Chef Chris Exceeded my expectation! He was easy to work…read morewith. He communicated & responded quickly! The food he served was exceptional! He help make a very special surprise engagement dinner spectacular!

Chris, of My Private Chef, was the caterer for our wedding of 120 people at the Emil Bach House in…read moreRogers Park in May. The Emil Bach House is a Frank Lloyd Wright house that is available to rent for vacations or events. I highly recommend the venue. Chris immediately stood out from the other caterers who we talked with initially. As we worked together to develop a plan / proposal, he was quite helpful in developing a custom fusion menu that highlighted our respective Scandinavian and Mexican heritages. He went far beyond his competition by offering to do a free tasting of portions of the proposed menu with no commitments, confident that his food would speak for itself. He provided a full range of services beyond catering, going with us to the décor rental company to select the dishware, silverware, linens and tables / chairs to rent for the event. He was also the point of contact for the tent rental. He handled getting all of the necessary insurance and permits required to hold the event, working closely with the owners of the Emil Bach house to ensure everything went flawlessly. We could not have been more pleased with the results. From the attention to detail with regards to table setup, to the quality and flavor of the food to the attentiveness of the My Private Chef staff, the day was extraordinary. We had many guests rave about the food. My father said he could have just keep eating the appetizers for dinner. Several were impressed by the Magic of Roses iced tea station. The food tasted fresh and hot, much different than a normal buffet. The flank steak with chimichurri sauce was very tender. The grilled chicken breast with roasted poblano and red onion sauce was super moist. Even the bread and butter was impressive with three types of bread and two butters - a truffle oil infused butter and a salted herb butter. Chris certainly left a lasting impression through his food on our guests.

We had the pleasure of having a hibachi dinner with Chef Nico and it was the highlight of our…read moreentire weekend! Would highly recommend!

I booked RockStar hibachi after watching a few too many videos on YouTube…read more Chef Ethan arrived on time, set up promptly and prepare an amazing dinner for 12 guests. We celebrated my wife's 50th birthday party in our backyard and it was probably one of the most memorable and outstanding family things we've done in a long time I highly recommended. It is not only a great show, but the food is top-notch, I know we each have our own pallet, but based on the last few hibachi restaurants, I've been to this food superior.

The Chef and the Baker DID THAT!…read more Excellent presentation & the food was mmmm....mmmmm.....good! ## The Chef and the Baker -- A Chicago Catering Gem That Delivered on Every Level! **When I tell you The Chef and the Baker understood the assignment... THEY UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT!** While planning a special convening of Chicago's philanthropic and community leaders at the historic **Blackstone Branch Library**, I was intentional about finding a local, Black-owned catering business to support. I actually discovered **The Chef and the Baker** by asking ChatGPT for recommendations for Black-owned caterers near the library. They were one of the few that popped up! After visiting their website, exploring their menu, and reading the wonderful reviews, I had a feeling they would be the perfect fit. And BOY, was I right! Our gathering brought together an impressive group of community leaders, CEOs, vice presidents, and professionals in Chicago's philanthropic space. We needed a menu that would appeal to a variety of tastes and dietary preferences. I'm vegetarian, and we also had vegan guests, so flexibility, freshness, and flavor were important. **Well, let me tell you... THEY CAME THROUGH!** Let's talk about the FOOD! - **Rosemary Lemonade:** Refreshing, delicious, and such a lovely touch! - **Assorted Wrap Sandwiches:** Something for everyone! The Southwest Wrap was MY personal favorite! - **Potato Leek Soup:** Absolutely delicious! - **Macaroni & Cheese:** OOOH-WEEE! That's all I'm going to say! - **Guacamole:** YES, PLEASE! So fresh and flavorful! - **Ranch & Balsamic Dressings:** I don't know if they were homemade, but they certainly tasted like it! - **Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies:** Now THIS was a surprise! You honestly couldn't even tell they were vegan. Delicious! And it wasn't just the food. From the assorted chips to the beautiful presentation, everything was thoughtful and well executed. Their team arrived ON TIME, was professional, personable, accommodating, and an absolute pleasure to work with. Even when we made a few adjustments to our menu, they handled everything with grace and flexibility. **The entire experience was TOP TIER!** What made this experience even more special was introducing The Chef and the Baker to our Chicago host committee and philanthropic leaders. Many of our guests had never heard of them before. **WELL, THEY KNOW THEM NOW!** Let's just say The Chef and the Baker walked away with some brand-new fans, followers, and, I suspect, future customers! And can we also celebrate that this is a **Black-owned, husband-and-wife business**? We LOVE to see it! Supporting Black entrepreneurship, especially businesses rooted in community, makes experiences like this even more meaningful. To **The Chef and the Baker**, THANK YOU for helping us create such a wonderful experience at the Blackstone Branch Library. Your food, professionalism, hospitality, and attention to detail did not go unnoticed. **You haven't heard the last from us!** Our Chicago Host Committee and I look forward to working with you again. If you're in Chicago and looking for a caterer who delivers exceptional food, excellent service, and a little extra LOVE in everything they do, look no further! **The Chef and the Baker -- you have officially earned your flowers! ** With appreciation from a very happy customer! \#SupportBlackOwnedBusinesses #TheChefAndTheBaker #ChicagoCatering #BlackOwnedChicago #BlackExcellence #ChicagoPhilanthropy #SupportLocalBusinesses

Great food great customer service and operations!…read more They are so professional and know how to run a business.

