We just had an amazing birthday dinner prepared for us by Chef Johnny the owner of Semi Private Chef. I can't speak highly enough of the professionalism and attention to detail that Johnny exhibits . He provided a number of menu choices and was very flexible. The food was delivered on time and he went over each of the courses in detail. I would not hesitate to use Semi Private Chef again for any dining experience. read more

We were looking for a special dinner for a party of 11 girlfriends to celebrate a milestone birthday in beautiful Montecito. Chef Johnny made the occasion perfect! We couldn't have made a better choice. So many fresh and local menu choices and super easy to communicate with. The dinner was delicious and he added some special treats. He arrived on time and took care of every single detail. We all had an amazing evening and enjoyed chatting and laughing with him while he was prepping and throughout the meal. Thanks Johnny for a wonderful experience! Hire him - you won't be disappointed! read more

Such a great experience! We were in town to for a belated celebration with 3 couples in total. Johnny was easy to communicate with, provided great insight and options when planning the menu, was punctual, and of course the food was delicious!! read more

Look no further than Johnny Weber of Semi Private Chef to make your next event super special and delicious. I worked with Johnny for a dinner to celebrate my sister's bachelorette weekend for 7 guests. Johnny was an absolute delight to work with leading up to the dinner and the resulting meal was absolutely marvelous. We all truly enjoyed chatting with Johnny throughout the meal and he felt like a part of the group. I highly recommend the talented and charming Johnny for your next event for a unique and elevated experience. read more

Chef Johnny was great! We hired him for a bachelorette party and it was a perfect surprise for the bride. The food was fantastic and he had a very personable and professional presence. We would definitely hire him again! read more

I am very happy I decided to give Johnny a try for catering my parents 30th anniversary. From start to finish he worked with us to make sure we got just what we wanted and were pleased. I appreciate how flexible he was when my, let's just say, selective mother kept wanting different menu options. The service from him and his server were then great. Super friendly, polite, punctual, you could tell they cared about what they were doing. I was struck by the interesting menu items we got. I had never had salmon macaroons, they were amazing. He was a pro on the way he cooked the halibut too, without it being dried out. All in all it was beyond restaurant quality. Highly recommend, looking forward to my next event to use him again. read more

I hired Johnny at Semi Private Chef for a birthday dinner for 8 people. Leading up to the event, Johnny was extremely responsive and flexible with the last minute addition of a guest. I had a great variety of dishes to choose from and each one sounded incredible. The day of the event, Johnny arrived precisely on time and was fully prepared. He was extremely personable and approachable and the entire group had a great time getting to know him.The meal was absolutely delicious, one of the bets that I have had, and he included some really fun surprises for us. I would highly recommend Semi Private Chef and I will most certainly book Johnny again for another meal! read more

I planned a bachelorette party in Santa Barbara a week ago for a group of ladies that have dined at the best restaurants in the world. The bride-to-be's only requests were great food and a spa day. :) I'm SO glad I found Johnny to deliver the great food part! Since we wanted to go out for dinner on Sat night, I discussed the possibility of having a brunch class with him instead. He was all for it and came up with an amazing menu! I really appreciate how flexible Johnny is. His pricing is reasonable too! On the day of the cooking class, Johnny came super prepared with the necessary equipment and a set of printed recipes for each of us. You can definitely tell he is really passionate about teaching and explaining the cooking process. All of the food was so fresh and delicious! I highly recommend booking Johnny for a cooking class or special occasion. read more

Could not be happier with the food and service I received from Semi Private Chef. I had them cater my graduation party (20 people) and the food was stellar. Johnny created a menu based on our conversation and helped tweak changes that were asked for. Johnny is very honest and incredibly helpful with the preparation and is an amazing chef! I can't speak highly enough of the quality of the food and how friendly and helpful Johnny was in the entire process. All of my guests loved the food! Thank you Semi Private Chef for an amazing meal and making my party something to remember! read more

