Chef Hyson created a stunning meal for our wedding in Big Sur. Great food was one of our top priorities, and choosing to work with Chef Hyson was one of the best decisions we made. Working on the menu together was a joy. He listened closely to what mattered to us, and where we didn't have strong opinions, we trusted his suggestions completely. They were spot-on. I wanted to honor my Filipino heritage, and he wove island flavors into an Italian-forward menu in a way that felt thoughtful and seamless. We also needed everything to be gluten-free, and he handled it so well that no one would have known. The bruschetta with peach-glazed pork belly was a highlight, and our guests are still talking about the braised short ribs. On the day, he and his team were professional, calm, and ran everything smoothly, so we could just enjoy ourselves. If food matters to you, book Chef Hyson. We couldn't recommend him more highly. read more

The best!! Curry. Veggies peanut sauce!! Hyson is the kindest and most knowledgeable food guy! Emily too!

I wish I could give Chef Hyson more than 5 stars and another reason to have him cater an event! We had him cater our wedding of 50 guests and it was the best decision we made. Our guests couldn't stop raving about how delicious the food was. They even went as far to say "BEST meal I've had in a while, BEST meal we had while visiting California, and BEST risotto I've ever had." His staff was incredibly attentive and we had a blast customizing the menu. We can't recommend his catering services highly enough! read more

Chef Hyson created a masterpiece for my family. A six-course dinner where everything was pleasing to the eyes and also the palate. He made sure everything was perfect for our 80th Birthday celebration! Thank you, Chef Hyson! read more

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We partnered with Chef Hyson for our 170+ person wedding this past weekend and he totally knocked it out of the park. When we approached Hyson, we had some pretty specific needs: a venue without a kitchen, a large headcount, and a menu that was "Persian-influenced." He was ready (and excited) to tackle it all and was very hands-on--he designed a gorgeous menu, hosted an incredible tasting, and led a very helpful walk-through of the venue. Since the wedding, we have received nothing but glowing feedback about the food. So many people have gone out of their way to say how delicious it was, how they went up for seconds (or thirds!) and/or cleaned their plates, and how beautifully he fused Persian and Western cuisine. We honestly can't thank him enough for transforming this night into the dinner party of our dreams. read more

Chef Hyson - Caterers Near Me

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Save yourself a headache and use any other caterer. Hyson stole a $500 deposit from us. We had booked Hyson to caterer our wedding. We followed up with Hyson over multiple months with 0 response after putting down the deposit. . When we followed up asking for the deposit back Hyson finally responded. During that time we also said our planner reached out (she didn't). For that one reason Hyson won't refund us even though his actual customers reached out without a response. I'm not sure how he feels that vindicates for being completely unprofessional and unreliable. DO NOT BOOK THIS GUY. I PROMISE read more

It is evident Chef Hyson is very passionate about his creativity and culinary skills. He was ready and prepared to save my wife and I from a 'last minute' caterer cancellation for our wedding in Big Sur. Unfortunately, there was a change in logistics and we did not get to experience his services. From his willingness and practicality in communication to menu items (and off menu items), I would highly recommend him and his team. read more

Chef Hyson and his team go "above and beyond" to create the food and atmosphere for an extraordinary party. We worked with the chef to plan hors d'oeuvres for a cocktail party at our home, and trusted him completely, as we had previously sampled his food at another party. The food for our party was amazing, and, in fact several guests were impressed enough to request his business card. The other aspect of the evening that impressed us was the attention and care every member of Chef Hyson's team gave to ensure we all had a good time. Every member of the team was attentive, helpful, and caring. Our guests were amazed at the quality of the food and had such a great time that we couldn't get them to leave. read more

Hyson's menu and team are incredible! We hired Hyson to do our wedding in Carmel, and it was such a joy to work with him. We went with a plant-based menu, which is his specialty, and every guest was absolutely raving about the food. Totally changed their outlooks on plant-based eating! Not only was the food amazing, but Hyson's attention to detail is impeccable. He didn't miss a beat and helped us with set up and left the venue sparkling clean. His staff was so nice and accommodating too - only amazing things to say about the whole experience. Would hands down use him again. Thank you so much! read more