I had an amazing time and the food experience was GREAT! Candy and her crew was great. The…read moreatmosphere was great at the Twisted Chef. The potato salad was the best I've had. It reminded me of my younger days. The string beans were great. Turnip Greens! When do you see them on a buffet. The Mac&Cheese, whooo Weeeee! I look forward to your class. I can't wai

I have been using Chef Candy and the Twisted Chef for events, and the participants always raved…read moreabout the food. She is a professional, efficient, and wonderful spirit who enjoys doing what she does!

I have no idea where to start...my husband and I had such an amazing experience working with Julie…read more& her team in planning our wedding and then on our wedding day. From a planning perspective, when we begun planning the food was the item we were the most perplexed about since I'm indian and my husband is not indian. We were struggling coming up with a way to have a wedding that combined our favorite aspects of both cultures while also making sure our guests felt welcome and comfortable. Thanks to Julie we were able to make that a reality. She helped us create the absolutely perfect menu, took all of our feedback from the tastings and never hesitated to provide her opinions based on her expertise. Working with her from day 1 we were completely at ease because of her wonderfully welcoming personality. And then there was the wedding day...which was absolute perfection. I want to highlight a couple of details from the wedding day that our guests told us about that still stand out to me and help attest to the amazing service entertaining company provides. Several of our guests told us about how no matter where they were during the cocktail hour - the servers would come and find them to make sure they got food. During dinner, one of my uncles ordered chicken but then when he saw the fish meal he realized he wanted fish. It would have been completely normal for a server to say no but instead they brought him out fish too! During dessert, my brother told a server that my grandma is allergic to eggs and they brought our a separate tray just for her with all the non-egg desserts. Those are just a couple of mentions of their amazing service but there are many many more examples. And then, of course, their food tasted absolutely amazing - it was just as good as our tastings, if not better! If you're trying to decide which caterer to work with, don't look any further than Entertaining Company ... especially if you're doing a fusion wedding. By the end of the night all of our guests were so satisfied and that is in large part because of the food :). Thank you Julie & Team! I hope we get a chance to work with you again.

Julie, Conrad and team were great from beginning to end. We had a small food luncheon and they…read morepassed with flying colors.

After cooking for 10 hours on Thanksgiving, I vowed I'd never do that again. Ever. And this meal…read moremade sure I won't have to. Chef Aleta completely saved our Christmas. The deep-fried turkey was hands down the best turkey I've ever had. I've never seen a turkey stay that juicy, especially after reheating. The juice was literally dripping as I carved it. I usually avoid turkey altogether but this one changed my mind and had me going back for seconds (and thirds, no shame). The mac and cheese was rich and creamy (not mushy... and I am picky about my noodles), the candied yams were perfect, the cornbread dressing was delicious, and the collard greens were seasoned just right. The gravy was amazing, and even the cranberry sauce was spot on. Everything reheated beautifully in about an hour, which meant I got to actually relax instead of spending the day chained to the stove. Chef Aleta was also wonderful to work with. She was organized, helpful, and accommodating with dietary requests. She made everything easy from start to finish. We also added a roasted veggie tray, which has been amazing so far. About to go home and dig into that! My mom's exact words at the end of the meal were, "So... when is the next eating holiday so we can order again?" Honestly, same. Did I mention she DELIVERED it to me?

I paid for my Mother aunt and sister to attend your Mother's Day Jazz Buffet on Sunday and to call…read moretheir experience a disgrace is putting it mildly. The food was cold and inedible, the staff did not have the proper ingredients to make the Mimosas, and the so called Jazz was one young adult on his trumpet! The only reason it is rated a 1star is the venue where it was held was beautiful! Shame on you for doing this to Black Mothers. It seems that you were not prepared to handle an event of this magnitude and you have a long way to go to prove that you are capable of handling this as a professional business.

We worked with Hearty Boys for our June 2026 wedding and I'm STILL thinking about how amazing they…read moredid. We cannot sing their praises loud enough! Alyson is the absolute best. She is thoughtful, communicative and just so charming! I am gluten free, but Alyson and the whole Hearty Boys crew made sure I had my own gluten free version of every Hors d'oeuvres. We had about 150 guests. Everyone loved the food and the service and they were so accommodating with guests who had restrictions. Wedding decision fatigue is real. Let this be your sign to make the easy decision to choose Hearty Boys! You'll be in wonderful hands!

Hearty Boys did such a fantastic job at our wedding, with the food as well as just consulting on…read morethe event itself. When we did our tasting, we knew pretty quickly they were the top, both because the food was several levels above what we'd tasted with other caterers, and because Derek asked us great questions throughout the tasting to better understand what we needed for our event, and to make great recommendations & help us think through aspects that hadn't even occurred to us yet. We had quite a few people in the weeks after the wedding reach out to say that they've never had better food at a wedding, and that was our experience too! They also staff the event incredibly well, and each of the team members we interacted with was a pro. Definitely add them to your list, and expect them to beat everyone else!

Zac is an amazing chef and maestro of an experience. He made sure we were comfortable as he did…read morewhat he does best. He took dietary preferences into account and was intentional every step of the way. The meal was gosh darn delicious... I wanted seconds and thirds. Do you want someone that brings art to their food? Are you looking for a sensory experience? Look no further!

This was our second time engaging Zac for a special dinner party and,again, he did not disappoint!…read moreHe and his fellow chef, Rory, prepared an amazing 7-course meal for 8 people including appetizers (meatballs!), salad (roasted figs!), pork loin (wrapped in bacon!), horseradish potatoes (!) and homemade chocolate cake. He is an affable guy, communication was fast and easy, his fees are reasonable, and his food is fresh & delicious. And he left my kitchen clean and tidy! I can't wait for another opportunity to engage him again. Zac is a treasure! I recommend him highly.