Chef Johnny (Semi Private Chef) prepared a four-course dinner for fourteen of us for a surprise birthday party. It was awesome! 1) The food (cheese plate, gazpacho, summer peach salad, shrimp scampi, grilled broccoli and squash, bread pudding dessert) was perfectly delicious. 2) He was completely charming as he described each dish as it was served by his lovely assistant. 3) He added the gazpacho and a wonderful pineapple sorbet palate cleanser to the menu at the last minute. 4) He adapted the menu for our vegan guest. 5) He provided all of the cookware and dishware, and had a printed menu with a birthday greeting at each place setting. 6) He made certain that the kitchen was spotless before he left. 7) The quote for the meal was a reasonable price. And MOST importantly, he was flexible in scheduling and prompt with communication. This made planning a surprise party so much easier. He is clearly a talented chef and an ethical professional. We are looking forward to having him back, and recommend him highly! read more

Favorite part of our bachlorette weekend in Santa Barbara! This was such a fun and unique experience. It was so great to relax at home and let Johnny work his magic in the kitchen for us. The food was some of the best we've ever had! They were professional, funny, entertaining and great to talk to. He's incredibly flexible when it comes to building the menu and will work with you to make sure it's perfect. We had cauliflower soup, smoked tri tip (HIGHLY recommend) and chocolate banana bread pudding. You can't go wrong with Chef Johnny and his team!!! read more

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My friends and I were in Santa Barbara for my bachelorette party and I wanted to treat them to an amazing food experience. Thankfully, I found Chef Johnny! His food was delicious and he was so sweet and funny. He was super accommodating to the vegetarians in the group and our meal was fresh and filling. It was such a treat to enjoy his culinary talents and not have to worry about dishes or cleanup afterwards. 5 stars for Chef Johnny! read more

Chef Johnny prepared an absolutely fabulous, delicious and unforgettable birthday celebration dinner at our vacation rental in Montecito on October 3, 2016. As lifetime native New Yorkers, we had some trepidation about engaging a chef we'd found on the Internet (you know....inviting a stranger with knives???), but boy, are we glad we got over that and forged ahead. Johnny, a consummate professional, sent us an inventive and thoughtful five-course customized menu to approve in advance, recommended wines, and even gave us some tips on local restaurants (all of which were spot-on). He even played us the Happy Birthday tune on a toy instrument he brought along, a very sweet and creative touch that made us smile. He is a delightful and very charming guy who will immediately put you at ease, and he brings all cook & serve-ware, which he whisks away with him when the meal is finished so there's no cleanup to think about. On top of all this, his pricing is so incredibly reasonable that it costs less than eating at any of the nicer local restaurants. While we had a lovely dinner at San Ysidro Ranch, it's the Chef Johnny experience that we would first seek out in our next visit to the Santa Barbara area. Do not hesitate to give his service a try - you will NOT be disappointed! Our customized and scrumptious menu included: Local marinated Hope Ranch Mussels; Black Tuscan Kale Salad (cashew dressing, kumquats, manchego, radicchio); Local Rockfish Crudo (avocado, lime crema, chili, pomegranate); Housemade Tagliatelle (braised short rib, tomato, garlic, herbs, pecorino); Cake and Ice Cream (olive oil cake, vanilla ice cream, balsamic reduction, chocolate truffles). Thanks, Chef Johnny!!! Greg, Sheila & Meghan read more

I was in Santa Barbara for a wedding with some close friends and we wanted to look into having a private chef come to the house so we could enjoy the evening without worrying about reservations and getting to and from restaurants... in comes Chef Johnny. Johnny was without a doubt the way to go and I am so glad I reached out. He was extremely responsive, tailored a menu to our group, and is just a wonderful person who takes great pride in his work. The food was absolutely delicious and everyone took a multiple helpings. He came over right on time, cooked, served and then cleaned up. I would without hesitation call him the next time I am in Santa Barbara and would recommend him to anyone going out there. Johnny really was a large part of making such awesome memories on our California adventure. Thank you Chef Johnny!!! -from the NJ crew read more