Hurricane Lala did not deter Chef Tim! The rental home had a backup generator and propane stove. He…read morecarried out the planned Appetizer demonstration lessons and served without a hitch to our group of 8. His food was 5-star and the experience was 5-star! Throughout the planning and weather uncertainty he was professional, flexible, communicative and engaging. He found clever ways to acknowledge the anniversary being celebrated. We highly recommend him for his expertise in all facets. Mahalo!

Let's start with dessert. A molten lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. It had birthday candles…read moreon it. Ok back to the front of the meal. My kids hired Chef Tim to prepare a fantastic dinner for my 70th year on earth. Seared ahi, mochi rice crab cake, mini laulau were progressive appetizers that eased the flow of wine and conversation into just the right pace. A cold soup made from fresh green herbs served as a palate cleanser for the entree: a luscious chunk of opah (moon fish) drizzled with a white sauce along with jasmine rice and zucchini cubes. The fish melted like buttah in your mouth. Just when you thought there was no room for more, Chef Tim presented dessert. It was so good my son went back for seconds. Mahalo Chef Tim and his assistant April for preparing and serving a fabulous meal!

Chef Louie and her team delivered another unforgettable evening! From the curated menu we planned…read moretogether to the beautiful table settings and drinks, every detail felt personal. She easily accommodated a dietary restriction, and her upfront communication - menu, itemized costs, and contract confirmed by email - made everything stress-free. The food was exceptional: fresh produce from her own garden (the garnish on the chicken shooters was amazing!), tropical fruits she introduced us to and wove into the meal, and dishes I'm still thinking about days later. She even snapped photos of us during the event without being asked. Chef Louie embodies the warmth of Aloha, and she just keeps getting better - even after her Iron Chef win!

Katherine organized and provided an amazing dinner experience for our large family at our beautiful…read moreBig Island rental house, in celebration of some notable birthdays. Not only was the food outstanding, but she also arranged for outdoor seating, flowers, leis, a musician, a photographer and an after-dinner fire show. All were great. She is a friendly and likable person, with great culinary and organizational skills. She easily accommodated various dietary restrictions and preferences among our large group, and everything was delicious. Our family will never forget this memorable evening.

Chef Paul was fantastic to work with for my sister's 50th birthday celebration. He was responsive…read moreand was able to accommodate her dietary restrictions (gluten free & vegetarian). He had a special lei made for her too! Food was delicious. It is scary to book someone, never meeting them in person, but I would highly recommend Chef Paul!

We had such a great experience with Chef Paul. He was friendly, professional, and knows his craft…read morewell. He delivered an incredible 6 course meal for our group of 6 and we loved every bite of it.

My wife and I recently shared 10 wonderful days, with our kids and grandkids in a marvelous home…read moreon the Big Island, Hawaii. The highlight was the delightful meal served on our anniversary by Angela and Arrow of Zink Catering. Every course was a taste voyage to a very happy place. In addition, we made two new friends. These are people that you wish lived near by so you could share a glass of wine with them on occasion. Visiting Hawai'i? Contact Angela at: zinkcatering@yahoo.com

I'm reluctant to leave a negative review for a small business, but it's hard not to when I've…read morereceived no response after several days to an inquiry on their "contact us" page on their website or to an iPhone test message that shows as blue and "received." Angela might be a great chef and might have a good reason for not responding, and my rating is based solely on the fact that she didn't respond and I need to move on and try to find someone else. I'm fine with someone being too busy or otherwise not available, but a response saying so is just common courtesy.

Each year, our family gathers for a week to reconnect and spend time together, as we all live in…read moredifferent places (Palo Alto, Ca, Houston, TX and Asheville, NC). This year we rented a home on Keauhou Bay on the big island of Hawaii, and enjoyed a week in paradise! One of the best things we did to make our time together really special was to have Big Island Chef, Martha, and her team prepare three dinners for us: two buffet style and one drop-off. We had high expectations, but my goodness, we were blown away by how delicious the food was (and by the generous portions!). Martha had sent us menu ideas, but we simply told her what we liked and didn't like (not much) and asked her to prepare an omakase ("I'll leave it up to you") menu for us. The ingredients were all incredibly fresh, most of it local fish, meat and produce, much of it sourced from her own farm. She is an enormously talented chef who clearly loves what she does, and her clients reap the benefits of her passion for food. We thoroughly enjoyed every single bite of our dinners, and there were plenty of leftovers for a complete meal the following evening, too. She is happy to share her recipes with you, with one exception: her legendary (and fabulously decadent!) Honey Caramel Macadamia Nut Tart that she served us with homemade macadamia nut ice cream. All five adults and our two young grandchildren are still raving about the meals Martha prepared for us, and are an integral part of the afterglow we're basking in from our week in Hawaii. I would highly recommend Chef Martha to anyone seeking a private chef for any event, but especially for families who are renting a home and want a break from the kitchen. Our culinary experience with her was truly 5-star on all accounts! Mahalo, Chef Martha!!!

