As a Christmas gift I treated my friends to a dinner where Matt Collins was the chef. Dinner was wonderful. Matt brought everything- plates, glasses, all the food and spices and everything he needed to make a fantastic meal for all four of us. He showed up on time, and cleaned everything after he was finished cooking. Not only did he make four creative, savory courses, the food was just as aesthetically pleasing. I've since booked him for another event and can't wait to have him back. Chef Matt Collins is a skilled and entertaining chef. read more

See all

I had Matt come to our home for our 2-year wedding anniversary, and let me tell u, he EXCEEDED our expectations. He was so kind and personable, which made the experience a solid 20 out of 10. The food was INSANELY PERFECT, and we cannot wait to have him over again and again. You can only get food like this from someone that truly loves what they do. BOMB.COM read more

See all

Maybe the most incredible thing about this review is that I'm actually writing a review about a private chef coming to my tiny kitchen, cooking a 7-course meal for four people that happened on New Year's Eve. I don't know about you, but I *never* thought I would ever write this review. I don't even have a proper kitchen. It's a tiny open kitchen that's part of the living room. But Matt made it easy, he made it possible, and he made it affordable -especially on NYE, where restaurants charge hundreds of dollars to enter. Planning with Matt was super streamlined. I gave him all our dietary constraints, and he came back with suggestions. Couple more rounds of email and we were set. The day of. It was as low-key and smooth as it gets. He showed up a couple of hours before guests arrived and set up. He hung out with my cats and then got to work when my guests arrived. The entire evening was clockwork, and dinner ended 20 or so minutes before midnight, just in time for a breather and a new year toast. Logistics aside, the food was superb and tasty, which was NOT easy if you only knew each of our dietary constraints: "no leafy greens," "no pepper," "no beef, cheese, sugar,.." the list goes on and on. I trust that your dinner would be even better than ours (especially if you go to one of Matt's events), but ours was delicious. It was delicious in a memorable way that my guests gushed over it for days after. Each plate had a direction, each ingredient served a purpose, and the seven courses were beautiful together. It elevated our gathering in that effortless, matter of fact way. The food didn't take over the conversation, but it delighted the guests and enhanced the evening if that made any sense. What truly made the evening, though, was Matt himself. He was personable, great to talk to, and he is a wealth of knowledge which he was very generous to disseminate. We were impressed by his research on locally-sourced ingredients, floored by the distance he goes to get just the right ones, and we enjoyed his company tremendously. read more

See all

Chef Matt came to my house for my cousin's 70th birthday and he made the event fantastic! His food was delicious and full of flavor. He accommodated everyone's dietary needs and allergies because my family has vegetarians and pescatarians. Everyone was happy with their options! Service was excellent and his help was friendly. I would highly recommend him for any of your dinner needs! read more

Matt did an amazing job curating a menu that all of our party would enjoy. A nod to my favorite food - sushi (plus the added bonus of caviar), a course of delicious beets, a pasta with a dollop of tallegio, beautifully prepared and tender pork loin, and fall apart short ribs with another favorite - grits, and finished it up with a fantastic gelato. This meal was absolutely stunning and worth every penny. Matt is as involved as you'd ask him to be - answering questions, giving details, and guiding us through a delicious meal. 100% would hire him again. read more

See all

For our anniversary, I invited Chef Collins for a private dinner at my home. What a wonderful experience! The quality of the experience was top notch, everything from the food to the plates. He was extremely professional, bringing any and all tools to the house and cleaning up thoroughly before heading out. I highly recommend Chef Collins Events for both small and large gatherings. read more

Some friends and I were lucky enough to be treated to a dinner by Chef Collins. We paired different wines to each course. It was absolutely phenomenal! Everything was delicious, Chef Collins was professional yet fun to hang out with. He poured our wine, brought everything he needed, and cleaned everything up. His dishes were creative and different. It was a night to remember and I highly recommend booking a dinner with him, you won't regret it! Thanks Chef Collins! read more

