Adam Small and his team were recommended to us by a family member who also used his services for…read moreher wedding. We could not be happier with the recommendation as the appetizers and entrées were absolutely stunning -- both in flavor and aesthetics! Our biggest difficulty was choosing dishes from his diverse catalog of offerings since they all sounded delicious. He was also very accommodating and made various adjustments to account for particular food allergies that some of our guests had (without compromising on flavor at all). For appetizers, we chose: - Pepper-Crusted Seared Ahi Tuna (Seka Hills EVOO, Sicilian Pesto, Herbs) - Ratatouille Tarts (Puff Pastry, Seka Hills EVOO, Parmigiano Reggiano) - Pistachio Flatbread (Onion, Burrata, Honey, and Chili Oil -- this one was a extra-huge hit with all guests) For dinner, we started with a Local Harvest Salad (Farm Vegetables, Fruit, Vinaigrette, Cheese, and Nuts -- plating was particularly beautiful for the salad), and had three entrée options: - Wagyu New York Steak (Imperial American Wagyu, Roasted Vegetables, Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, Potato Galette, and Red Wine Jus) - Signature Duck (Mary's Crusted Duck Breast, Hind-Quarter Confit, Potato Cake, Charred Vegetables, and Duck Jus) - Roasted Butternut Squash with Cannellini Beans (Charred Vegetables, Marinated Portobello Mushrooms, and Saffron-Rosemary Broth) Throughout our entire wedding and afterwards, guests were telling us how impressed they were and that it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding! He and his team arrived right on schedule, set up (including silverware and plates) cooked and served outstanding food, provided extremely attentive service, and then cleaned up, leaving the kitchen absolutely spotless (while also deftly navigating a brief power outage!). We cannot recommend Adam Small Cooks highly enough! His food, attention to detail, and service are truly next level. Thank you again for making our wedding so special!

Chef Adam was amazing!!!…read more We celebrated a friend's birthday with 6 people at an Airbnb in Sonoma. We had a six course menu (see below for details) that was excellent! For the vegetarian in the group (me) he was able to whip up a wonderful dish when everyone else was eating halibut. Every single dish was a stand out and the group was so happy with how everything turned out. This was a wish of the birthday girl - to have a private chef and to spend time with her girlfriends. She was blown away by the experience. The 6 course meal included: Fried Baby Artichokes: lemon aioli, herbs, chili oil Flatbread: preserved truffle, pistachios, onion, burrata, honey, chili oil Ash Roasted Beets: kimchi honey, pistachios, ravigote, feta Charred Zucchini Agnolotti: fried sage, brown butter, lemon, pepper, parmigiana Seared Halibut: fennel-potato salad, herbs, haricot vert, preserved truffle champagne sauce Under-Baked Chocolate Cake: Italian meringue, Luxardo cherries, cocoa nibs Also, our kitchen was left spotless! Thanks again Chef Adam for giving us the perfect first day of our trip!

Think twice (or more) and don't do it!…read more A group of four couples (hailing from Michigan to New Mexico) were flying into Napa for a long-planned get-together. We rented a home through VRBO and thought it would be a treat to have a catered meal from Epicurean Escape. The price was over $1000 but seemed well worth it and we paid the bill 10 days prior to our arrival. Unfortunately, if not unbelievably, we were alerted by VRBO the very next day that our contract was being cancelled as the rental house had just been purchased by a new owner. Thinking we might have to cancel the trip as VRBO might not have an alternative (they did not), we immediately contacted the caterer that we would have to cancel plans. This was 9 days prior to the planned dinner. The caterer then informed us that this was beyond their normal 10 day cancellation policy and there was nothing they could do other than a (hold your breath) 25% refund!! provide a 'credit' - a great idea for a group of 8 with most of us living thousands of miles away, or assisting us in relocating to a new venue. We eventually located a hotel where we could stay and proceeded with the trip - still very much disappointed with the caterer for not refunding our money with 9 days prior notice (along with forwarding them the note of cancellation from VRBO). With a $150 delivery fee charged by the caterer for delivery to our hotel, and no way for us to warm the food in our rooms, we anticipated the meal would arrive on serving trays with sterno heaters. But of course not.. The server who delivered the food was very nice and accommodating (we tipped them as well even though the paid contract already included an 18% gratuity fee). We began eating immediately, only to find all the food (fish and beef main courses) at room temperature. Perhaps everything would have tasted better had it been heated, but classifying the meal as 'mediocre' would be overly kind. Making matters worse (if that's possible), we have been promised a 'final' contract as three of the planned attendees could not attend, and the caterer agreed to 'adjust', only to never hear back from them almost 2 weeks later. Inflexible policy + less than thrilling meals = at least in my book, an experience worth avoiding at all costs. Caveat emptor.