Martha is an incredible chef. I was lucky enough to have her cook a private meal for myself and…read moreguests. Attention to detail, delecious food, easy communication all equalled a wonderful dining experience. Appetizers, all courses plated and her incredible macademia caramel tart for desert made for a perfect evening. I look forward to my next trip to the Big Island and having Martha create another magical evening.

It has been over a year since Bob and Clare catered our wedding in Kona and I am finally writing a…read morereview. It is still important to me to share how great these guys were though! We got married and had the reception at a house on the water that we rented and stayed at. Our wedding was small and intimate with just around 35 guests. The first thing that was so helpful was Clare's advice on what we would need from a caterer for our wedding. I was looking for a simple catering service because we were having a small and simple wedding AND I was hoping to save some $$. She was so helpful because she was very honest (but in a very sweet way) what we could cut corners on and what we couldn't. She also offered several things with their service that other companies I'm sure would have itemized and charged for (like tiki torches, punch bowl, cake cutting knife, decorative plants for the food table, etc). The food was amazing, and they were so willing to create a menu that fit our needs. My husband is vegetarian so they made him a few meat-free dishes although the main dishes had meat. The food was excellent! Bob is a wonderful chef who uses all local foods, which made up a simple, yet delicious menu for our guests to enjoy. Everyone raved about how good the food was. We couldn't believe how attentive Clare and the woman helping her were. They helped make our reception experience just what we wanted because we didn't have to worry about anything. They even added flowers to our very plain wedding cake making it beautiful and then served the cake for us, none of which was discussed ahead of time. There are several examples of this where they just stepped in and stepped up at the right times which, again, meant we didn't have to worry about a thing. They left the kitchen cleaner than when we arrived at the house on the first day of our vacation. Just icing on the cake! And finally, what Bob and Clare charge for the amazing catering experience that I just described is so reasonable compared to any other company I talked to on the island. Especially since they don't nickel and dime you for every detail. These guys were great and I would HIGHLY recommend them!!!!!

Very much recommend Island Thyme Gourmet! We ordered meals for home delivery to our vacation rental…read morefor our family because we wanted to eat well but avoid restaurants and get a break from cooking ourselves. The food was delicious and arrived with clear instructions on how to easily assemble or warm up. Exactly what you want to take your mind off of meal prep while on vacation. They have a variety of options on their rotating menu, generous portions and nice sides to order in addition to the main menu items. We liked stocking up on some salads. Fresh ingredients and some healthy/balanced meals. They were also so easy to communicate with and place orders. We will definitely use their service on a future trip to the Big Island.

I can't say enough good things about Puako Provisions and Catering. My husband and I used them for…read moreour wedding in Hawaii and couldn't have been more thrilled. Noah has a passion for delicious beautifully prepared food. Planning the meal for a wedding can be stressful but not with them. They have so many great food options to choose from and everything was sooooooo delicious. Noah is not only a great chef but also a wonderful friend!!! The day of the wedding went great and the whole staff was wonderful to be around. They worked hard with a smile. I hope to have more events that I need catering for so I can have their delicious food and presence. Thank you Noah, you are the best!!!

Chef Noah provided our group of 11 people with 4 days of AMAZING food (all meals and snacks). We…read moredecided to hire a chef and not worry about the cooking, grocery shopping, dinner clean up etc... He made our vacation the wonderful vacation it was! We loved his flexibility with our food requests (dinner time, menu planning, etc....), cocktail requests, and shopping for THE BEST quality ingredients. There was NOTHING we didn't love that he cooked for us. Salads were fresh and delicious. His grilling skills are 100%. The servers he hired to help were fun and friendly and we enjoyed having Noah and his team as a part of our vacation. Would recommend without any hesitation. Would fly him to Los Angeles or Cleveland (home) to cater a special event.

From the initial contact, all the way to the days leading up to the wedding, the catering team at…read moreUmeke's was extremely responsive and accommodating. We had struggled to get responses from other catering options that we had been contemplating for our wedding. The team at Umeke's was not only incredibly responsive, they also made sure to check in with me through the entire process. Unfortunately I can't speak for how the food tasted, as our guest managed to eat everything before me and my husband had a chance to, which can only mean that the food was incredibly good and well received. We did have some Poke Bombs left over which my husband enjoyed the night after the wedding as well as the next day. We have discussed going to the restaurant and ordering the items we ordered for the wedding just so we could try them! So expect to see us there soon ordering possibly too much food, so we can finally enjoy what our guests were raving about. The team on-site was was super polite, accommodating, and left the area cleaner than how we got it! I will most certainly be recommending the catering services from Umeke's to anyone who asks.