Chef Hyson - Caterers Near Me

I found Chef Hyson via a recommendation from our wedding venue (Wind + Sea Big Sur), and decided to work with him on the strength of his online reviews alone. He delivered on that trust to create an incredible meal that drew on our Korean, Indian, and Brazilian heritages. Our party was just 17 people but included a few different dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-free, and a few specific ingredient aversions), and Hyson's menu managed to be delicious while catering to everyone's needs. He even made a separate mini charcuterie/cheese platter for our celiac guest, which she really appreciated. Everything about the meal was seamless, and he checked in frequently as we were served to make sure we were happy. Afterwards, multiple guests noted that it was the best wedding meal they'd ever had. I highly recommend Hyson for your next big or small event! read more

The mark of a good chef for me is always based on a couple of things: is their food delicious, composed, inventive, and how much do they have to alter ingredients to get them to that yummy state. Furthermore, a great chef to me additionally: builds deep flavorful soups using any oh-hand ingredients, makes meals that don't rely on a given "star of the show" animal protein, and respects the pastry world for its own separate skill/entity. Chef Hyson is a top notch chef encompassing everything I consider to be skilled. Considerate, direct, fun, and knows how to create and present and amazing meal. Thank you for making our yoga retreat in Carmel Valley even more memorable! The pictures on the yelp page do him NO justice, so go on over to the website for sure. read more

If you are looking for a Chef for any event, stop looking and book Chef Hyson! We had a small, intimate wedding of 11 people. Chef Hyson and his team made some of the best food we've truly ever had. Everything was fresh, tasty, and so well presented. We're all foodies, and I wanted to give Chef Hyson some creative freedom. I gave him a little bit of guidance, and he blew it out of the park! He is also extremely thoughtful and considerate of dietary restrictions, preferences, etc. They all provided excellent service, had wonderful/joyful attitudes, and truly made my wedding the best day ever. If I could give him 1000 stars, I would. Thank you, Chef Hyson! read more

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We hired Chef Hyson for a work reunion for my husband's company. When we first met him, we had just moved into our newly built house - all of our appliances were in, with the exception of the stove - as of this writing, it is still floating around on a container ship in the Atlantic. lol Anyway, Chef Hyson had to use our gas grill for a stove. Everything came out exceptionally! The appetizers (the mushroom puffs are fabulous!), the steaks and fish, and everything in between was superb. The plating was beautiful and our guests were very happy! As were, we! His staff were the greatest! Emily, Stephanie and Michael. (I'm hoping I remembered their names correctly), professional, courteous, cheerful! Great job! Looking forward to another party with Chef Hyson. Hopefully, when our stove is installed! read more

Unprofessional and uncommunicative. I highly recommend not doing business with Chef Hyson. I was completely ripped off for 900$ when attempting to hire him for my wedding with no services rendered and now he will not reply to any attempts to contact him. read more

My partner and I hired Chef Hyson to cater our micro-wedding in Big Sur and loved working with him! A+++! We originally reached out to Chef Hyson because he and his team specialize in local/organic ingredients which is important to us. We're also both vegetarian so were looking for a catering team that would have a diverse range of vegetarian options that didn't feel like an afterthought. Chef Hyson was really enthusiastic about having lots of fresh and local veggies on our menu and the vegetarian entree - a roasted vegetable tagine - ended up being the most popular part of the meal. The food was delicious and our families are still raving about it. Chef Hyson and his team were also professional during set up, serving, and break down, and coordinated with us about picking up and bringing a cake from a local bakery. He was also very knowledgable about the venues and players in the Big Sur wedding vendor scene - he recommended our bartender who was also fantastic, in addition to having really helpful advice about timing our dinner, etc. It's also worth mentioning that Chef Hyson was easy to communicate with regarding our COVID safety protocols. Can't recommend Chef Hyson highly enough - he was great and our family is still talking about our wedding food! Thanks to your team! read more

All I can say is "WOW"! Hyson was an absolute dream to work with for my Big Sur wedding. He was responsive, innovative and incredibly helpful throughout the entire planning process. The food was absolutely incredible!! My husband and I don't even eat meat, but we couldn't say no to Hyson's braised short ribs- they will turn any vegetarian. Our guests continue to comment on how delicious the food was. Our wedding venue had an open kitchen, so our guests were able to watch Hyson and his team in action- which was really neat! His team was kind, professional and fun to be around! Highly recommend Hyson for all your catering needs! read more