typically do not leave reviews so when I do it's either absolutely phenomenal or far In comparison…read more Epicurean Escape Catering was by far PHENOMENAL! Matt and Patrick were extremely friendly and the food was to die for! We celebrated our microwedding in Mill Valley and I have always selected new restaurants based on yelps top reviewed restaurants. I figured this would be the best way to go to select a catering option for an area we're not local to or able to try before in person. The reviews did not steer us wrong. We would love to book again after experiencing the food and stellar service. Appetizers: We ordered the heirloom tomato bruschetta which was one of my favorites! The tomatoes were fresh and every bite was memorable! The goat cheese croquettes were to die for and the braised pork shoulder had everyone coming back for more! Dinner: I'm not a huge kale person but we had an amazing kale Caesar salad that had me hoping I could recreate it at home. I honestly don't think there was any left over! It was accompanied by the grilled antipasto platter which complemented the lasagna dinner we had perfectly! The vegetables were cooked and seasoned to perfection! We had the classic bolognese lasagna and red wine braised boneless beef short ribs for our dinner option which were gone in the blink of an eye. Dessert: To top it off, we finished with the mini amaretto panna cotta and blackberry coulis. They were as delicious as they were aesthetically appealing!

Rachel is an earth mama in all the best ways. The moment I met her, I was so grateful I chose her…read moreto cater our very special Father's Day event, with the people I love most dearly as my guests. I have rarely felt so well cared for. And I'm talking start to finish. If you want genuine care and warmth, in addition to absolutely delicious food, Rachel is your woman.

Chef Rachel and crew catered our daughter's 40th birthday in this past weekend. We had @ 30…read moreguests so it was a fairly sizable engagement. Not only was the food fantastic, the service was equally exceptional! Beyond that, Rachel was highly responsive throughout the entire process, which gave me comfort that the event would be a great success, which it was. Thank you chef Rachel for the love, care and craftsmanship you put into our daughter's birthday celebration - you made the event that much more memorable for everyone there. Continued success, you deserve it!!!

If you're considering supporting small, independent businesses during COVID, I found a PHENOMENAL…read moreone. Alyson, the brilliant chef behind Nourish, is a gift. She's a talented and gifted cook who creates delectable dishes. Beyond that, she makes you feel truly taken care of. Services begin with a comprehensive interview about food preferences, from favorite cuts of meat to your feelings about pumpkin seeds. She then cooks for your specific dietary needs, whatever they may be - low-carb, vegetarian, high-protein, extra-gluten, etc. She prepares a personalized menu and you get veto-power. (Unless you defer to her choices, which I highly recommend!) On the designated day, she then brings over bags full of AMAZING food, from stews to casseroles to soups and salads. The flavor profiles and creativity are astounding. There's enough to freeze and save for later, depending on how many people you're sharing with. It isn't cheap, but it shouldn't be, and she is worth every penny. If you or your partner need a break from cooking, are tired of eating the same foods, or just want to feel extra-nurtured, Alyson is the Answer. Thank you, Nourish, for the nourishment!!!

Chef Alyson recently provided an incredible meal for our family dinner party in celebration of my…read moresister's 50th birthday party. The meal included appetizers, a salad course, an entree, and dessert and the whole thing was truly superb from start to finish. My sister is gluten-free and we have a few food allergies in our household. Alyson worked with us to craft a menu that would fit those dietary restrictions without losing any of the flavors or textures that make a great meal. Chef Alyson was also such a pleasure to have in our home. We were able to enjoy our time together as a family without having to worry about any element of the dinner - and she really made the whole experience fun and relaxing for us. We hope to hire her again for future family celebrations. Highly recommend!!

Jeremy has taken care of us 3x times. We're had him for all our family events. He's done a unique…read moremenu every time, always making sure to take care of any allergies or preferences. He's amazing to work with and always so helpful in building the menu. 10/10 definitely have him take care of your next private event

We hired Jeremy for a board dinner for our company. I organized the event so I worked with Jeremy…read moreon the menu, scheduling and price. Unfortunately, I wasn't in attendance but the following day these are the words I heard, "amazing food", "such a treat", "wonderful food", and "best duck confit I've ever had!" The owner of the winery that hosted the event said he would hire him for events at the winery in the future. If that doesn't say he's amazing, I'm not sure what does.

Spencer was a dream to work with for our 40 person wedding at a private residence. He created a…read morebeautiful menu featuring locally sourced ingredients that was exactly what I had in my mind for most of my out-of-town guests! He was incredibly flexible with last minute requests and his staff went above and beyond! We had a self-serve drink station but I didn't see any guests there bc the staff was amazing at refilling guest glasses even though it was beyond the scope of what we hired them for! The food was soooo delicious! My family and friends were raving about the meal. We loved it so much that we went ahead and booked Spencer's services for another event already! All photos (except the horrible one I took of the menu) by our photographer, Jack Vu! I wish we had gotten photos of the main meal but we were too busy eating it!!