See all

Attended a chef Collins event last night in Neptune. It was held in a local home with a great kitchen set up that allowed us to interact with matt and watch him work his magic. It was a small intimate group and we had a lot of back and forth with Matt and his team, like we were old friends. We purchased tickets for this event spur of the moment and it was a great decision. The food was outstanding, and Matt goes to extreme lengths to add special touches to each dish. All of it was purchased from local sources and cooked to perfection. Was just a really perfect night. I look forward to finding and attending one of his future events. read more

See all

I attended a surprise kitchen dinner with Chef Collins. The meal was excellent.. It was creative, beautifully presented and sooooo delicious! I highly recommend his culinary skills! read more

Chef Matt Collins is a true General in the kitchen. A True Masterstroke! Any event with him is incredible and he aims to please. He also brings staff that raise the standard on service and diverse offerings as welll! if you haven't booked Chef Matt yet , what are you waiting for! read more

I hired Matt to cook dinner at a private event in my home. I am giving him one star for the fact that he kicked a dog hard enough to have it yelp during service that was just standing near him (he could have easily gone around him) The dog is a GSP and is not aggressive in anyway and is well trained. If it wasn't for this "minor" detail, I would have given him 3 stars since there were issues with the food served. Matt has gone crazed in his response to a post of the dog's owner on Facebook. I will go in to detail of the food and the situation below, but the bottom line is: would you really want someone who kicks a dog unprovoked in your home? I only wish I knew this before I hired him. Matt was very responsive in the planning process. We settled on the menu for 15 after 4 or 5 interactions both through email and through a zoom call. Matt was here early on the day of the event. Unfortunately, when he entered the house he was greeted by my son's dog who stuck his nose up Matt's butt. The dog sticking his nose up his butt was not right and my son apologized and took the dog out of the house. My dog who is 13+ barely moves and can not go outside because of the heat was left inside. (Matt has posted a picture on FB of my dog dogging the trash that he hung off my kitchen cabinets claiming that it couldn't have been so bad because I left my dog in MY house. First, I don't hang my trash open in the kitchen. Not sure if any dog wouldn't at least have a sniff. Second, my dog can't handle the heat and I guess thinking about it, I should have been concerned for the welfare of my dog in my own house.) I paid Matt up front because I didn't want to deal with it later. He claims that I didn't tip him or the servers on FB, but since he packed up and left before the cake was served he wouldn't know that I did in fact tip them and had a conversation with them about what happened. After kicking the dog, he was right I had no intention of tipping him. The servers were outstanding and can't say enough about them doing anything they could to make the event a success The food was served promptly at 6. The apps were recommended by Matt. Grilled brie sandwiches and toasted bread with goat cheese and pepper. We were hungry by this time so everyone ate some but the toasted bread was not crisp like it sat out too long. We sat down for dinner. The first course of a scallop salad was being served (I enjoyed this course but noticed others did not finish it) and that is when Matt felt the need to kick the dog. It was witnessed by my son, my brother and the servers. I didn't see or hear it. I was told by all of them that the dog was standing partly in the way of Matt but there was plenty of room to go around. This was at least 2 hours after the dog sniffed his butt. My son spoke to me from across the table and him and is wife were so upset they left the table and took the dog for a walk. (After I have come to know his wife had words with Matt in which he was rude and unapologetic). The second course was a crab cake with roasted vegetables which was excellent. The third course was Monkfish with chili sauce. It was cooked well but was way too spicy for a group of 15 people. We weren't asked about how hot it could/should be. Many people again, did not finish most of this course. After the FB posts, Matt seems to think it is a joke. He posted a pic with a caption "Just kicking around with my dogs" He is totally unaware that his actions are far from normal and most people do not tolerate this behavior. After reading his responses to the FB posts I called him asking for a public apology for kicking the dog and to take down the picture of my dog and if not, I would write this review. He responded after the call through a text message: "I'm on the phone being nice to people all the time it's my job and it's exhausting. I blamed you for me not taking the vacation but I liked taking to you and I wanted to do the event, I didn't want it to take 6 weeks to plan leaning me thinking maybe I shouldn't have taken the request and maybe it's not fair to blame you as you cited health issues etc and theirs is the possibility I was a little curt on the phone when asking if you were going through with the dinner cause I should have just spoken up then about just wanting to unwind and go camping ... in the same way your family thinks I should have spoken up about the dogs when I have to deal with dogs at about 50% of my dinners." read more