Chef Hyson catered our wedding last year (over 100 guests) in June. He did a phenomenal job. The food was amazing, our guests still mention it. It was not your typical bland boring wedding buffet food. Everything was fresh and flavorful. We would love to hire him to cook the same meal for us on our Anniversary! There are so many great things I could say about our experience with Chef Hyson and it would go on for pages. I will keep it simple and just say that you'd be crazy not to hire him. read more

Chef Hyson helped us throw an awesome birthday dinner party for 12 people. He prepared all the food fresh in our kitchen while his helpers served the plates and helped clean up after. The food was amazing and fun. Great experience. read more

Knocked it out of the park. Stuck to budget. My celebration guests are still raving.

Had the pleasure of photographing a wedding last night (Better With You Photography) that was catered by Chef Hyson and it was hands down the best wedding meal I have had...and I obviously get to taste a lot as a photographer! Everything was delicious. Can't say enough good things about the coconut fish soup or the elevated fried chicken. Will be recommending to all my future clients getting married! (Also this is the time of COVID and all of his employees wore masks and were super clean. Five stars!). - Kristen, Better With You Photography read more

If any customers would be difficult to please it would be us - restaurant owner, gourmet cook, and kids all mixed together but every single one of us enjoyed our meal and the experience. The staff did an awesome job. Thank you for helping make a special occasion even more so! read more

My wife and I live down in Los Angeles. We were married in Big Sur at the start of October 2018. We are vegan and it was incredibly important to us that we had a vegan wedding. We had a fair amount of difficulty finding a chef for our wedding dinner. We had a small and intimate wedding. And, as said, we are vegan and wanted dinner to be vegan. We came across Chef Hyson and this dude met and exceeded every single expectation we had. He was incredibly helpful while working with us to design the menu. He put out amazing ideas for food and if my wife or I wanted something else, he came out with other amazing sounding options that fit what we were looking for. We didn't have a chance to meet Hyson before our wedding so, we were taking a gamble, but based on our interaction with him via phone and email, we felt confident. Fast forward to wedding day. HOLY FREAKING AMAZING!!!! Chef Hyson showed up and created an incredibly delicious vegan charcuterie board for appetizers and dinner included some awesome things surrounding a mind blowlingly delicious vegan veggie pot pie. 3 of the total count of 9 of us are vegan. 1 is vegetarian. 5 are voracious meat eaters. EVERYONE loved his food. EVERYONE. The meat eaters could not believe how much they enjoyed dinner. In the end, plates were cleared and everyone felt like they had eaten more than enough. So if you are vegan and need a chef for any size gathering, get at Hyson. You will not be disappointed. I want to go a step further though. This dude can cook, I really hope I made that clear. Going a bit further, this dude has a phenomenal personality. He was absolutely great to talk with! He was knowledgable about the food and shared some great stories. He didn't steal attention from our wedding. I don't want to give the wrong impression here. He just blended right in with us. AND DELIVERED AN EPIC and AWESOME vegan dinner. In the future, as we head up to Big Sur to celebrate anniversaries, whether it just be us, or we bring a small crowd, we will certainly be booking Hyson for a dinner. So, vegans! Let's book this guy up! Let's show him there are enough of us that he can make a living and not have to accept the gigs where his guests want animals. Chef Hyson is a pro! He knows what he is doing. He takes the taste of food to a whole other level. And he's great with people! This dude will leave you feeling full and happy! read more

Can I say amazing enough times to really get the gist of what Hyson's cooking makes you feel? Hyson is a gifted chef who puts his heart and soul into his cooking. I feel blessed to have had the experience of tasting his food. His skill in planning and executing top-notch gourmet meals for over 60 guests during a retreat was something else. I highly recommend Chef Hyson! read more

Chef Hyson has provided my family, friends and me with fresh, delicious, creative foods on a variety of special occasions. We have never been disappointed. Looking forward to experiencing his culinary talent again soon. We are a vegan family. His kindness is palpable and permeates his creations. read more

Chef Hyson does an amazing job. Food is fresh and delicious. Very organized and puts on a great meal for dinner parties or other occasions.

