This was the thank you note I wrote to Chic Chef after hiring them for our daughter's wedding: I LOVED, loved, loved, working with you for many reasons: You were responsive. You got back to me within hours when I made initial contact. I had emailed an inquiry but you actually called back so we could have a nice conversation about what I was looking for and what you could do. When I was embarrassed to tell you how low we were trying to keep the budget I greatly appreciated your comment about how it is our "hard earned money and we have a right to spend it how we see fit" or something to that effect. You accommodated every request but you also led us to think about other aspects of the event that we didn't ask about, helping us through the planning process (i.e. dessert and coffee service, linens, glassware, etc.), without ever being pushy. You and your entire staff were friendly, personable and professional - a combination that added to the pleasant event atmosphere. Even those who served at the buffet had a smile for each one of us. A family member who is also a wedding photographer was so impressed that your staff served appetizers to us family members as the photos were being taken during cocktail hour. In her experience no other caterer had done that. Guests felt especially well taken care of as the appetizers were passed constantly and your staff was extremely attentive and helpful during all stages of food service. My 83 year old mother received individual assistance from dinner through coffee and dessert. Over the top kindness! Another sign of what a 5-star caterer you are is that our venue director also loved working with you and complimented us on our choice in you. Your head staff person sought me out to make sure that I was satisfied and that every expectation had been met before the staff left for the evening. (I hugged him!) The Food was excellent!! Without exception, every guest we greeted gushed about the meal. Most said it was the best wedding food they'd ever had. The hot appetizers were actually served hot!! The lemon chicken was amazingly fresh and moist with just the right amount of bright lemon flavor. Personally I really enjoy eggplant parmesan and yours was the best I ever remember having. Guests also commented on this dish saying the same thing. The amount of food was super generous! You took such great care to wrap up all leftovers that we were able to serve another party of 25 people at our house the next day! (And many more personal meals for a few more days!) The Value Although my original budget for a nice wedding dinner for 120 guests was naively low, you provided a tremendous value. More than that I am humbled and grateful for your expert and courteous service even while providing for a low budget event. I have no doubt that someone else could have charged twice as much without any improvement in food or service to show for it. Suggestions: I honestly don't know of anything you could do to improve your service or your food. No one in my family could either :) But all the things mentioned above are things that were important to us and things that exceeded our expectations. I've no doubt forgotten some details as the evening was filled them. read more

Wow, where can we begin in explaining how incredible Ravi and all the staff at Chic Chef have been to us. To start, Ravi was extremely responsive when we first contacted him. We reached out and let him know how large our wedding would be and set up a time to meet up and talk about menu options. We were first very impressed by the selection Chic Chef offers, and equally impressed by Ravi's calm, friendly, and professional demeanor. We absolutely LOVED meeting with Ravi every time we sat down to talk about details for the wedding because we always left feeling completely confident and reassured that everything was going to turn out just as we hoped it would. He removed so much stress from our lives while planning the wedding, I don't think there are words to express fully how grateful we feel. Now, the food. The food was outrageously good. We went for our tasting, and tried three chicken items and the veggie lasagna, several sides, and appetizers. I'm not exaggerating when I say everything was outstanding, it truly was, and my wife and I can be a little picky at times. Our only question was, "Can they really do THIS for about 200 people at our reception?" Answer: why yes, yes they could, and they did. People raved to us about the food the whole evening. It was restaurant quality, at the right temperature, and the service was above and beyond. All the staff present at the reception seemed genuinely happy, were cracking jokes with us and our family members, they were tending to each table in the most sincere way. Everyone had a fantastic time at our reception, and we have the staff at Chic Chef to thank. Going into our wedding, we didn't feel strongly at all about catering. But coming away from this experience, we get teary eyed just thinking about the work that they clearly put into making our reception perfect. One last piece to demonstrate how they go above and beyond: We ordered table clothes through an associate of Ravi the owner, and when we set up the day before we accidentally doubled up the table cloths on too many tables and we turned out being two table cloths short for our buffet tables. When I realized this, I went to Ravi in a panic, apologizing, and in the middle of everything Ravi tells me in a complete calm, "Don't worry, I've got you, this is your big day and we will take care of everything." Well turns out he paid for an uber driver to go pick up fresh linens for our massive buffet tables on the spot and had everything set up to perfection well before the reception started. I don't know what else I can say, except that I recommend Chic Chef for any event you plan on catering. This is a company run by flat out good people. And we feel amazing that we chose them for our big day. Thanks to you guys from the bottom of our hearts. read more

