Christina is an amazing chef and a wonderful person to have at your event. She is sweet,…read moreconsiderate, and values good communication and clarity. Her skill with cooking is exceptional - she's very creative, offering a wealth of solutions for all sorts of different culinary desires, including raw, gluten free and vegetarian. She's also great with meat and dairy, pastries, and if there's something new that you want, she will thoroughly research it, do test cooking, and provide that special something. However, it's the little touches that really blew me away - the care for detail, the presentation, and the beautiful garnishes and colors she included in the plated food. Whether your doing a small, intimate dinner party, or a large-scale event, Christina is sure to make your life easy and astound the tastebuds of your guests!

Christina is our go-to for gluten-free and dairy-free birthday cakes. Aside from making some of the…read moremost delicious cakes we've ever had, they are incredibly artistic & beautiful. They have gotten rave reviews from every single person who has tasted them. Be it picky foodie, allergy sensitive or conventional omnivor...

First review of the year goes to Chef Tirzah! I hired Chef Tirzah to be the personal chef to…read moreprepare a meal in my home for my mother's birthday. Backstory: Weeks prior to my mother's birthday dinner, I have been looking all over for a private chef. However, since Chef Tirzah was listed under the "catering" section rather than "private chef" I did not see her on Yelp. We actually found her through Craigslist. I did some research on decide to do a phone consultation. After the phone conversation, her rates were fair and she seemed nice to talk which. Anyway, I felt pretty good and decided to hire her. Honestly, I was a bit nervous since I never tried her food before and was going off photos from her website and instagram. Well let me just say that Chef Tirzah did not disappoint. In fact, she was above and beyond what I expected. She was great to work with. She was knowledgeable about the restaurant industry due to her past experience as a restaurateur. Chef Tirzah even helped me set up my table nicely especially since I was running out of time. She showed me different ways of folding napkins, how to warm the dishes, etc. I actually learned a lot from her and was very impressed with the meal she cooked for us. As a starter, Chef Tirzah made a simple yet very tasty Salad for us. For the main dish, she served us ribeye that was cooked to perfection. The main dish also came with two sides which was sweet yams and asparagus. Her sweet yams, which she calls her "Caribbean sweet yam," which was her specialty and it was absolutely delicious! I think I can eat it every day. Her asparagus wrapped with prosciutto was good too. Overall, Chef Tirzah was absolutely amazing! I highly recommend her if you are looking for a private chef for a private dinner party. She was professional, talented, friendly, helpful, and an excellent chef! I will definitely hire again for all future events where I need a private chef or catering.

Always serving the freshest ingredients and phenomenal flavors, her signature salmon salad is not…read moreto be missed! I only wish she had her own restaurant. Be on the lookout for a special chance to check out her talents at her event "A Beat at the Table". You'll be glad you did.

Chef Peter started making our family delicious and beautifully prepared meals a few months ago. He…read moreis incredibly talented and capable of meeting many dietary restrictions and preferences. He always asks for constructive feedback so he can refine his meals to our individual tastes. We've been very happy with his professionalism, friendly personality, and his ability to design and implement menus. We give a big thumbs up to others looking to hire chef for dinner parties, family meals, etc.

Sorry this review is long overdue! Chef Peter came to my house to cook a beautiful dinner for two…read morefor my husband's birthday. He was very responsive over emails as he and I planned the dinner unbeknownst to my husband, and very patient with my indecision over what he should make. Ultimately we decided on a 4-course meal of Cajun-style food (with no shrimp because I hate it!) since our favorite food destination to date has been New Orleans. Chef Peter locally purchased all of the food necessary (we got to keep the leftovers!!), and was patient with the state of my non-optimized kitchen as he was cooking. [Edit: and he left my kitchen spotless!] He was friendly as he served us but let us keep to ourselves while we ate (we're rather private like that), and he was really great about working within our budget. Overall I'd absolutely hire Chef Peter for a dinner party again, and you should too! I'm only sorry there aren't more pictures - everything looked and smelled so good that I was in too much of a hurry and started eating before thinking to take pics! Un-pictured but still to-die-for courses were: - Spinach Salad with warm bacon dressing, heirloom tomatoes and imported flaked parmesan - Chocolate Bread Pudding with bourbon glaze

To sum up the review I'm about to write... YUM!…read more Hiring Ani is a decision you won't regret. Not only does she deliver wonderful cuisine from her culture -- you can tell that all her heart goes into each one of her recipes -- she is attentive and caring. She will work with you to make sure that your event, whatever it may be, goes smoothly and that her catering services meet your needs. On her site, she lists variety of services ranging from personal meals to larger gatherings. I had the pleasure of enjoying her food this past Sunday at a bigger event. I have a sweet tooth, so my favourite dishes were the chocolate filled baklava and Lebanese cannoli. But all of her food (Armenian cheese pies, hummus wraps, spring rolls with tabbouleh, date-filled cookies, and more included in the photos below) is amazing. She truly goes above and beyond to provide for specific dietary needs. There was much consideration for attendees who were gluten free and lactose intolerant. I packed home some of the food afterwards, and everyone at home has loved it as well! Honestly, don't take my word for it. Try her food for yourself!

Ani was the private chef for my husbands birthday party! Our house was under construction and she…read morebrought everything we needed for the party and cooked the whole meal in our backyard. The food was so good! Extremely fresh and tasty, especially the zaatar flatbreads she was making right there. Ani is also super warm and kind and was such a nice presence to have at a small dinner party.

Incredible food and service! I hired Arnon/Oren's Kitchen to cater a business lunch with 60 people…read morethis week. I have done several business lunches and have never had a catering experience as easy (and delicious) as this. The food quality and service were top notch through and through. Many people personally approached me to compliment the food and ask about the catering. I highly recommend Arnon/Oren's Kitchen for any of your future events. We will definitely be hiring him for ours.