Chef Hyson prepared all meals for a party of 60+ members for 3 days for our event in mid-Feb in Los Altos. His breadth of culinary knowledge, variety of cuisines served, brilliant mix of colors, innovative use of seasonal produce, artistic presentation skills and most of all exquisite taste was mind blowing. The weather during our 3 day event changed drastically. Chef Hyson was very aware of it and prepared meals accordingly. His appetizers, soups, salads and desserts were something we looked forward to on all days. I was very impressed by his kitchen management skills. We would request last minute change in menu or someone in our group would request special diet in last minute and Chef Hyson would effortlessly handle those requests with twinkle in his eye and smile on his face. We will definitely avail his services for our future family events. An "Iron Chef" level talent in Bay Area. read more

Look no further! Many thanks to Chef Hyson and his wonderful staff for delivering such wonderful service. The bartender and waitresses were very professional The presentation of the food was impeccable and flawlessly. The food was absolutely delicious and created to perfection. We are very pleased we chose your services for our event and we will definitely recommend you. It was a pleasure working with you and your staff. read more

Chef Hyson cooked for a retreat I attended and the food was great. I'm a vegetarian so I especially appreciated the fact that there was always clearly labeled veggie options, including veggie meat! read more

Chef Hyson catered my birthday 60 person wedding and the food was AMAZING. After the wedding, several guests told us it was the best food of their lives and I have to agree. Chef Hyson did a great job of working with us to build a menu. At first, I was a bit hesitant to build an Indian food based menu since it strays a bit from traditionally expected wedding food, but I trusted Chef Hyson and the food was perfect. read more

His catering at our wedding was unacceptably bad The prime rib beef was so overcooked it was inedible and he had the nerve to swing by the evening before our wedding to hike up the price. There are a lot of caters in the region. Do not pick this one. read more

Super Awesome food everytime! All dishes Super Unique, creative, flavorful Delicious!

Hyson is not just fancy amazing artists chef, he makes the meal a whole experience. Can't wait you see what comes up with next.

I had food made by chef on a retreat in Woodside. In short his vegan/vegetarian food matches the 7-Star standards of the resort. His cooking was innovative and taste was amazing ! read more

You will not find food more flavorful and thoughtfully executed than Hyson's. He just catered our wedding at Henry Miller Library for about 60 people, and every guest was RAVING about the food...they said it was not only the best food they have ever had at a wedding, but that it didn't even seem like catering food (you know...cookie cutter, missing special details, boring). It was all made and presented with such love by him and his team. We decided to go out of the box and incorporate Indian cuisine into our menu, and Hyson was so enthusiastic about creating the freshest, most delicious and memorable meal for us. He is an incredibly kind soul, and I kind of want to make up another social celebration just to have him cook for us again. He is a local treasure and I would recommend him in a heartbeat. read more

For the second year in a row, Hyson catered our retreat. His food is healthy and delicious, carefully prepared, always with perfect timing, colorful and beautifully presented. His smile is even nutritious. He is also flexible, approachable and responsive to all palate and dietary concerns. Hyson is a gem! read more

Chef Hyson is amazing. Outside of my bride, Hyson and his food will be what I remember from my wedding. Our vision for the food was a little different and he was collaborative, creative, thoughtful and ingenious. We threw together a wedding on 5 weeks notice during a pandemic and we simply couldn't have done it without him. Hyson is a really good man, a spectacular chef and someone I can not recommend enough. read more

Hyson is an innovative chef with amazing range of cuisines he has expertise in. He uses simple everyday ingredients and creates something so delicious yet simple. He prepared a simple carrot soup using three ingredients carrots, butternut squash and ginger. I loved the way it tasted. My favorite was his apple and cherry cobbler. His food is full of all the essential ingredients and the taste that lasts a long time in your memory. read more

Chef Hyson cooked for our rehearsal dinner and the food and staff were fantastic. I wish we had used them again for the wedding but the venue made us use their Chef. From the planning to execution, he did a remarkable job and I would highly recommend him for anyone who loves food and great experiences. read more

Great food and great service. And, great company. Will use this awesome service every time I have a chance to do so. Chef Hyson is great!

OK, so I was on retreat and this man cooked 3 meals a day for a 7 days. EVERY meal was a different cuisine, and all delicious. Like you'd go to a restaurant for that and be really happy. Chefs rarely have that kind of cross cuisine repertoire. Hire this man. Do it now. You will not be unhappy. In fact you will be VERY, VERY happy. :-) read more