We booked Chic Chef in 2019 for our September 2020 wedding, which was rescheduled for September 2021 due to COVID. So many things changed over the course of our wedding planning process, but never once did I regret my choice of caterer! Ravi and his team were ultra flexible, ultra responsive, and incredibly easy to work with. I started with a basic buffet package and ended up adding rentals, switching to family style, adding more items to the menu, and purchasing a bar package. They rolled with the punches and were incredibly kind as my wedding plans changed with the changing situation. When I arrived at the venue on the day of the wedding, I couldn't believe how beautiful the rentals looked. I had ordered several colors of linens and everything was exactly as I imagined. We knew we loved the food from the first moment we sampled it, but we kept hearing it again and again from guests. I heard things like, "My wife told me to stop making moaning sounds while I was eating the chicken, but it was so good I couldn't!" and, "I stole some stuffed mushrooms off the appetizer plate at the head table and then realized they were for you; sorry, I couldn't control myself!" In addition to being delicious, the team worked hard to keep the wedding on schedule. Food came out quickly and looked beautiful and we were right on time to start dancing. Perhaps the most unique thing about Chic Chef is just how wonderful every single member of the team was, not just to us, but to all of our guests! People were especially complimentary of the bartenders -- Alex and Jonathan -- who were so friendly and incredibly accommodating to special requests. The staff also made me, my husband, and our families feel like royalty! Anytime they saw me doing anything for myself they offered to do it for me -- even helping to pack up gifts at the end of the night. Glasses were always full and more food was always available before we even requested it; Chic Chef made sure that I was not one of those brides who never got a bit of food at her wedding! I'm already dreaming of the next time I can use Chic Chef for a special event! I have no doubt that whatever the occasion, whatever the menu, they will deliver incredible food and amazing customer service! read more

We had an amazing experience with Chic Chef Catering for our wedding at the Crawford. From start to finish, they were fantastic to work with and delivered incredible food and service. Leading up to the wedding, we worked closely with Lucia and she was wonderful throughout the planning process. She answered countless questions and helped guide us through all the options, which made everything feel much less overwhelming. One thing that really stood out was the value: compared to several other catering quotes we received, Chic Chef offered a great price point while still delivering a very high-quality experience. For our wedding, we did butler-passed hors d'oeuvres during cocktail hour, a plated dinner, a dessert table, and a late-night snack. We also rented our linens through them, which made the process even easier by keeping more things with one vendor. They were incredibly flexible with menu choices and really worked with us to create something that fit exactly what we wanted. The food itself was absolutely delicious and the portions were generous. We received so many compliments from our guests about how good everything was. We also brought our own cannolis and a sheet cake, and they had no problem cutting the cake and beautifully adding all of that to the dessert table alongside the desserts they provided. The staff was truly phenomenal. They made sure my husband and I actually got to eat during cocktail hour (which is chaotic for most couples!) by bringing us plates of the passed hors d'oeuvres ahead of time. They were attentive all night and kept everything running smoothly. As an added bonus, they packed up some leftovers for us to take home, which was such a nice surprise, and even boxed up the small cake we used for the cake cutting so we could take it home and freeze it. Overall, we couldn't have been happier with Chic Chef. Between the delicious food, flexibility, attentive staff, and great value, they were a huge part of making our wedding day so special. I would absolutely recommend them to any couple looking for an excellent wedding caterer. read more