What an experience. Highly recommend. I reached out to several chefs for a special meal for our…read morefamily, while on vacation, over Father's Day weekend. Of all the responses I got, he listened the best. His menu catered to all my requests. He was great at communicating and delivered exactly the experience he promised. The food was amazing, and we ended up having enough leftovers for 2 more meals with our family of 6.

Ana was amazing! I had an early flight and she had exceptional service and attitude! She was beyond…read morekind and I'm grateful for my experience!

Overall using Chef Adair to cater our wedding reception was a positive experience. Especially since…read morewe used them without ever tasting their food! We chose the drop-off option as we were trying to keep our budget as low as possible, which they were quite agreeable with and the food was of good quality. The only issue was a change in the delivery time (which was initiated by them) to an earlier time on the day of the event which caused us to have them deliver the food cold rather than pre-heated - since it was going to be 2 hours before the start of the event. I'll say this added to my already high stress levels but luckily I had people that were ready to help with heating and setup. Another thing I'll mention is we relied on their expertise with how much of each dish to supply. One thing that guests mentioned is that there wasn't near enough of the prawns. Additionally there was a ton of bread and Coq Au Vin left over. Again, this was Overall a good experience and I would recommend them to a friend. I'd just mention the delivery change as well as potential portion size adjustments.

We used Chef Ryan Freebern's services to create a dinner for a party of 12, celebrating our son's…read moreUCSC graduation on June 12th, and couldn't have been more pleased with the results. Chef Ryan and his sous chef, Laura, arrived promptly the afternoon of the dinner and quickly set up in the "limited" kitchen of our Santa Cruz vacation rental. They were both professional and congenial, and, while remaining focused on their preparation, continually interacted with the guests. They delivered a delicious 5-course meal, paired with carefully chosen, wonderful craft beers, at the scheduled start time and with appropriate pacing throughout. Our menu featured an entrée of (fresh local) Broiled Black Cod, Spinach, String Beans and Lentils, which was perfectly prepared and presented. Every course was savored and after the dessert (and third excellent beer) we all had the feeling that comes from enjoying a very special meal. Each guest felt that Chef Ryan went way above and beyond to make sure we were happy. One detail that showed Chef Ryan's commitment to the evening's success was the special dinner menu he printed for each guest with a dedication to the guest of honor. The kitchen was left immaculate, and the chefs were generous with their time afterward. From the first time I called Chef Ryan through the menu planning to the end of our event, he was always accessible and fantastic to work with. The only negative comment I can make is that the fish was so delicious we all wanted more. Yet, after we had finished our dessert duet, we weren't left wanting at all...so, portioning wins and therefore earned the five-star rating!

Wow! Chef Ryan Freebern made several delicious meals for my friends and I. Every bite was…read moreflavorful, perfectly spiced and a joy to savor. He also surprised us with a panna cotta for dessert, served with fresh local fruit. Absolutely the most delicious dessert I have ever tasted, both in the US and abroad. Ryan has the culinary skills to delight your taste buds! I am looking forward to my next dinner party, just to see what he prepares. YUM!

Run don't walk to hire Chef Chuy! We worked with him for a dear friend's bridal shower weekend and…read morehe delivered a fantastic feast! He was highly communicative, flexible and added in little touches throughout the night to make the celebration feel special. The menu choices were incredible as well, with a good variety of options, from chicken to fish to steak, there was something for everyone.

Chef Chuy and his team catered our wedding of 11 people and was the best decision I made, aside…read morefrom saying I do of course! Everyone RAVED about the food, and months later are still going on about it! He and his team were all very polite and non-intrusive, they came in and out of the wedding with such grace and ease, Iv never experienced anything like it. Every course was outstanding, cooked to perfection! The dining experience made our wedding magical and I would definitely use Chef Chuy in the future.

Chef Christian was more than just a caterer and chef, he spent quite a bit of time giving us…read moreinformation on the area and best ways to get to our villa from the airport, he cares about his guests whole experience and not just the food aspect. Speaking of food, he and his team provided exactly what they promised, and we will certainly use them again.

I wish Yelp let you rate 10/5 stars. Christian and his team were more than amazing. My experience…read morewas unbelievable. They literally took care of everything. The food was OUT OF THIS WORLD delicious. Big family-style Italian dishes. The courses were served, shared.... and devoured. We were a party of 10 and it was such an easy operation, completely hands-off. I would 1,000% recommend Culinary Mercenary to everyone. I will use them every time I go back to Napa Valley. Thank you!! P.S. Read the contract, it will have you literally rolling on the floor laughing.