home and it felt just as grand as if we had a more formal venue. All thanks to the team at Chef By Request! read more

Had such a fabulous experience Chef by Request Catering! Used Chef by Request Catering for my moms surprise 60th birthday and they really went above and beyond from the booking of the event... then assistance from ordering the food... they were on time to the minute for the surprise party (which is really important!), they had to move all the food twice because she was coming in from another door and would have spoiled the surprise (and they did it with a smile on their face). They were cool, calm and collected and helped me relax that they had their part under control. During the party they were so sweet, they even cleaned up. Could not have had a more flawless experience with the catering company. Thank you so much! read more

We have used Chef by Request several times and have always had a great experience. The food has always been great and the servers top notch! I strongly recommend them as a service provider for your event. read more

This is the caterer I used for my wedding. My husband and I had a dream of doing a tapas style meal. We first went with our favorite restaurant to do the job but after 3 months of battling we gave up and started our search over. We went to several caterers but most seemed unwilling to be creative and attempt new foods. Chef by Request was extremely cooperative and the chef seemed really excited about having the opportunity to make something other than the typical chicken dinner for the wedding! We went to several food tastings and it was great. The only reason I did not give this company five stars is related to the service aspect my wedding day. I was a bit disappointed in the waitstaff. First, when we went to do our champagne toast the head table was the only one without champagne (head table should always be served first in my opinion). This was especially annoying because my husband spent 1 1/2 years making the champagne! In addition to this, the serving was intended to mainly be family style but instead each dish was brought out seperately which made it take almost 2 hours to eat (way too long and threw our general schedule off). Lastly, none of the waitstaff told the tables what they were serving. Since this was spanish meal and the dishes are a bit out of the normal for many of the guests I would have thought that they would state what it is when they set it on the table. Overall the food was great, but the staff could use a bit of work. read more

Simply the best! We have used them for several parties at the house. Everyone always leaves the party raving about the food and excellent service. They are also great at putting together awesome menus based around holiday themes. We used them for a Halloween party and St. Patrick's Day. Amazing. I wouldn't use anyone else. I recommend them to all my friends. The owner, Chef Dave, has so much passion for his business and it shows. read more

What a wonderful experience! Neil and Katie helped me pick the perfect food for our buffet. I needed to feed 35 people a meal but wanted mainly small appetizer foods and enough to fill them up. The selection was perfect. My guests raved about the food and walked away full! Their display of food on my table was beautiful. I would definitely recommend chef by request and will use them for my next event! They were professional and very helpful. Mrs. M. Happy Customer Glen Ellyn read more