5 stars for Chic Chef! We hired them to cater our June wedding in the south suburbs, and couldn't be happier. Our initial tasting in April blew us away, and we decided on Chic Chef on the spot. Owner and proprietor, Ravi, was professional, flexible, and informative; he provided excellent customer service at that early stage. With the wedding approaching, Ravi met us for a walk-through at our venue a few weeks before hand - scheduling was easy and he arrived at the venue early and took the time to offer suggestions and expertise for our set-up. Our wedding was mostly DIY, so we really appreciated the time he took to get to know our venue. Come wedding day, Ravi and his team did an excellent job. His staff were helpful and courteous, and we got many compliments from guests on the food, which was not only delicious but very generous (no one went hungry!). Ravi also lent a helping hand in several ways that made our night run smoother; he helped to set up our sweets table, went for an ice run when reserves were down, and was prepared with extra serving ware. He even participated in helping with our ceremony, believe it or not! He truly goes above and beyond - I believe helping people enjoy the special milestones and celebrations in their lives is his talent and calling. Overall, the Chic Chef team were a critical part of making our day successful. They were reassuring, encouraging, professional, and worked with the finer details of our day. And, they were flexible when we (inevitably) ran behind on our own schedule of events. The team conveyed, in every way, that they were there for us, and this helped us stay calm and collected! We're grateful for Chic Chef's contribution to our day. Endless thanks to Ravi and the Chic Chef team! read more

I am thrilled to bits with the food and service at Chic Chef Chicago and am giving them an enthusiastic 5 stars. They catered my wedding (passed appetizers, family style dinner, open bar) on September 17th, 2017 and everything was meticulously handled. The food: Along with traditional American fare, we included a few Indian appetizers. Our guests LOVED everything! People are still calling us to rave about the food and ask who our caterer was! One thing I really love about Chic Chef is that the food at the wedding was as good as the samples we tried at the tasting (this isn't always the case with catering vendors). The flavor, presentation, and portion sizes were all excellent. I really think the food helped put all our guests in a great mood. In addition, the bar staff provided by Chic Chef did a great job of following our signature drink recipes. I also want to give a shout out to their captain server, who gave special attention to my husband and I, AND our wedding party (parents, grandparents, bridesmaid, and groomsmen). Our families were really touched by the extra attention and care, and I loved seeing our guests so well looked after. A special note for Ravi, the owner: Ravi was present during our entire wedding and oversaw everything. He checked in regularly with my husband and I to make sure we were happy. He remembered all the small details and even had a secret stash of food/drinks for my husband and I to enjoy right after the ceremony! He adjusted the dinner serving time flawlessly (we were running almost 30 minutes behind). Anyway, I could go on and on, but in summary: Chic Chef and Ravi are a solid investment for your wedding catering, they genuinely care about their couples, and oooh-my-goodness the FOOD! :) read more

Planning a wedding is wild, and one of the biggest areas of complexity is catering. We wanted a sophisticated and refined experience, with food that would be memorably good, and fun details that would blow our guests minds. We got all that and more with Chic Chef and Lucy. From our very first phone calls and emails, through our big day, the whole team was friendly and professional in all the right ways. The balance between the two can be hard, but we never felt like it was purely a business transaction. Lucy and the team were incredibly flexible and accepting of some of our weird ideas (like banana margaritas), and generally just took away all the stress. They gained our confidence quickly within the first tasting and conversation around that, and had our trust as they guided us through what would look nice, go over well, what was reasonable and what wasn't. They clearly do this often, and do it well. Their existing relationship with our venue and some of our other vendors definitely helped, but it never felt like we were on the sidelines. On the big day, it was so fun to see Lucy and the team in execution mode. She was so attentive to us, and displayed a cool air of confidence that helped ensure we didn't even have a momentary thought that anything could go any other way than perfect. Everyone loved the food, the portions were immaculate, glasses were never empty, and our signature drinks and late night street tacos went off without a hitch. We cannot recommend Chic Chef, Lucy, and the whole team enough! The only part we're sad about is not having an excuse to interact with the team more regularly, and that no one will live up to the bar they set again. read more

