Private Chef - An Elegant Evening in Tuscany

Pros: - The chef warmed up to us at the end of the cooking session despite having a rocky start in the beginning. :) Helped us clean the stove and washed some dishes herself. Potatoes were amazing!! Had an incredibly diverse background story about how she came to specialize in vegan culinary cuisine. Cons: - The chef bought seafood and groceries from Ralphs down the street and did not prepare dough from scratch . She used pre-made tarts and pie pastry for two of the four dishes). Additionally, half of the 12 mussels she brought died and were thrown away. - Only four of the Ralph’s shrimp were used in the paella. We were hoping at least 6 or more would be used. Additionally, the shrimp was frozen and melted which resulted in them sitting in their own juices and us questioning the sanitization integrity of the rest of the ingredients she pre-measured in jars. Ingredients could have come from her house and we had no way of verifying whether they were safe to consume. - The empanadas ruptured due to the chef not being mindful of the temperature of the filling (we had to point this out on her behalf). Additionally half of the empanadas burned since the pan was not flipped half way ( uneven bake) . Take aways: - The dishes did not even come close to the pictures advertised on the website. Frankly, this meal could’ve have been prepared without the chef with better quality ingredients for less money and much more. This is a scam and just underwhelming overall. It’s a carb fest is all there is to say which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it is what you are looking for but unfortunately, this is not what was marketed/advertised.) Not cons but not pros: - Original attitude was extremely off putting from the get-go on the phone and when given parking suggestions. It seemed as if we were getting patronized for trying to prevent her from getting towed. - Was condescending when our provided pan was too small and we offered a pot in its place. Chef didn’t offer any learning opportunities or background knowledge regarding the dishes we put together except replacing rice with angel hair pasta in the paella. Chef told us to wash dishes twice and asked us to dry her pan for her.

Great experience and a delicious meal!

Chef Rachel was awesome. We have a really picky eater in our group and he ate so for us that says how amazing the food was to eat.

Chef Rachel provided an exceptional cooking class experience! We thoroughly enjoyed her guidance and instruction throughout the session, as she came well-prepared with all the ingredients and even shared a bonus recipe utilizing items we had available. We highly recommend taking a class with her for an enjoyable culinary adventure.

Chef Rachel was great. Very accommodating. Really fun to talk with and a very delicious meal. We’d do this again with her.

Excellent Chef and great experience learning how to make fluffly soufflé pancakes. Highly recommend.

Rachel was really fun to work with! We were supposed to have a private chef experience, by she saw that we wanted to help so morphed the evening into a cooking class. It was a great experience for us and out adult children.

Rachel was terrific! She was informative and fun! Highly recommend her classes.

Chef Rachel brought all the ingredients and showed us each step of the meal preparation. Our family enjoyed the meal and we now have new recipes!

We had so much fun learning with Chef Rachel! We were so excited to try all the recipes she taught us during our class. We can’t wait to have another class with her again!

Chef Rachel was very knowledge and showed us some great cooking tips!! The menu was delicious and enjoyed by all!

Rachel arrived right on time and we started cooking. It was a really enjoyable experience and we will do it again. I learned some new techniques for preparing chicken and got a little comfortable with frying with hot oil. The meal turned out great and it was delicious.

What can I say? Our experience with Chef Rachel was superb! She was friendly, professional and very helpful in guiding us through the class. She was prompt and had everything we needed for our time together. She put us at ease immediately and we had an excellent time. The class was the day after Valentine's day and my girlfriend said it was the best present ever! I would highly recommend Chef Rachel!

Chef Rachel was great! She made sure we had all the tools we needed and let us be hands on when we wanted to. The food came out delicious and we are looking forward to recreating it on our own! We had a great time with Chef Rachel and would love to do it again.

We had a wonderful experience with Chef Rachel! She was prompt, personable, and allowed us to be as hands on as we wanted. We learned some fun new recipes and cooking techniques, and all of the food was delicious. I appreciated all of the guidance from Chef Rachel throughout the experience, and how organized the whole process was. I would definitely book again and highly recommend her to others!

Rachel's a fantastic cook and served up a great meal at our home to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was like eating at a restaurant... but better because we were at home.

We had the elevated plant based feast with Rachel and it was exquisite. The food was amazing and Rachel was really great! Highly recommend.

Great personality, arrived exactly on time, and learned a few new cooking tricks.

Well laid out and portioned! Excellent flavors that were consistent throughout the courses.

Everything Rachel prepared was our first time experiencing and can tell you it was all amazing, freshness of the smoothie, the perfect spice for the tomatoes and the egg was perfectly made. The Texas toast was by far the surprise to us all as we were just expecting a similar taste to French toast however it’s definitely not. I want to add the presentation was beautiful also. Rachel’s professionalism was top she cared about certain guests restrictions and made them very happy

Along with some good friends, we had a spectacular vegan meal with Rachel. The food was incredibly fresh, well seasoned, and we all couldn't say enough about how delicious it was. Chef Rachel was so engaging and was gracious in answering all our questions! Super wonderful experience overall.

Rachel was a fantastic teacher. She worked with me and my wife as part of the Fundamental Dessert Techniques course, which included preparation of panna cotta, cheesecake, and crème brûlée. Rachel was a patient and informative instructor, and allowed my wife and me to do all procedures ourselves, stepping in for occasional recommendations. She had a good balance of advising on technical specifics while also giving us room to do each step ourselves, even if we were imperfect at certain stages. All recipes were doable for non-professionals like us, tasted great, and generated reasonable dessert portion sizes for two people without having too much excess. Rachel brought nearly everything we needed, and coordinated with me a week in advance on what we would need and what she could bring, and nothing was missing when it came time to prepare the recipes. Rachel was parked near our complex before the appointment time, and came in right on time and was ready to go. She was patient as well while my wife and I were still getting our daughter settled in for the evening and switching off for the first 20 minutes or so. Everything was done within 2 hours on the dot, and that was with some recipes taking longer than planned in our oven. I would highly recommend this course if you are looking for an interesting date night, or have an anniversary or birthday/similar coming up for a partner who loves to cook/bake (or at least the idea of it!). Rachel was a pleasure to have in our home, and we look forward to taking one of her other classes sometime!

Fabulous time and delicious food!

Rachel was awesome! The meal was fantastic and presentation was like a 5 star restaurant. It was a wonderful experience and we will definitely do it again!

Chef Rachel did an excellent job preparing and serving a delicious vegan meal for my wife and me. She showed up on time, was very pleasant and engaging, despite some occasional child and puppy chaos in our home. Wonderful experience, we highly recommend her!

Rachel, I have the upmost gratitude for her soul. Her presence radiantly filled the space and her talent is delightful. I look forward to her again and the warmth her art tastes.

My brother and sister in law enjoyed their class with chef Rachel. She was friendly and taught some great techniques.

Such great food! Rachel was really knowledgeable and it was a fun experience. I would recommend!

Great

Rachel was a blast to have come into our home and teach us some new skills. Perfect date night with delicious meal.

Chef Rachel was amazing! Professional yet easy going and fun - and the food was fabulous!