We called on Dec 30th for a catered NYE meal. Tina was so accommodating! She gave a great…read morerecommendation for our group size. We had the Kalua pork, garlic butter shrimp (which were HUGE), rice and a salad with a creamy Asian dressing. We also had spicy ahi poke and sweet ahi poke for an appetizer. Mmmmmm. I was feeding my adult kids and they had nothing but praises for the meal. Highly recommend when you are here renting a vacation home and want to bring in a great meal for your group. She was VERY reasonably priced for the amount of food.

I wholeheartedly recommend Chef Rachel Erkan for any culinary needs! If you value high-quality,…read morefarm-to-table food, she's your chef. Her expertise shines through, especially knowing many ingredients came straight from her homestead--an impressive touch. With less than a month's notice, she crafted an unforgettable dinner for my intimate wedding, blending local and Mediterranean flavors seamlessly. Communication was prompt, and she handled dietary accommodations for my group with ease. Chef Rachel was professional, leaving the kitchen spotless, and the food? Some of the best we've ever tasted. Standouts included the tender, flavorful lamb--hands down the finest my group had ever had--the unique honey-cured egg yolk, and the pickled quail egg. The lilikoi curd was a revelation, and her macadamia nut baklava outshone any I've tried. Even the kulolo, a dish I grew up with, was exceptional. Every dish and sauce left us in awe. My family still raves about the meal, and Chef Rachel's work turned my wedding into a dream, ending with us blissfully full. Next time my husband and I are on island, we will be sure to check out what cooking classes Chef Rachel has going on at her homestead. Book her--you won't regret it!

We ordered our Thanksgiving meal from Chef Rachel. Pickup went smoothly, everything packaged…read morewonderfully. Easy directions and prep. Dinner was delicious, creative (loved the purple sweet potatoes and mushroom gravy) and my wife raved about the stuffing. It was so good and yummy, I commend Chef Rachel for knocking this meal out of the park.

The evening was beautiful; a great meal overall. The atmosphere is a bit casual with the use of…read morefolding tables and chairs; but the meal made up for the casual setting. Host just left without an introduction to the support staff and has a lackluster approach to sharing details of each item on the menu. We understand the chefs mission and want to support this vision. Unfortunately; not sure if the menu warrants a second visit. Hawaii has lots of beautiful sustainable food resources that are unconventional. I will caution the use of wild deer meat for carpaccio. There is a concern to cook game meat before eating it. Venison can carry pathogens that cause brucellosis, campylobacteriosis, and listeriosis, and freezing, drying, pickling, and smoking are ineffective at killing these bacteria.

Na'au celebrating the "guts of the heart and mind". Chef Brian Hirata and his team, seeking to…read morebring global awareness and appreciation of Hawai'i cuisine, has created this experience for the lucky few able to dine with them. Reservations are required. At this time each evening's seating is limited to 24 persons. What you will experience: A drive to a remote area just on the outskirts of Hilo; Driving through sugarcane fields and farm roads to get to current location at Whitehaven Farm. Location opens up to a beautiful and scenic area on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Prix fix menu changes monthly, or for special bookings. Each dish highlighting sourced ingredients from Hawaii. Each dish with a story behind it as so magically described by Robert, our host for the evening (and also found on their website). Highlights in food for me were the local breadfruit appetizer duo made into tostone and hummus and garnished with green big island plums dressed as olives, also the salad created out of ho'i'o, pickled hapu'u hearts, and kimpira takenoko... so very creative creating an ahh or an ohhh in every bite. Wait a second, that big island kanpachi prepared two different ways, kauai shrimp croquettes in the most delicious lemongrass red curry brown butter reduction, the big island lamb served 3 different ways...tantalizing the taste buds. All so very memorable. Not to be outdone, a dark chocolate tart with whipped lemon chevre dessert finished the evening. No liquor sold here, you are welcome to bring your own with a modest $20/bottle charge. If there were only one suggestion it would be to finish off dessert with a nice french pressed cup of Kona or Hualalai or Ka'u coffee or cup of Big Island mamaki tea. Then I would know I was in heaven on earth. Bravo Chef Brian, former Chef of the Four Seasons Hualala'iand Instructor at Hawaii Community College Culinary School, and recent James Beard nominee. Thank you for your innovative creations while educating us about the beauty of Hawai'i Cuisine. Do I recommend? I recommend staying at the Whitehaven property (they also have cabins and rooms to rent) so that you can dine here every single night of your Hilo stay!