I've never catered a party before and my first experience was A+ with Chic Chef Catering. Ravi made my late summer outdoor wedding reception a delicious, memorable affair. Fantastic attention to detail from responsive customer service to food preparation is top notch and exceeded my expectations. The menu selection is extensive with a variety of options for casual parties to elegant extravaganzas. I loved the multi-cultural culinary offerings! My event was a picnic BBQ with grill rental and foods that fit the theme including beef brisket, chicken kebobs, green salads, falafel, grilled veggies and freshly made cheesecake squares and lemon bars. Everyone loved the quinoa-spinach stuffed portabella mushroom caps and chicken! Ravi graciously prepared an entirely separate meal of grilled salmon atop sautéed spinach to accommodate my dad's low sodium diet - an unexpected wonderful surprise and true testimony that Chic Chef Catering caters to their clients needs! I did not schedule a taste test beforehand, but I was confident that Ravi was the right choice for my reception based on email/phone communication. Ravi and his team were punctual and professional. But above all, his friendly personality and ability to deliver excellent service and quality cuisine at outstanding value confirms that I picked the best caterer in the world for my once-in-a-lifetime event. I HIGHLY recommend Chic Chef Catering and would use them again in a heartbeat! Thank YOU, Ravi, for being a highlight our party and helping us create a magical event for everyone there. read more

We had a great experience using Chic Chef for our wedding! We first contacted them because they had great reviews on a number of sites. It was soon apparent these guys really knew their stuff. Ravi, the owner, knew all the right questions to ask -- things we'd never thought of. After a bit, we found out that Ravi regularly does huge Indian weddings of 500+ people, which made our 130-guest wedding (big in our eyes) a cakewalk. Anyway, my wife and I both love Indian food, so we decided to choose dinner from Chic Chef's Indian menu. The food was absolutely amazing and helped make the night extra special. The serving team was professional and attended to our guests' every need -- and I want to thank Enrique, who helped make sure our family who'd come from out of the country was made to feel comfortable. We had some unusual requests, I think, and Ravi and his team listened and let us stamp our own personality on the event. Also, a special shoutout goes out to Lilly, a member of the Chic Chef team whom Ravi set as our day-of coordinator. Lilly went above and beyond, sending detailed diagrams and purchase lists (they let us buy and bring our own alcohol to help reduce costs). On the day of the wedding, she decorated the venue to make my wife's vision come to life and made sure everything went according to plan, allowing us to sit back and enjoy our wedding. Cheers and thanks to everyone at Chic Chef! Love, Stefan and Susy read more

Ravi and his Chic Chef team were fantastic! Ravi worked with me to offer a custom menu for our event. The apps were delicious and the shrimp cocktail cooked perfectly to crisp and not chewy. The fillet mignon was a nice thick cut and was perfectly cooked to each guest's preference. We were blessed to have Enrique's help from prep set-up to a fluid and well run experience all through the event. Words cannot express what a wonderful job Enrique did to make our event such a success. He is a master at seeing how things should be organized and flow in order to have a successful event. Alejandro is a talented and organized chef who thoughtfully talked with me about details of the meal that I hadn't even thought of! He worked seamlessly with Enrique who politely/professionally communicated with the guests on specific details to ensure each plate was served to the guests preferences! What a great team overall and wonderful experience. Thank you, to Ravi and his Chic Chef team!! read more

Chic Chef Catering is a must! Ravi, the owner, was born to do catering. He is professional, punctual, and perfect for your event. Chic Chef has a huge variety of menu options. We hired them for a wedding and they came right when they said they would and came ready to go. Ravi himself came to the wedding to make sure everything was perfect, and it was. Everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. Ravi has high expectations for his staff and he insists on giving you a good price. He knows the ins and outs of catering and he makes sure to treat you well. Ravi puts in 110%! He went above and beyond and plated all the salads, even though we asked for them to be in the buffet line. Ravi also brewed up coffee for us without us asking him to. He took time to tell us ways that we could save money, while throwing in some things to spruce up the dinner that we forgot about. Ravi and Chic Chef Catering get a 5/5 from us. We are so glad that we hired him for our event! read more

Ravi and his team at Chic Chef were the caters for my daughter's wedding at The Haight in Elgin. I couldn't be more pleased with the results. During our planning process, we interviewed and sampled several different caters. The food at Chic Chef was clearly the best of the group. Ravi and his Chef, Alex were terrific to work with. They worked closely with us through multiple tastings to tailor our menu to our needs with an amazing family style Italian dinner. During the event, his service and staff were outstanding and the food was excellent! How often can you day that about food at a wedding? Ravi was even kind enough to prepare a personal meal of his famous Indian chicken curry for me. As anyone who has planned a wedding can attest to, the process can be stressful. Ravi's attention to detail and Alex's skill made our meal part of a perfect wedding. We HIGHLY recommend Chic Chef for your catering needs. Try the curry, you'll love it! read more