Best event I could imagine!!! I made a business event last…read moreweek for 40 people's, I got a lot of questions and compliments about the food, it's left my guests surprised and amazed and turned the meeting to a high end event. The chef and he's staff was on top of everything during the event and left all clean after. Any way, highest quality of materials, French top education touch, then what you get in your plate is hard to compete. Highly recommending Oren's Arnon kitchen For people that looking for high end food and events. Shemi E

It's been a long time since writing a review for Teto's Catering! My parents had their 50th…read moreanniversary a few years back in Oakley and we knew from previous family parties, they had Teto's catered that we definitely had to have them cater our parents special day. My mom loves the chicken marsala, tortellini pasta, rice pilaf, roast beef and all the yummy sides. Wow!!! Always so consistent, elegantly prepared down to the table covers and keeping the food fresh and hot in the warmers. The food was sooooo good, so impressed and the guests loved it! I wish we had taken pics, if I do come across one, I'll make sure to post it:) Thank you thank you sooooo much, we really appreciate you, so kind and your hospitality and to the whole catering team!!! Top notch service!!!

Ernesto catered for my husband's funeral. The food was absolutely amazing. He planned a menu that…read moresatisfied everyone there, vegans and carnivores. Everything was fresh and delicious. All of the other caterers on the list at Sunset View in El Cerrito only provided drop-off where we would have to set up, clean up, provide drinks, desserts, utensils, plates, etc. This was not something I wanted to do or have my family and friends do at a funeral. I wanted full service. The presentation was beautiful, I wish I had taken photos to include in the review. And everything was absolutely delicious. Ernesto and his staff put out take out boxes where people could take extras home. I am happy that the leftovers were not thrown out, Ernesto donates them to a homeless shelter. I can't say enough about how exceptional the food and the service were. I highly recommend Teto's Catering! Thank you, Ernesto and staff!

I saw pictures of this enticingly delicious looking breakfast sandwich for a "Hot and New" Business…read moreon Yelp....I won't tell you what my eyes were "saying" but I knew my mouth had to get around that sandwich. I visited Eye of the Avocado yesterday which is currently a pop-up in the former Sandbox Bakery/Pinkie's Bakery. On the menu is their signature sandwich which I couldn't even pronounce at first and later figured out that it was the acronym for the sequence of colors in the rainbow: Roy. G. Biv. DUH! They taught us this in kindergarten but I guess I was too busy flirting with Jonathan...this adorabley cute hapa boy (with the Jonathan Bower bowl haircut) that was in my class. Hmmm, I wonder if he's still single?! Back to that signature sandwich...the Roy. G. Biv. - 7 minute egg, herbed butter, cheddar, pickled veggies, brioche ($10). And, what's a breakfast sandwich without bacon (+$3) and avocado (+$2) so I added them both. Gluten-free bread available for +$2. Eye of the Avocado also sells a handful of pastries and coffee. I know $15 is a lot to pay for a breakfast sandwich for a non-sit down restaurant (there's only 3 counter seats and a bench outside) but you're paying for top-notch ingredients here and supporting a small local business. The Roy. G. Biv. may very well be the contender for one of best breakfast sandwiches in San Francisco (with a few tweeks): http://bit.ly/2iMMVrF. The brioche is buttered before toasting which creates sumptuously caramelized edges. The thick bacon was rich and crispy (not too salty) while the perfectly ripe avocado added another layer of butteryness with the pickled veggies giving a punch of acid. The breakfast sandwich had great layers of flavors and was deliciously satisfying. But, you only get one slice bacon so half of the bites were bacon-less. For the price, you should be able to taste the bacon in every bite. I also wish the egg yolk was runnier. IMO, you can't have the ultimate breakfast sandwich without egg porn. The owner and the cashier were super nice, enthusiastic, and you can tell they love what they do. Eye of the Avocado is only running for a couple of more weeks so go get your mouth around the Roy. G. Biv. while you can!

Jes's cooking is consistently delicious! She prepared meals for us customized to specific dietary…read morerestrictions (including low-FODMAP) and it has been just what we need. She is attentive to detail, makes food that tastes good *and* looks beautiful - a range of colors, good combos of ingredients...all reflecting some superb chef skills. And great communication skills. Food made with love and care. If you're considering hiring her, I recommend without hesitation!

Plata catered our wedding in Oakland and we could not be happier. I initially came across Plata on…read moreInstagram when I saw a post with an amazing porchetta they made for another event. I reached out to Cristina immediately to connect with her to learn more. From our first conversation with Cristina and her team we were incredibly impressed by her approach and understanding of the unique food style we wanted for our wedding. We had a brainstorming conversation and she followed up with a menu that perfectly married her Argentinian flavors with the African, Mexican, and Italian influences that we were looking for. We decided we wanted to try out her empanadas before booking, so we arranged a time to meet in the Bay Area (at an Amtrak station between trains, in fact!). The empanadas were warm when we got them and we absolutely loved them. Throughout the months leading up to our wedding Cristina and her team were flexible to tweaks we were looking for with the menu, respectful of our budget constraints, and responsive to our questions. They visited our venue independently and had a clear plan of attack for the day of. They even introduced us to our bartender for the wedding, who was also wonderful. The food at our wedding was great. We had a fabulous cheese and charcuterie grazing board (expertly selected by Plata) during cocktail hour in addition to empanadas and rice balls. The dinner menu (porchetta, chicken galantine, stuffed pasta, green salad, shrimp with corn porridge, other accompaniments) turned out to be delicious. The staff they brought along were friendly and helpful. As foodies, we had high expectations (as did our guests) -- Plata definitely lived up to them! We are still hearing about the pasta and rice balls in particular! Thank you Cristina and team!