The universe gifted an opportunity for a friends reunion in Orange County, about halfway for…read moreeveryone / home for no one. I had 2 weeks to plan dinner, one guest has food allergies and a couple preferred to NOT dine in public. I rented a house with a nice kitchen (and made sure the owner knew it was for a dinner party), but now I needed a chef. I had many referrals from local friends, but everyone they recommended were either booked or not suited for a small dinner party.
With 8 days left, I did what I should have done in the first place and checked Yelp. Mint was highly rated, had excellent reviews, and seemed to do smaller events. I sent an inquiry overnight, explained what I was trying to accomplish -- hire an in-home private chef, to cater dinner for 4, and included the list of food allergies.
I woke up to an email from Angela -- it was very courteous, succinct, with an attached 1-pager of pricing AND a of list items to choose in each course (4 courses / 1 item each). Folks: this is how you do business, it make as easy as possible to say yes. Nobody else I communicated with was this responsive, and this easy to work with. The type of cuisine (to me: fresh / farm to table / New American) was what everyone would enjoy, with great options in each course, and their pricing was in-the-ballpark. I replied with my choices, they sent a link to contract and pay by credit card, and we were booked/confirmed in 3 emails spanning a couple hours. [[thank you!]]
Menu:
* English cucumber topped with blackened shrimp whipped avocado cream cheese & microgreens
* Arugula salad with blueberries, avocado goat cheese, lemon honey vinaigrette
* Seared Ribeye Strip with shallot peppercorn sauce Lemon roasted broccolini, sweet potato mash
* Chocolate flourless cake with fresh whipped cream & berries AND the Salted Caramel banana bread pudding with vanilla ice cream [[life hack: you CAN order 2 deserts, and yes it cost more, and f-yes it was worth it]]
Day-of was flawless: Chef Jacyln arrived with everything to prepare dinner, was flexible on timing and service. The guests were drinking and chatting with her while we snacked on the first course.
We sat for the salad, which was tasty and a perfect pallet cleanser. I devoured the entree and dug-deep for the self-control to NOT lick the plate. Everyone loved desert, not everyone would have loved either of the deserts, so I was pleased I opted for both (not just because I ate both).
Chef Jaclyn was fun to watch and talk to, and did a masterful job of fading when were talking about something else. She made-do with the cookware/plates/etc in the AirBnB, the only thing we lacked were containers to take leftovers home (our fault!). She served us, and cleaned up (spot-less), which I wasn't expecting.
The whole experience was 10/10 - I cannot wait to book and host again. Thank you Mint and Chef Jaclyn!