We booked Chic Chef for our wedding (with ~90 guests), despite it being beyond their normal catering distance. We opted for their Italian-style dishes with appetizers and deserts. Ravi and the other Chic Chefs were prompt at setting up, serving food, and packing up, and during the dinner Ravi was very approachable and friendly, and he was in regular communication with us about timing, assistance, and answering any questions we had. We would definitely recommend Chic Chef for wedding catering in Illinois. Guests raved about all the food, and I particularly the Eggplant Parmesan. Unfortunately my wife and I did not get to try the desserts though, as the guests loved them so much there were none left when we eventually got to the dessert table (Ravi earlier asked if we wanted some desserts saved but we foolishly declined)! read more

Book them!!!! The best wedding food I have EVER HAD. We booked Chic Chef through our coordinator, Amanda Paige Events, and this was the best decision we made. Their service and food went above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. The guests were all extremely happy with their meals and the food came out hot and on time. They even had dedicated servers stopping by our VIP tables to refresh their drinks and check on them specifically. The best part...they brought us (the bride and groom) drinks ALL NIGHT LONG. We didn't even have to go to the bar!!! The servers would swing by regularly to give us fresh drinks and that was so unexpected but by far the best part. If you need any catering, Chic chef is the way to go. A special thank you to Lucy for all of her help during the planning process. We love Chic Chef!!! read more

I recently officiated a wedding that Chic Chef catered. The food was excellent. Good sized portions well presented. But really, you can get excellent food many places in Chicago. What you won't get elsewhere is Enrique and the incredible staff. The staff was attentive, quick, and wonderfully pleasant. Enrique, the lead event captain, is one of the best humans I've met. He connected with and took care of the brides, the bridal party, the guests, and the vendors. I will 100% refer Enrique and Chic Chef Catering to people asking me to officiate and I look forward to working with them again. Oh yeah, and the lemon bars. I am always on the lookout for lemon bars with real mouth puckering zing and they served them. shalom v'ahava, Rabbi Menachem Cohen www.whatmakesyoucomealive.net read more

Chic Chef is amazing! They were the caterers for my wedding. There was no aspect of working with them that was not fantastic. The food is amazing, and goes way beyond your traditional wedding fare. We had a lot of dietary restrictions in our guest list (and I am gluten free) and they were able to make equally delicious substitutions. We originally had planned a 200 person wedding with them as our caterer, then Covid hit and we had to reschedule twice and eventually downgrade to 50 people. Ravi and his team were so flexible and worked with us through all the changes. On the day of our wedding, the staff were amazing, making sure my husband and I had food and drink at every step of the way. All of my guests were raving about the food and their servers! Thank you, Chic Chef! read more

Chic Chef, I don't know where to start , so many good things to say. 1. Maya! Super helpful and professional. Her kitchen team for our wedding did a spectacular job too! 2. We had fried chicken for our wedding plus a number of sides. The chicken was tender, juicy, and crispy. It was delicious. The sides were great too. 3. They have a wide variety of food options, will tweak what you order if needed, and will cook almost anything for you if you have the recipe. 4. I have worked FoH catering before and currently work BoH in a busy restaurant. The servers looked clean and professional. Also, very friendly and efficient. 5. Quick and clean set up and breakdown 6. Great food and staff! I would highly recommend using Chic Chef for your next catering event. read more

Chic Chef was offering Thanksgiving dinner packages so we decided to have them cater our small Thanksgiving gathering of four, which turned out to be an absolutely great decision. The package came with every standard Thanksgiving food (both turkey and ham, stuffing, veggies, salad, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pie, biscuits, green bean casserole) and literally every food item was DELICIOUS. Not only was it tasty, but they provided very hearty portions and everyone was able to go home with leftovers, so it was definitely a great value. Would absolutely recommend them to cater your Thanksgiving or any event in the future. Ravi and Lily are very easy to work with and super friendly. We liked them so much that we are having them cater our wedding in 2021 as well! read more