I hired Matt to cook my mom's 70th birthday dinner. Everything was superb. Matt truly embodies farm to table and uses the highest quality freshest ingredients he can get. He tailors everything to your liking and is very easy to work with. read more

Chef Collins Events - Party & Event Planning Near Me

Chef Matt prepared an amazing dinner for a Bachlorette party we had in Philly. Everyone loved his food. It was so delicious. Chef Matt was so easy to book and work with. He came up with a great menu and made edits based off feedback from the other ladies beforehand. Chef Matt brought everything needed for dinner and left the kitchen spotless which was perfect so no one had to worry about cooking or cleaning. Can't wait to use Chef Matt again in the future. read more

We had the most wonderful experience with Chef Matt. He made the whole process seamless and was very easy to communicate with. He arrived early and supplied all the tools/dinnerware needed and even cleaned everything up. We had three courses and he was very open to any changes needed on the menu. The food was delicious and unique. Also beautifully plated! read more

See all

Go to Chef Collins for all your events! He will make your evening special and arrange a menu customized for your needs!

I had the pleasure of getting to try a sampling of dishes from Chef Collins, and it was one of those situations where I'm pretty sure I took way more than I was supposed to... but I didn't feel bad about it :D His food is fantastic, as is his presentation. read more

Matt did some BBQ for an outdoor comedy event I hosted. The best bbq chicken sandwiches, they were like these Asian fusion things that blew everybody away. So delicious, I ate three of them. read more

Matt is a consummate professional when it comes to his craft - there is an attention to detail in his cooking that is apparent from the first bite. Each plate is better than the last and his flexibility in making a menu catered to your tastes/preferences is truly exceptional. Matt is easy to work with - flexible, easy going, and low key - and wants to make sure your evening is as great as it possibly can be. All of his ingredients are top notch and most if not all are locally sourced. We had a great night thanks to Matt and I would strongly recommend him to anyone who asked! read more

Chef Collins and his team did an excellent job catering our little backyard wedding. All the food was incredible and presented beautifully! They were able to cater to both vegans and meat eaters. They made sushi and fresh pasta. Omg soo good! The eggplant miso roll was my favorite. Highly recommend working with them for your next event. read more

Hiring Matt is a worthwhile investment! His food is creative, delicious and beautifully plated. He's also extremely well organized and clean - my kitchen is cleaner when he leaves than when he arrived! All you need to have to hire Matt is a stove/oven - Matt will bring everything else - including the wine if you ask! If you live in NJ hire Matt! read more

Food was so amazing!!! Chef Collins was very professional but personable and fun at the same time. Definitely recommend Chef Collins Events! Was a great experience. read more

Chef Collins came to my house to cook for a group of 4 - we had a five course dinner and the experience was incredible from start to finish. Chef Collins was extremely responsive in finalizing the details of the event and we did have a bit of back and forth to finalize the menu since we had some picky eaters in the group. Each of the five courses was beautifully plated and beyond our expectations. Was undeniably one of the best meals we've ever had. Highly recommend for your next event big or small! read more

I hired Matt for our parent's 60th Birthday Dinner - there was 13 of us. From the day I contacted him, about 9 months in advance, he was so responsive, professional and helpful. We tweaked our menu a few times and he was so accommodating to one of my sisters who doesn't eat seafood on our all cold seafood course. Having him come and cook and serve for us was a real treat- everything was so delicious and beautifully plated and Matt himself is hilarious and easy to talk to and work with. He's awesome- I would hire him again for a special dinner! We had such a great night and even better not having to think about someone cooking food or cleanup. Thanks Matt! read more